As Air Canada works to emerge from bankruptcy protection, the carrier's profitable corporate jet operation, Air Canada Jetz, continues to pick up clients and satisfy Air Canada senior management. AC Jetz also recently entered a cross-marketing partnership with Bombardier Skyjet and is eyeing a possible transition to new airplanes.
"We started slow because we were not that well known, but a few people gave us a chance and we developed from there. Corporate business has developed substantially during the past year," said Air Canada Jetz director Robert Perrault, noting that about 20 corporate clients have used the service since it was launched in October 2001.
Aside from Air Canada, Delta Air Lines is the only other major North American commercial carrier with a branded corporate jet division. Delta AirElite Business Jets last month added new aircraft to its fleet and now offers charter availability on more than 300 jets around the country.
Unlike the failed Avolar corporate jet division at Air Canada partner United Airlines
(BTN, June 3, 2002), AC Jetz in its first few months relied heavily on Canadian sports teams to get the business off the ground and lay the foundation for an expansion into the corporate market.
AC Jetz clients, which generally request ad hoc chartering for meetings and incentive trips, include such banks as HSBC USA, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, Scotia Capital and the World Bank. Among other recent clients were Honda Canada, Labatt Breweries and a few pharmaceutical and communications companies.
According to Perrault, the average size of a corporate meeting or incentive trip in Canada is approximately 50 attendees, a perfect fit for AC Jetz's Boeing 737 aircraft configured with 48 to 60 business class seats. AC Jetz also provides a dedicated crew, including a mechanic and customer service representative on each flight, concierge services and other tailored inflight and airport service and amenities.
Meanwhile, the idea of a business-oriented shuttle similar to that of Air Canada's Star Alliance partner Lufthansa German Airlines
(BTN, March 24), "is on the back burner and will reappear," according to Perrault, who said that AC Jetz "is not a completely different animal." For now, however, AC Jetz will focus on servicing corporate clients with its four 737s—one each in eastern and western Canada and two deployed in Toronto. Though Perrault is comfortable with the fleet size, he said the company is looking at possible migration to Airbus A320 aircraft.
To raise its profile, AC Jetz last month formed a joint marketing partnership with Bombardier Skyjet, a charter jet reservations service. "We can exchange leads in North America," Perrault explained. "Their largest planes are 20-seaters, so, for example, I can send them folks needing only five seats, and they can send me larger groups."
"It allows us each to extend our respective product lines," added Skyjet general manager Nicholas Houseman.
Perrault, meanwhile, said AC Jetz is not in any danger of being cut during Air Canada's current reorganization efforts and, in fact, recently was given a vote of confidence by senior management. "With just four aircraft, it won't be the company savior," he said, "but we are doing our part, and we are profitable."