AIR CANADA has revealed plans to close the second of its low-cost arms, as it continues to restructure its activities while under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Canadian national carrier integrated the operations of its Toronto-based subsidiary Tango into its mainline activities earlier this year and will now complete a similar process with Calgary-based Zip. According to the airline's chief executive officer Robert Milton, the significant cost savings the company has achieved through its restructuring has made the need for a separate arm no longer necessary as employees of the two brands now have almost identical terms of contract. Air Canada has been forced to significantly modify its business model over the past year to overcome what has been the biggest crisis of its history. However, a welcome boost for the airline, will be the delivery this month of the first of two new Airbus A340-500s. The airline has been due to be launch customer for the long-range model but was forced to defer delivery of the aircraft due to its financial worries. Air Canada will now take delivery of its first aircraft in late June, with the second following in mid-July. They will be used to launch a new Toronto-Hong Kong service from August 1 but until then will be used on domestic and some transatlantic services for crew familiarisation.
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