Zip (airline)

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This article is about the now-defunct Canadian discount airline. For the present-day Japanese low-cost airline, see Zipair Tokyo.
Zip
IATA ICAO Call sign
3J WZP ZIPPER
FoundedSeptember 22, 2002 (2002-09-22)
Ceased operationsSeptember 2004 (2004-09)
(re-integrated into Air Canada)
Frequent-flyer programAeroplan
AllianceStar Alliance (affiliate; 2002–2004)
Parent companyAir Canada
HeadquartersHangar 101, Calgary International Airport, Calgary, Alberta
Key peopleSteve Smith
Website4321ZIP.com

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

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A Zip Boeing 737-200 in the fuchsia livery

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.

Destinations

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A Zip Boeing 737-200 in the green livery

As of August 2004, Zip served the following destinations:[5][3]

City Airport Notes
Abbotsford, British Columbia Abbotsford International Airport
Calgary, Alberta Calgary International Airport Launch Destination, Headquarters
Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton International Airport Launch Destination
Montreal, Quebec Montréal–Dorval International Airport
Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport
Regina, Saskatchewan Regina International Airport
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver International Airport Launch Destination
Victoria, British Columbia Victoria International Airport
Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport Launch Destination

Fleet

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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.[6]

Zip Fleet
Aircraft Number Passengers
(Executive*/Economy) 		Notes
Boeing 737-200 20 118
Total 20

Livery

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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.

Towards the end of the airline, some aircraft were painted in a different livery. The main fuselage was white, with a small bee on the side of the nose. The 4321zip.com website was printed on the fuselage as well. The tail sectioned retained the same logo but with striping on the back. These were also in the original colors of blue, fuchsia, orange and green.

One aircraft was painted in a special Christmas livery with a red nose, a smile under the nose, and a large red & white striped scarf stretching down the fuselage.

See also

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References

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  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. ^ a b "Zip enters no-frills airline war". CBC News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2004. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Air Canada's Zip shut down". January 10th, 2014. CBC Canada.
  5. ^ "Zip - Canada's low fare, high value airline". Zip. Archived from the original on 14 August 2004. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  6. ^ Weber, Terry (19 April 2002). "Air Canada to open Zip". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
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