Air Canada reconfigures passenger aircraft

MONTREAL – Air Canada is reconfiguring the cabins of three of its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to give them additional cargo capacity. The first aircraft conversion is complete and is now in service, with the second and third aircraft to be completed shortly.

“Bringing critical medical and other vital supplies rapidly to Canada and helping distribute them across the country is imperative to combating the COVID-19 crisis,” said Tim Strauss, vice-president – cargo at Air Canada.

“The transformation of the Boeing 777-300ERs, our largest international wide-body aircraft, doubles the capacity of each flight and will enable more goods to move more quickly.”

The aircraft in question would otherwise have been parked, said Richard Steer, senior vice-president – Air Canada operations.

Air Canada’s engineering team worked non-stop to oversee the conversion work; Transport Canada ensured the work was certified as tasks were completed.

The three Boeing 777-300ER aircraft are being converted by Avianor, an aircraft maintenance and cabin integration specialist, at its Montreal–Mirabel facility.

Avianor developed an engineering solution to remove 422 passenger seats and designate cargo loading zones for light-weight boxes containing medical equipment and restrained with cargo nets.

The modification was developed, produced and implemented within six days. All operations have been certified and approved by Transport Canada.

Through its cargo division, Air Canada has been using mainline aircraft that would otherwise be parked to operate cargo-only flights. The aircraft on these flights carry no passengers but move in their baggage holds time-sensitive shipments, including urgent medical supplies, and goods to support the global economy.

Air Canada has operated 40 all-cargo flights since March 22 and plans to operate up to 20 all-cargo flights per week using a combination of the three newly converted Boeing 777s, Boeing 787s and Boeing 777s, in addition to current scheduled flights to London, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong.

Air Canada Cargo has been working with its supply chain partners and shippers to transport medical supplies from Asia and Europe to Canada and will continue exploring additional opportunities as needed in all regions of the globe.