Delivery of new transport planes behind schedule, air force confirms

Canada's air force says delivery of two new transport aircraft is taking longer than expected.

Last year, the RCAF bought two used Airbus A-330 wide-body passenger planes from Kuwait Airways.

The government pegged the value of the contract at $102 million US.

The new aircraft were supposed to arrive in Canada last winter. Until just a few weeks ago, one of the aircraft was still flying from Kuwait City.

"This minor delay won't impact project cost or operational capacity for the RCAF," said department spokesperson Jessica Lamirande.

A senior defence source said the Airbus purchase is proceeding as expected and the delay was likely due to supply chain issues with maintenance and painting contractors.

After both aircraft have received maintenance checks in Basel, Switzerland, they'll be repainted in Chateauroux, France, the home of Satys Aerospace, which specializes in repainting large aircraft.

The first Airbus to be delivered will be painted in the red, white and blue colour scheme that was unveiled for the prime minister's aircraft ten years ago by the Harper government.

The second Airbus will be painted in a glossy grey used by some of the current Polaris fleet.

The first of the two Airbus A-330s is expected to arrive at CFB Trenton sometime over the summer. The second is set to arrive by the fall.

According to the flight tracking website Flight Aware, the first Airbus arrived in Basel three months ago. It has since been moved to Chateauroux for painting.

The second Airbus arrived in Basel for its maintenance checks from Kuwait City late last month.

A spokesperson for AMAC Aerospace in Basel, which provides aircraft maintenance, told CBC News the company won't comment on its customers without their permission.

These new aircraft will start the replacement of the RCAF's fleet of five smaller Airbus A-310s.

These five Polaris aircraft were built for Wardair in the late 1980s.

They formed the backbone of Canada's strategic transport fleet for many years, flying troops and cargo around the world. Many military and civilian users have been retiring their A-310s as they become harder to maintain.

The prime minister and the Governor General use Polaris 001 for overseas travel. It's not clear when it will be replaced.

This aircraft contains a VIP section which resembles the interior of an aging R/V.

Polaris 001 "is undergoing regularly scheduled, intensive maintenance until the end of June," said Capt. Yvette Mills of the RCAF. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took another Polaris to attend the coronation of King Charles and the G7 summit in Japan.

Canada's new A-330 aircraft will be able to carry at least 80 more people and fly more than 3,000 kilometres further than the Polaris aircraft they will replace. That allows the RCAF to fly the same overseas routes as Air Canada, without having to stop to refuel.

The model is popular with other NATO nations and is used to ferry the U.K. prime minister on trips abroad.

It is also used by Air Transat, while Air Canada uses a slightly larger version.

After they arrive in Canada, the Airbus A-330s will be sent on to an Airbus military facility in Getafe, Spain for further modifications.

Among other things, both aircraft will be turned into tankers capable of refueling NATO aircraft in-flight.

Overseas flights are controversial because of their high carbon footprint — an optics problem for the Trudeau government, which has made fighting climate change a political priority.

Airbus does offer a more fuel efficient version of the Airbus A-330 called the NEO, but it costs tens of millions of dollars more than a used aircraft.