While Rouge’s growth is limited to having 50 aircraft by the end of 2017, because of collective agreements, the Montreal-based carrier says it’s interested in expanding the unit and plans to hold talks with the pilots’ union when Rouge edges closer to its ceiling.

Air Canada chief executive officer Calin Rovinescu said it’s too early for him to speculate on whether Air Canada will decide to increase the size of Rouge’s fleet, but he welcomed the opportunity to explore the issue.

“This has been the great thing that has come out of our relationship with the pilot group – that we can have this kind of dialogue and come out with a win-win scenario,” he said during a conference call on Friday with industry analysts. “There is certainly a business case to be made for it, and we’ll look to have that discussion in the fullness of time.”