Bombardier CRJ-100 (Canadair CL-65)
The September 1994 issue of Horizons has a nostalgic story, by Steve Beisswanger, on the introduction of the Bombardier (Canadair) CRJ-100 to the Air Canada fleet.
Air Canada's new (American-born) CEO, Hollis Harris, was determined to take advantage of the 'Open Skies' agreement between Canada and the U.S. and this was the perfect aircraft to open up transborder routes. "The size of the Canadair Jet will allow us to mount greater frequency than would be available with larger aircraft. The aircraft will support route extensions that would simply not be available with the lower traffic densities that exist in smaller markets.
Air Canada took delivery of the first (then called) CL-65, C-FRIA (fin #101), at the Farnborough International Air Show in September 1994. The aircraft entered service on October 10, 1994 between Ottawa (YOW) and Newark, New Jersey (EWR).
I remember fin#101 being parked overnight in Toronto's DC-8 hangar and being able to have a good personal tour of the new aircraft. The plan certainly worked and several profitable markets were added to the Air Canada system. The original 24 aircraft would be transferred to AC Connector fleets in the early 2000s where they continued to be workhorses for several more years.
I will detail the current status of each of the aircraft in our next issue. Click the image below for the full Horizons story.
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