Air Canada Tango was a
discount airlineA low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that offers generally low fares in exchange for eliminating many traditional passenger services...
launched by
Air CanadaAir Canada is Canada's largest airline and flag carrier. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to 96 destinations worldwide. Its largest hub is Toronto Pearson International Airport in Ontario. Its main base is Montreal-Pierre...
in 2001 to offer no-frills service on some of Air Canada's routes and to reduce operating costs at the struggling Air Canada. Based in
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
, Tango flew on the major longer-distance Canadian routes between cities such as Toronto,
OttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada and a municipality within the Province of Ontario. Located in the Ottawa Valley in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, the city lies on the southern banks of the Ottawa River, a major waterway forming the local boundary between the Provinces of Ontario and...
,
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
, Calgary and
VancouverVancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
. It also flew to some holiday destinations in the
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
such as
Fort LauderdaleFort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of Broward County. According to 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 183,606...
and
TampaTampa is a Gulf Coast city in Hillsborough County, on the west coast of the state of Florida in the United States. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. The population of Tampa in 2000 was 303,447...
. The service offered lower fares but with few in-flight services.
The name is short for "Tan and Go", which is in reference to the southern winter destinations they hoped to serve.
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Air Canada Tango was a
discount airlineA low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that offers generally low fares in exchange for eliminating many traditional passenger services...
launched by
Air CanadaAir Canada is Canada's largest airline and flag carrier. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to 96 destinations worldwide. Its largest hub is Toronto Pearson International Airport in Ontario. Its main base is Montreal-Pierre...
in 2001 to offer no-frills service on some of Air Canada's routes and to reduce operating costs at the struggling Air Canada. Based in
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
, Tango flew on the major longer-distance Canadian routes between cities such as Toronto,
OttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada and a municipality within the Province of Ontario. Located in the Ottawa Valley in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, the city lies on the southern banks of the Ottawa River, a major waterway forming the local boundary between the Provinces of Ontario and...
,
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
, Calgary and
VancouverVancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
. It also flew to some holiday destinations in the
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
such as
Fort LauderdaleFort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of Broward County. According to 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 183,606...
and
TampaTampa is a Gulf Coast city in Hillsborough County, on the west coast of the state of Florida in the United States. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. The population of Tampa in 2000 was 303,447...
. The service offered lower fares but with few in-flight services.
The name is short for "Tan and Go", which is in reference to the southern winter destinations they hoped to serve. In early 2001 airlines like
Canada 3000Canada 3000 Inc. was a discount Canadian, charter airline headquartered in Toronto, Ontario offering domestic and international flights. It was the largest charter airline in the world at the time of its operation, with over 90 destinations worldwide, although it changed to scheduled service in...
and
Air TransatAir Transat A.T. Inc. is an airline based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, operating scheduled and charter flights and serving 90 destinations in 25 countries. The airline is owned and operated by Transat A.T. During the summer season its main destinations are Europe and domestic flights within Canada...
found these markets very lucrative.
In 2002, Air Canada launched another discount airline called
ZipZip was a Canadian discount airline based in Calgary, Alberta, launched by Air Canada as a no-frills subsidiary in September 2002. It operated a fleet of 12 Boeing 737 aircraft, each painted in a different bright, neon colour with a single class of service. The subsidiary was headed by former...
. Unlike Tango, however, Zip operated as a totally separate
airlineAn airline provides air transport services for passengers or freight, generally with a recognized operating certificate or license. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit.Airlines vary...
with its own staff and management.
Air Canada Tango aircraft were configured in a full economy layout rather than with a business class cabin as on regular Air Canada aircraft. Tango also had a rather distinctive purple colour scheme.
Tango and Zip were both dissolved in 2004 partially due to issues with fuel surcharges on sub-economical flights. At many points of operation, Tango was requiring customers to pay more than double their fare rate in these additional fuel surcharges. Criticism was mounted by consumer complaints groups, including the
BBBBBB may refer to:In science:*Blood-brain barrier, a structure that protects the brain from chemicals in the bloodOrganizations:*Better Business Bureau, a North American organization of businesses supporting consumer rights...
because the charges were not made known to customers until the time of boarding. Another reason for the elimination of the separate Tango and Zip brands was that through the bankruptcy process, Air Canada was able to reduce its mainline labor costs to levels similar to those at Tango and Zip.
Air CanadaAir Canada is Canada's largest airline and flag carrier. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to 96 destinations worldwide. Its largest hub is Toronto Pearson International Airport in Ontario. Its main base is Montreal-Pierre...
still advertises "Tango" as a type of fare on its regular Air Canada services.
Fleet
Air Canada Tango Fleet
| Aircraft |
Number |
Passengers
(Executive*/Economy) |
Notes |
| Airbus A320-211 The Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range commercial passenger airliners are manufactured by Airbus and are the only narrowbody in their product line...
|
TBD |
140 (20/120) |
reverted back to Air Canada fleet after 2004 |
| Boeing 737-217 |
TBD |
118 |
retired after 2004 |
| Boeing 737-275 |
TBD |
118 |
retired after 2004 |
External links