Halifax’s Chorus Aviation Lands Deal To Operate All Air Canada Express Flights
HALIFAX — Chorus Aviation, the Halifax-based parent company of Jazz Aviation, will take over as the sole operator of Air Canada’s main regional flight network.
Air Canada announced today it will transfer the operation of its fleet of 25 Embraer E175 airplanes to Jazz as part of an updated capacity purchase agreement (CPA).
Under the CPA, Jazz will operate all of Air Canada’s regional feeder flights that run under the Air Canada Express brand. Air Canada is responsible for managing the routes, scheduling, pricing and other commercial activities, while Jazz provides the crews, airframe maintenance, flight operations, and other services.
Previously, Jazz had shared Air Canada Express duties with Ontario’s Sky Regional Airlines.
Announcing the move today, Air Canada said it is dropping Sky and consolidating its regional service with Jazz in response to the “ongoing devastating impact of Covid-19 upon the airline industry.”
Richard Steer, a senior vice president with Air Canada, said the new arrangement will help the company reduce costs and “operate more competitively” in both the current environment and as air traffic returns.
“The Covid-19 pandemic continues to challenge the aviation industry. With the Jazz fleet operating at a fraction of the capacity it flew a year ago, now is the time to update the CPA to help preserve regional flying and Jazz’s place within it,” Joe Randell, Chorus’ president and CEO, said in a Chorus release.
In an email statement on March 1, a Chorus spokesperson said the revised CPA is good news for the company for many reasons: it strengthens Chorus’ relationship with Air Canada, enhances Jazz’s position in Air Canada’s network, allows Jazz to further diversify its fleet, and positions the company well for future fleet renewal.
The agreement also means Jazz will upgrade its fleet sooner than expected, swapping out its 19 Dash 8-300 turboprop planes for the Embraer E175s.
The revisions to the CPA are still subject to Chorus reaching an agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), International, which represents its pilots.
If ALPA is on board, the CPA will be amended on a retroactive basis to January 1, 2021 and last until 2025.
Trevor Nichols is a staff writer with Huddle in Halifax. Send him an e-mail with your story suggestions: [email protected].