An unprecedented situation will occur at the Montreal airport this summer as many Qatar Airways planes will be present… to help Air Canada and Royal Air Maroc! But that’s not the only change. Details.
Air Canada’s summer 2019 planning
Air Canada is facing challenges in its planning following the Boeing 737Max flight ban extended until 01/08/2019.
So far, the company has been able to control the situation, minimizing the impact on passengers.
But with the summer season upon us – always a busy one – Air Canada and its leisure subsidiary Air Canada Rouge’s fleet of aircraft will not be able to keep up with demand.
Here are the measures taken by Air Canada and that it has just announced to the media:
Extension of the lease of some A320 and E190 aircraft
3 Airbus A320s and 3 Embraer 190s were scheduled to leave the fleet in the coming months. Air Canada has decided to extend their lease to address their capacity issues.
Takeover of WOW Air’s aircraft rentals
WOW Air went bankrupt a few weeks ago, leaving a whole fleet of aircraft on the ground… which is good for Air Canada!
Thus, we learn thatAir Canada will take over 6 Airbus A321 from WOW Air in order to integrate them into the Air Canada Rouge fleet.
These aircraft are being reconfigured and equipped with Wi-Fi, and will be repainted in the Air Canada Rouge livery.
Changes to many services
For some services, Air Canada has decided to temporarily suspend them or to modify the aircraft or even to subcontract the route:
| Origin | Destination | Details |
| Montreal | Bordeaux | Air Canada Rouge (B767-300) instead of Air Canada (B737 Max) from 01/07 instead of 15/06 |
| Montreal | Frankfurt | Lufthansa to operate the route instead of Air Canada (month of May 2019) |
| Montreal | Barcelona | Qatar Airways to operate the route instead of Air Canada Rouge (B767) from June 15, 2019 |
| Montreal | Paris | Qatar Airways to operate the route instead of Air Canada (A330) from June 15, 2019 |
| Halifax | London Heathrow | Suspended until July 31, 2019 |
| St John | London Heathrow | Suspended until July 31, 2019 |
| Toronto | Shannon | Suspended for the 2019 summer season |
| Toronto | Abbotsford | Suspended for the 2019 summer season |
| Calgary | London, ON | Suspended for the 2019 summer season |
| Vancouver | Honolulu | Omni Air International will operate the route instead of Air Canada Rouge from June 02, 2019 |
| Vancouver | Maui | Omni Air International will operate the route instead of Air Canada Rouge from June 02, 2019 |
People who will travel on the Montreal-Barcelona route should be happy to see a Qatar Airways aircraft instead of the uncomfortable Air Canada Rouge B767s(see this report by Audrey between Montreal and Marseille).
Royal Air Maroc and Qatar Airways in summer 2019
The Montreal-Casablanca route is particularly busy during the summer season.
Until now, the service was operated with a Boeing 747 of Royal Air Maroc. However, the company has withdrawn this type of aircraft from its fleet with the progressive entry of B787-8 and B787-9 in it.
The Montreal-Casablanca flight is frequently operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and was to be operated by a B787-9.
Routesonline tells us that between June 21 and September 14, 2019, many weekly flights will be operated by a Qatar Airways aircraft instead of Royal Air Maroc.
Here is what the Montreal-Casablanca service will look like:
| Flight | Origin | Departure | Arrival | Destination | Aircraft |
| AT206 | Casablanca | 08:00 | 10:20 | Montreal | B788 – Royal Air Maroc |
| AT207 | Montreal | 12:05 | 23:35 | Casablanca | B788 – Royal Air Maroc |
| AT208 | Casablanca | 18:15 | 20:50 | Montreal | B777-300ER – Qatar Airways |
| AT209 | Montreal | 22:35 | 10:30 (+1) | Casablanca | B777-300ER – Qatar Airways |
Bottom line
This will be an unprecedented situation at Montreal airport, as there will be up to 4 Qatar Airways aircraft on the tarmac (which also operates a Montreal-Doha flight with the new QSuites business class!) Discover our Qsuite reviews on board the A350 and the B777-300ER.
Sources: Air Canada and Routesonline
