Geriatric jets still soaring in Canada's north by necessity, not for nostalgia
Each morning, travellers and cargo take off from Montreal's Trudeau airport for a 1,600-kilometre flight to Puvirnituq in northern Quebec aboard a nearly 50-year-old Air Inuit plane.
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This seasoned Boeing 737 previously cruised the skies above Europe and Central Africa for now-defunct carriers in France, Gabon and the Congo. But now its trips are all-Canadian, shuttling people, food and building materials between the country's second-biggest city and a village of 2,100.
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The aging aircraft is no outlier in Canada, which plays host to more old jets deployed for passenger service than any other country. Their age can pose challenges for maintenance and fuel efficiency, while others question the safety of second-hand haulers, but operators say they are ideally suited for commercial flights to remote destinations.
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Thirteen of the 30 oldest jets in the world carrying travellers on scheduled or charter routes are operating in Canada, according to figures from ch-aviation, an industry data provider. All 13 are Boeing 737-200s between 42 and 52 years old.
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Counterintuitively, Canada's sprawling geography, harsh weather and rugged airstrips are the reason it relies more heavily on old planes than on newer, sleeker models.
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'The reason why Air Inuit still flies the 200 series is not by choice but by obligation,' said CEO Christian Busch, whose 36-plane fleet includes four of the classic narrow-bodies. Three — all among the oldest 30 globally — house passengers in the back half and freight in the front.
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'We're still flying aircraft on gravel runways, and the 737-200 is the only aircraft approved to land — jet aircraft approved to land — on gravel to this date,' he said.
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That's because the beefy Boeing, which entered into service in 1968 and ceased production 20 years later, was designed to be fitted with a gravel kit.
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That modification includes a deflector on the nose wheel that shields the underbelly from flying rock fragments. It also blows compressed air in front of each engine to prevent debris from entering the turbofans, which could be damaged and shut down.
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All but seven of Canada's 117 'remote northern airports' are unpaved, according to a 2017 auditor general's report on aviation infrastructure in the North.
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'We have a 737-800 on the fleet. I would love to fly that aircraft up north, but where can I land it?' asked Marco Prud'Homme, president of charter airline Nolinor Aviation.
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