Air Canada Rouge

Air Canada Rouge

IATA ICAO Callsign RV ROU ROUGE
Founded	December 2012[1]
Hubs	Calgary International Airport Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport Vancouver International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Aeroplan
Airport lounge	Maple Leaf Lounge
Alliance	Star Alliance
Fleet size	34
Destinations	49
Parent company	Air Canada Vacations Group
Website	flyrouge.com

Air Canada rouge A319 at Montreal-Mirabel

Air Canada rouge is a Canadian leisure airline based in Toronto.^[2] The carrier is a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Canada and is fully integrated into the Air Canada mainline and Air Canada Express networks. Flights are sold with AC flight numbers, but are listed as "operated by Air Canada rouge" (similar to regional flights operated under the Air Canada Express banner). Rouge means "red" in French.

History

The airline was launched in December 2012 and began services on July 1, 2013. It is part of the Air Canada Leisure Group. At the time of the launch it had a fleet of four aircraft, 2 Airbus A319s and 2 Boeing 767s, transferred from the parent company. Its fleet expanded to 28 aircraft within 18 months and is expected to reach 16 Boeing 767s, 20 Airbus A319s and 5 Airbus A321s by mid-2017.^[3]

On March 24, 2014, Air Canada announced plans for Air Canada rouge to expand into Western Canada beginning in spring 2014, to serve predominantly leisure markets from Vancouver and Calgary to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Palm Springs, Honolulu, Maui and Anchorage.^[4]

A seasonal service from Vancouver to Osaka/Kansai started in May 2015.^[3]

Destinations

Air Canada rouge serves predominantly leisure destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, South America, Central America, Mexico and the United States. Destinations in Europe include London Gatwick, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Venice, Athens, Lisbon, Dublin, Nice, Barcelona, Rome, Budapest, Warsaw, Casablanca and Manchester. Destinations in the Caribbean include Cuba, Jamaica, Curaçao, Haiti, the Bahamas, Grenada, Barbados, St. Maarten, and the Dominican Republic. Destinations As of the Summer 2015 Air Canada rouge plans to expand within Canada, servicing summer flight between Calgary - Halifax, Toronto - Kelowna, Toronto - Abbotsford and service between Toronto - Sydney NS.

In December 2015 new routes were announced including Toronto to Miami, Fort Myers, Charlottetown, and Deer Lake Montreal to Miami will now be year round and Mexico City Vancouver to San Diego and Calgary to Phoenix, which will now be year-round.^[5]

Routes

Fleet

Air Canada Rouge Boeing 767-300ER at Kansai International Airport

The Air Canada rouge fleet consists of 38 aircraft (as of January 16, 2016).^[6][7][8] The average fleet age is 15.8 years.

The Air Canada rouge Airbus A319 has 16 more seats than a regular Air Canada Airbus A319,^[9] with 136 seats. The first four rows being for rouge Plus and Premium rouge passengers.^[3] The Air Canada rouge Boeing 767-300ER carries 53 more passengers than most regular Air Canada Boeing 767-300ER aircraft,^[9] with 280 seats. Of these 221 are economy, 35 rouge Plus and 24 Premium rouge.^[3] The 29-inch seat pitch is one of the smallest in North America, resulting in less leg room than on most other comparable aircraft. ^[10]

Air Canada rouge is equipped with a wireless streaming entertainment system, called player, that passengers can use directly on their personal devices, such as Apple iOS and Android devices, as well as laptops. The streaming system only works on Apple devices if the Air Canada application is downloaded prior to the flight, android users can now download the app prior to departure or while in flight from the on-board server. Laptop use requires the Flash plug-in. iPads are available for rental to Economy Class passengers for a cost of $10 and are complimentary for Premium Rouge customers. The rental iPads are loaded with games, as well as premium content on the player plus app.

Baggage policy is the same as Air Canada's, and catering is complimentary on flights to/from Europe, with a buy-on-board offering on all other flights in line with the mainline service. Premium Rouge food and beverages are complimentary. Air Canada's mainline economy class fare services (Tango, Flex and Latitude) as well as full-fare and discounted Business Class apply to the new carrier with some adjustments.

Long tarmac delays

Air Canada rouge has been cited by the United States Department of Transportation for violating the tarmac delay rule on an Orlando-Toronto flight in January 2014, resulting in a $90,000 civil penalty. The delay was triggered when weather diverted the flight to Buffalo at 10:09 p.m. on Jan. 11. Under the United States Department of Transportation rules for international flights, the carrier was required to provide food and water after two hours on the ground, and to give passengers an opportunity to deplane after four hours.

Believing that the aircraft could be quickly refueled and dispatched to Toronto, Rouge did not request a gate until after three hours had passed. Passengers eventually deplaned at 2:50 a.m., after the four-hour deadline. Half the amount will be waived if the carrier avoids repeat violations for one year.^[11]

References

External links

• Official website