CP Air

CP Air, officially Canadian Pacific Air Lines but branded as CP Air since 1968, is a commercial airline in British Columbia offering scheduled domestic, continental and international services.

It is a subsidiary of the Imperial Pacific Transportation Co Ltd, which is in turn the BC subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway; IPTC is also the parent of CP Ships. As a result, the airline is a key component of a fully integrated transportation system - the first such system in the world - which also includes highway transport (CP Transport and CP Express), a chain of hotels (CP Hotels), and a telecommunications service, CP Telecom, which is one of the providers of mobile telephone service in BC.

CP Air serves 55 destinations (10 BC, 26 Canada, 6 continental, 13 international) in 16 countries.

History
The CPR purchased six airline and bush flying companies in British Columbia (Blaenau Air Lines, Ginger Coote Airways, Mackenzie Air Services, Peace Airways) and Alberta (Prairie Airways, Yukon Southern Air Transport) and merged them in 1942 to create Canadian Pacific Air Lines. Subsequently, between 1944 and 1947 CPAL acquired and absorbed other operators across Canada: Arrow Airways, Canadian Airways, Montreal & Dominion Skyways, Quebec Airways, and Starratt Airways.

CP Air acquired and absorbed Quebecair in 1987 and Wardair Canada in 1990.

Incidents

 * 20 December 1942 Lockheed 14 Super Electra VB-MXH, operating as Flight 305 from Prince George to Vancouver, crashed into the slope of Mount Cheam near Chilliwack whilst cruising at an altitude of 7,000 feet in marginal nighttime weather conditions; the aircraft had been about 75 miles off course. Search and rescue operations were suspended after five days with no trace of the aircraft nor the thirteen people aboard (three crew, ten passengers) being found; the wreckage was located by hunters in August 1943. Subsequent investigation led to the conclusion that the course deviation had been caused by a failure in the electrical system, leading to the crew not following the prescribed track after overflying Squamish.


 * 29 November 1944 DH.95B Flamingo VB-PAF (c/n C192/1941), operating as Flight 073 from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to Blaenau, crashed on final approach in a heavy snowstorm, after the white-out conditions caused the pilot to misjudge his approach. The aircraft burned and was written off; four of the fifteen passengers and crew were killed, including the pilot and co-pilot.


 * 19 November 1954 DH.89C Dragon Rapide VB-GCA (c/n C103/1936), returning to Vancouver after a period working under contract to a work camp north of New Aiyansh, flipped over on landing in heavy snow at Quesnel and was written off.

Fleet
CP Air operate a total of 199 aircraft.

Current

 * Airbus A220-200 - 12 (2018 to date), +21 on order to be delivered by 2025
 * Airbus A220-300 - 8 (2019 to date), +20 on order to be delivered by 2025
 * Boeing 737-700 - 38 (2001 to date), to be retired by 2026
 * Boeing 737-800 - 24 (2002 to date), to be retired by 2026
 * Boeing 747-8 - 4 (2013 to date)
 * Boeing 767-400ER - 19 (2006 to date)
 * Boeing 777-300 - 12 (2015 to date)
 * Bombardier CRJ1000 - 16 (2014 to date), +12 on order to be delivered by 2024
 * Bombardier Dash 8 Q200 - 16 (2007 to date)
 * Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 - 28 (2011 to date)
 * Bombardier Dash 8 Q400NG - 22 (2012 to date)

Historic
Incomplete - not all aircraft inherited in 1947 listed.


 * Airbus A310-300 - 12 (1990–1996), inherited from Wardair
 * Avro Canada C-102 Jetliner - 14 (1953–1967)
 * Boeing 727-100 - 4 (1970–1977)
 * Boeing 727-200 - 2 (1975–1982)
 * Boeing 737-200 - 31 (1968–2006)
 * Boeing 737-300 - 19 (1983–2012)
 * Boeing 737-700 - 6 (2001–2019)
 * Boeing 737-800 - 3 (2001–2020)
 * Boeing 747-100 - 2 (1990–1992), inherited from Wardair
 * Boeing 747-200 - 4 (1973–1986)
 * Boeing 747-300 - 6 (1984–2015)
 * Boeing 767-200ER - 18 (1987–2018)
 * Bristol Britannia - 8 (1958–1966)
 * Curtiss C-46 - 5 (1955–1970)
 * De Havilland Comet 1A - 2 (1952–1953)
 * DHBC DH.84 Dragon 1B - 3 (1942–1951), inherited from Peace Airways
 * DHBC DH.84 Dragon 2B - 9 (1942–1953), inherited from Blaenau Air Lines (3), Mackenzie Air Services (2), Prairie Airways (1), and Peace Airways (1)
 * DHBC DH.89C Dragon Rapide - 8 (1942–1958), inherited from Ginger Coote (5), Mackenzie Air Services (2), and Peace Airways (1)
 * DHBC DH.90B Dragonfly - 1 (1942–1947), inherited from Yukon Southern
 * DHBC DH.95B Flamingo - 11 (1942–1962), six delivered new, five inherited from Blaenau Air Lines (1), Montreal & Dominion Skyways (2), Peace Airways (1), and Yukon Southern (1)
 * DHBC-1 Dove - 7 (1947–1971)
 * DHBC-5 Swan - 6 (1963–1996)
 * DHBC-7B Trident 7B - 5 (1987–1996), inherited from Quebecair
 * DHBC-7C Trident 7C - 5 (1987–2002), inherited from Quebecair
 * DHBC-7D Trident 7D - 26 (1975–2013)
 * DHBC-7E Trident 7E - 4 (1987–1990), inherited from Quebecair
 * DHBC-9A Kehloke 1 - 4 (1992–1999)
 * DHC-7 - 12 (1981–2009)
 * DHC-8-103 - 16 (1988–2013)
 * DHC-8-315 - 14 (1998–2014)
 * Douglas C-47 - 12 (1945–1978)
 * Douglas DC-4 - 4 (1951–1963)
 * Douglas DC-6A - 6 (1953–1969)
 * Douglas DC-6B - 12 (1953–1969)
 * Douglas DC-8-43 - 6 (1961–1983)
 * Douglas DC-8-51 - 1 (1966–1967)
 * Douglas DC-8-53 - 1 (1966–1982)
 * Douglas DC-8-63 - 5 (1968–1983)
 * McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 - 3 (1983–1987)
 * McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 - 10 (1979–2003)
 * McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30ER - 2 (1979–2001)

BC-made aircraft
''Note: a green background indicates an aircraft in service, a yellow background indicates a retired aircraft, and a pink background indicates an aircraft lost in an accident.

= Routes = CP Air operates the only direct service between BC and the PRC. These flights are always operated with aircraft carrying Canadian registration (C-xxxx); CP aircraft registered in BC are not used on this route.

Northern Thunderbird Air have a codeshare agreement with CP Air.

Entries with a green background indicates a destination in British Columbia. "Domestic" refers to services entirely within Canada or entirely within BC; "Continental" refers to services between NAFTA signatories (BC, Mexico, Canada, and the United States).