In the last month or so, there has been an aircraft causing a stir amongst enthusiasts. That is the Omni Air International 767 operating the Manchester-Toronto route for Air Canada.
As part of the Canadian carrier’s seasonal offering, the route began again on June 18, but not in its own branded airplane.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
N378AX: The Aircraft Operating on Behalf of Air Canada Between Manchester & Toronto…
Meet N378AX: A 27.2-year-old (At the time of writing) Boeing 767-300 that currently resides with Omni Air International.
The jet was first delivered to Alitalia as G-OITL & I-DEIL in April 1996 and remained with the Italian carrier until August 2009, when it was delivered to Omni Air, as per data from Planespotters.net.
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As per data from RadarBox, N378AX has been operating the Manchester-Toronto route for Air Canada since June 18 this year.
Typically, when airlines don’t have enough aircraft to service routes, they approach companies like Omni Air to operate it for them.
It has caused a stir amongst enthusiasts because the jet is blocked on ADS-B receivers due to matters of national security.
Omni Air International has contracts with the U.S. armed forces, particularly in the transportation of troops around the world.
In the meantime, however, the jet has and will continue to operate the Manchester-Toronto route for the Canadian carrier until the seasonality ends.
AviationSource has approached Air Canada for a comment on why this aircraft is being used on this route. They said the following on this:
“Air Canada has signed a short-term agreement to have Omni Air operate one route on its behalf for four weeks starting June 17.”
“Omni will fly five times weekly between Toronto and Manchester, a seasonal route. We are doing this to support our network during the busy summer season and for added resiliency.”
“Omni will operate this flight for Air Canada between June 17 and July 14.”
Either way, though, this has been an interesting movement for enthusiasts to spot and take photos of.
