The Montreal-based company boosted its adjusted earnings expectations to between $3.5 billion and $4 billion from $2.5 billion to $3 billion. Lower-than-expected current jet fuel prices prompted Air Canada last week to raise its financial forecast for the year. Meanwhile, thanks to higher rates, the interest expense on Air Canada's $6.5-billion net debt rose 17 per cent to $245 million year over year, even though the carrier had reduced that debt by a half-billion dollars.īut that leverage is dropping faster than anticipated, analysts say, with the airline's net debt ratio sitting at 3.2 times at the end of the quarter compared to 5.1 times at the end of 2022. That owes partly to a 30 per cent increase in the cost of jet fuel over the past year as well as greater maintenance and labour expenses.
#CARGO SHIP EXECUTIVE ASSAULT 2 FULL#
Only four of those freighters were in use, while other planes that had temporarily converted to cargo shipping reverted to passenger trips as China reopened and e-commerce and consumer demand scaled back.Ĭhief financial officer Amos Kazzaz, slated to step down on June 30, noted that "the cost world is different" than before 2020, with everything from airplane food to ground handlers toting a higher price tag.Īir Canada's $4-million profit was a far cry from its first-quarter net earnings of $345 million in 2019, the last full year untouched by COVID-19. Its shipping business added five more cargo planes to the sole Boeing 767 freighter it operated a year ago, though cargo revenues dropped 40 per cent year over year. The airline's load factor - the percentage of seats filled - jumped to 85 per cent last quarter from two-thirds the year before.Īir Canada Vacations, the carrier's tour package business, yielded "remarkable results," the CEO said.
Apart from the weather disruptions that can affect all aspects of the air transport system, it usually comes with high traffic flows, particularly with a spring break peak," Rousseau told analysts on a conference call Friday.ĭespite an uncertain economic outlook - and the carrier's on-time arrival rate of 57 per cent in March versus 70 per cent in March 2019 - Air Canada's sustained profits over the past half-year hint at a return to stability for an industry devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdowns, border closures and travel restrictions tanked demand. "The winter and the start of the spring can be very challenging in North America, especially Canada. They hit $5.3 billion at the end of March, up from $4.1 billion a year earlier. Net income amounted to $4 million, in stark contrast to $974 million in losses a year ago.Ĭhief executive Michael Rousseau said the results for the three months ended March 31 beat out all expectations for a traditionally weaker quarter, and that he believes demand will persist amid strong advance bookings for the rest of the year. MONTREAL - Air Canada reported that first-quarter revenue nearly doubled compared with a year earlier as travellers hopped back on airplanes en masse - even as higher costs tamped down net earnings.īuoyed by a record $4.9 billion in revenue, the quarter marked the second in a row where the carrier has turned a profit following 11 straight quarters of losses totalling $10.1 billion.
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