By Skies Magazine | May 5, 2014 Estimated reading time 3 minutes, 40 seconds.
Air Georgian commenced operations with Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets (CRJ-100s) on behalf of Air Canada Express on May 1, 2014. Air Georgian’s CRJ fleet will amount to six CRJ-100s, all previously owned by Air Canada Jazz. Five jets will be used on routes transferred from Jazz, with one aircraft as a spare. Air Georgian sister company, Avmax Aircraft Leasing Inc. of Calgary, took delivery of the first CRJ-100 on March 6. It was painted at the Avmax Great Falls, MT facility and delivered to Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport.
On Dec.10, 2013 Air Canada announced the expansion of routes and aircraft types operated by Air Georgian under an amended Capacity Purchase Agreement. The addition of six CRJ-100s to Air Georgian’s fleet significantly expanded its regional and transborder operations. Air Canada cited increased competition from WestJet’s new Encore regional division as impetus to reduce costs on short-haul and transborder routes. Air Georgian partnered with Air Canada in 2000 to provide Tier III regional service with 18-seat Beechcraft 1900 turboprop airliners. The service is provided under the Air Canada Express brand.
Before the addition of the CRJs, Air Georgian, based at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, carried over 320,000 passengers annually. With the addition of the new CRJ base at Toronto Pearson, Air Georgian will relinquish three of its Beech 1900Ds and its Halifax base to Air Canada Express operator EVAS Air Charters. EVAS will now carry out all of the Air Canada Express Beech 1900 operations on the East Coast. Air Georgian’s CRJs will be the first jets operated by the airline. Much of Georgian’s Regional Jet experience will be garnered from sister company Regional 1 Airlines of Calgary, which has built up nine years of experience on the type.
Air Canada’s new deal with Air Georgian to operate CRJs will decrease Air Canada’s Capacity Purchase Agreement with Chorus/Jazz, allowing reduction from 380,000 block hours in 2013 to as low as 331,000 hours. The move is perceived as leverage to reduce the CPA with Jazz when it comes up for renewal before the end of 2020. The routes that Air Georgian will be serving will be from Toronto to Charlottetown Airport, Nashville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport Milwaukee, and Raleigh-Durham.
Air Georgian has substantially ramped up its staff levels to facilitate the CRJ expansion. The pilot roster will increase from 115 to 135. Most CRJ first officers are coming from the Beech 1900D and most captains are direct-entry due to minimum experience requirements. Twenty flight attendants have been hired initially, and started training in April. New hire management positions include John Hamilton, the new CRJ operations manager, Derek Rieners, CRJ chief pilot and Ashley Witty, flight attendant manager who transferred to Toronto from Regional 1. New hiring has also taken place in the Toronto dispatch office which now handles Regional 1 operations. The Air Georgian Maintenance branch has also expanded significantly to accommodate the new aircraft. Georgian’s operational control system has been transitioned from Type C to Type A to facilitate the new aircraft and capacity.
