Zip (airline)

Zip
IATA ICAO Callsign
3J WZP ZIPPER
Founded September 2002
Ceased operations September 2004
Fleet size 12
Parent company Air Canada
Headquarters Calgary International Airport Calgary, Alberta
Key people Steve Smith
Website 4321ZIP.com
A Zip Boeing 737-200 in the fuchsia livery

Zip was a Canadian discount airline headquartered in Hangar 101 at Calgary International Airport, Calgary, Alberta.[1] It was 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 bright, neon colour (blue, fuchsia, green, and orange) with a single class of service. The subsidiary was headed by former WestJet CEO, Steve Smith.[2]

As a direct competition to Canada's leading low-cost carrier WestJet, Zip flew mostly between the western cities of Abbotsford, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg.[3]

Zip ceased operations in September 2004 when Air Canada resumed a full schedule on its western routes.[4]

Branding

Zip was known for branding its advertising with 3 character words. Among them, "yuk" was printed on the air sickness bags, "bag" was printed on the personal baggage tags, and "yum" was printed on the napkins distributed with beverages on board. Large print advertisements were erected in many cities, which simply said "fly" and the company's website below, 4321zip.com. Today, the website redirects to the official Air Canada website, along with other subsidiaries' websites.

Fleet

A Zip Boeing 737-200 in the blue livery

Zip operated a fleet consisting entirely of Boeing 737-200 aircraft, all obtained from the existing Air Canada fleet.[5] When Zip shut down in 2004, the aircraft were retired.[4]

Air Canada Zip Fleet
Aircraft Number Passengers
(Executive*/Economy)		 Notes
Boeing 737-200 12 118 retired after 2004

Livery

Zip's aircraft were painted in bright, neon colours on the fuselage, tail, and engines. Specifically, the colours blue, fuchsia, green, and orange were painted.

The fuselage was painted in the aircraft's colour, except for a white silhouette of a bee, with white dots trailing it. These dots extended to the back to the fuselage, leading to the tail of the aircraft, where Zip's logo was painted. On the engines, Zip's website, 4321zip.com was printed in white.

Destinations

A Zip Boeing 737-200 in the green livery

As of August 2004, Zip served the following destinations:[6][3]

CityAirportNotes
Calgary, AlbertaCalgary International AirportLaunch Destination, Headquarters
Edmonton, AlbertaEdmonton International AirportLaunch Destination
Montreal, QuebecMontréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
Ottawa, OntarioOttawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport
Regina, SaskatchewanRegina International Airport
Saskatoon, SaskatchewanSaskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport
Vancouver, British ColumbiaVancouver International AirportLaunch Destination
Victoria, British ColumbiaVictoria International Airport
Winnipeg, ManitobaWinnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International AirportLaunch Destination

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Directory:World airlines." Flight International. 1–7 April 2003. ""Zhejiang Airlines" p. 98. "Hangar 101, 8050 22 Street North East, Calgary, Alberta, T2E 7H6, Canada"
  2. ↑ Pigg, Susan. "Zip, WestJet in fare war that could hurt them both ; Move follows competition bureau ruling Battle could intensify when Zip flies eastward." Toronto Star. January 22, 2003. Business C01. Retrieved on September 30, 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Zip enters no-frills airline war". CBC News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2004. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Air Canada's Zip shut down". January 10th, 2014. CBC Canada.
  5. ↑ Weber, Terry. "Air Canada to open Zip". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "Zip - Canada's low fare, high value airline". Zip. Archived from the original on 14 August 2004. Retrieved 1 September 2018.

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