How Did Air Canada Get Their A320s?

Question

They would have to fly from Toulouse Blagnac across to Canada, how is this possible?

Answer 1

I have personally delivered aircraft in this category (A319-A320, B737, etc) from Europe back to the US. Its really not all that difficult.

We usually tank up at the beginning of the flight, then tech stop in Iceland for fuel and food.

No big deal.

Answer 2

I flew on a 320 to Europe, a charter, it made a refueling stop in Keflavik, Iceland. Both there and on the return trip.

Answer 3

what most people don't know is that airplanes being flown from Europe to North America and vice versa can land in Iceland, Greenland, and Nova Scotia if needed to refuel.

Also, most people are not familiar with the Great Circle route used for the trans-atlantic crossing, which is over the North Atlantic. They envision the airplane flying over the middle of the Atlantic and that is quite a distance.

Answer 4

They bought them.  If you want an airplane, they will get it to you, if you pay for it.

I had the chance to buy two P-51's a few years back.  Great shape, and cheap.  Only problem, they were sitting in Iraq, and getting them here would have been too costly.  Oh well...

Answer 5

I'm sure there are several ways they could have managed those deliveries.  Stops in Iceland and or Maine might have been used.  No way were they non-stop flights.  Air Canada operates 37 A319s, 36 A320s, and 10 A321s.

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Answer 6

An aircraft without any payload on board can go further.

But there is more: airplane can be fitted with auxiliary bladder fuel cells inside the cargo hold, to increase the range (thus that fuel is the payload).  Also, the route can be calculated to stop several places, taking the long route, but with short segments.

You could have asked that question about airplane with a much smaller range, like Embraer or Bombardier regional jets, actually. They do the same thing (fly empty of passengers, with additional ferry fuel tanks, and/or take the long way around with many refueling stops).

Answer 7

They just flew them across, thats what planes do it fly, sometimes they fly across water too, such as the Atlantic Ocean.

They probably routed so that they stopped in Greenland or Iceland and refueled if they couldn't make it in one flight.

Answer 8

whhy is that so hard to beleive,  Air Canada has pilots that are more than capable of flying planes.

Answer 9

I it's called a ferry flight.