ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. was a Canadian

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

that was the former parent company of

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...

. It was headquartered in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. In 2012, the company signified its intent to dissolve, and was dissolved in 2024.

History

ACE Aviation Holdings was created as

emerged from

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

in 2004; By the end of 2005, ACE completed restructuring and achieved reduced costs through outsourcing, automation and process simplification. One of the more significant changes was the merging of its six small airlines into Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz. ACE was not only a solution to Air Canada's bankruptcy, but also a strategic move by Robert Milton to create a portfolio of independent air transportation services companies out of what was Air Canada. Among the companies in addition to Air Canada which was taken public after formation of ACE was the

frequent flyer program A frequent-flyer programme (FFP) is a loyalty program offered by an airline. Many airlines have frequent-flyer programmes designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the programme to accumulate points (also called miles, kilometres, ...

Aeroplan. Aeroplan's initial public offering valued the company at , which was several times the valuation of the airline itself. In 2005, ACE contributed in equity investment to the merger of America West Holdings and US Airways Group, which resulted in US Airways emerging from its second bankruptcy. In 2008, ACE completed its divestment of Aeroplan and Air Canada's regional airline affiliate,

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. After these divestments, ACE retained a 75% stake in Air Canada and a 23% stake in Air Canada Technical Services. On May 9, 2012, the company received a certificate of intent to dissolve, marking the end of any future activities by the company. The company planned a wind up and distribution of its assets back to its shareholders by no earlier than mid-2013. While all of the core aviation assets have been disposed of, the corporate website continues to operate until all assets are fully disposed of. The company no longer has a board and executives, with all liquidation being managed by outside party

Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...

. , filings state that ACE Aviation Holdings consisted of only cash and cash equivalents amounting to a total of . On March 15, 2024, the company was dissolved.

Former operating divisions

* Aeroplan – former in-house rewards program sold off and was owned by Aimia, later rebought by

. *

– airline sold off * Air Canada Cargo – transferred to control under Air Canada * Air Canada Ground Handling Services – transferred to Air Canada * Jazz Aviation LP – sold off and now owned by Chorus Aviation and operates as contractor for Air Canada * Aveos Fleet Performance Inc. - formerly as Air Canada Technical Services before being renamed in 2008, acquired Air Canada Mechanics in 2011 and ceased operations in 2012 with remaining assets (equipment and Montreal facility) now acquired by Lockheed Martin Canada and AJW Technique. * Air Canada Vacations – transferred to Air Canada

References

Sources

* * * * *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ace Aviation Holdings Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Companies listed on the NEX Exchange Air Canada Companies based in Montreal Canadian companies established in 2004 Canadian companies disestablished in 2024 Airline holding companies of Canada Holding companies established in 2004