The Rise And Fall Of Air Canada Tango

Air Canada operates several subsidiaries and different brands today – including Air Canada Rouge, Air Canada Express, and Air Canada Jetz. Others have come and gone as well, including low-cost airline Air Canada Tango. This operated from 2001 to 2004 with a fleet of Boeing and Airbus narrowbodies.

Launching a no-frills subsidiary in 2001

Air Canada entered the world of low-cost airlines in 2001, launching a new subsidiary airline called Air Canada Tango. This came about following the increasing low-cost competition in the market. WestJet started service in Canada in 1996, offering low-cost alternatives on many similar routes to the existing full-service airlines.

Canada 3000 was also a strong competitor of Air Canada at the time. It had operated charter flights up to 2001 but then started offering scheduled services as well. It suddenly ceased operations though in November 2001, citing the slowdown after the events of September 11th as a primary cause.

The early 2000s were a peak time for low-cost airlines around the world. EasyJet in Europe only started in 1995. Wizz Air followed in 2003. In the US, Frontier Airlines started flying in 1994, and Allegiant Air in 1998.

The new airline gave Air Canada opportunities to compete in the low-cost market without devaluing the main Air Canada brand. This is a strategy followed by many airlines. Air Canada has even stuck with it long after the demise of Tango, with its low-cost Air Canada Rouge subsidiary.

Tango started service in November 2001, and the airline was based at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Domestic routes served included Calgary, Edmonton, Fredericton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Saint John, St. John’s, Vancouver, and Winnipeg. Further afield, it focussed on holiday destinations in Mexico and the Southern US.

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A Boeing and Airbus fleet

Tango started service using A320 aircraft, leased from Air Canada. From March 2002, it also added the 737-200 – up to 12 aircraft in total, according to data obtained from AeroTransport Data Bank (ATDB.aero). The A320 fleet grew steadily through 2001 and 2002 to reach 13 aircraft.  Later, the A320s dominated the fleet as many of the 737s moved over to Air Canada’s next low-cost subsidiary, Zip, from late 2002.

The aircraft were configured as all-economy. The A320s sat 159 – compared to typically 146 on Air Canada’s A320s. All extras onboard (including food, drinks, seating, and baggage) were charged extra. This may seem standard today, but at the time was a new offering for legacy airlines. It also only offered electronic tickets, again saving money compared to legacy carriers at the time.

Ending service and re-deploying the fleet

The airline’s service peaked in late 2002 and 2003. By early 2004 it stopped flights, and the brand was incorporated into Air Canada. Its fleet mostly was as well. All of the remaining A320s moved to Air Canada. These entered the main fleet, as well as the fleet of private hire operator Air Canada Jetz (today, it has switched from A320s to just smaller A319s).

The airline ceased operations, but it would not be right to call it a failure. In fact, its operating model was highly successful. In reality, what it did was transfer that to Air Canada. Most of the routes flown by Tango were the same as covered by Air Canada, and the airline simply moved to introduce lower, unbundled fare categories on mainline services. Air Canada even adopted the name Tango for its lowest fare products for many years after 2004.

This is quite different from what it did later with Air Canada Rouge, where it focussed instead on lower-yield leisure routes. Air Canada Rouge has changed since its launch in 2013, most notably dropping its widebody aircraft and long-haul routes in 2020, but still serves the same low-cost airline within an airline model that Tango introduced.

Did you ever fly with Air Canada Tango? Feel free to discuss more about the airline’s routes and service or Air Canada’s various subsidiaries over the years?