Air Canada Rouge Completes Transfer of Its First 737-8

‍KELOWNA — Air Canada (AC) has officially transferred the first of 45 Boeing 737-8 to its low-cost subsidiary Rouge (RV).

The first aircraft, C-FTJV (fin 501), was the first Boeing 737 MAX delivered to the Canadian flag carrier in October 2017 and completed its cabin refit in Kelowna (YLW) this week and will enter service in the coming weeks.

This marks the beginning of a fleet reshuffle at both mainline and RV that will see all 737s transferred to the subsidiary in exchange for Rouge’s current Airbus A321 fleet. All of RV’s A319 and A320, as well as seven former Lynx Air 737-8, will be withdrawn from the fleet.

What’s Happening?

45 line-fit Boeing 737-8 are being transferred to RV, a void in the mainline AC fleet that will be filled by Rouge’s 14 Airbus A321-200s, as well as incoming A220-300 and A321XLR orders from Airbus.

Before entering service with Rouge, the 737s are undergoing cabin refits to match the markets they will be serving. This means removing a row of business class (4 seats) and replacing it with 2 rows of economy class (12 seats).

The configuration will go from the old 16 business, 153 economy to 12 business, 165 economy. All physical on-board amenities will be maintained, including free WiFi, reclining seats, and seat-back entertainment, meaning overall, the hard product and experience will largely be the same as mainline, except for slightly less legroom for some rows.

These jets will not wear the full RV livery at first, but will only have a “Rouge” sticker on the forward fuselage next to the rondelle, similar to the “Express” branding on the carrier’s Jazz-operated regional fleet.

Air Canada aims to have all 45 jets transferred by year’s end.

Check out our November 2025 article for more details on Rouge’s fleet reshuffle.

Initial Routes

The first Rouge 737s will be based in Vancouver (YVR), a new base for the subsidiary since it pulled out during the COVID-19 pandemic. The base will serve both Vancouver and Calgary (YYC) beginning in March. Initial routes for winter 2026 (all from Vancouver (YVR)) are as follows:

Routes from Calgary to Puerto Vallarta and Cancun will also be launching later this year.