Air Canada trims Q1 loss, triples revenue amid COVID recovery
Air Canada reported a first-quarter loss of $974 million compared with a loss of $1.30 billion a year earlier as its revenue more than tripled.
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau says the year-over-year improvement in the airline’s results is clear evidence that a recovery is underway.
He says the year began with weakness due to the Omicron variant and travel restrictions, but rebounded in March with passenger volumes topping the December levels and ticket sales in the month more than 90 per cent of March 2019 levels.
The airline says its loss for the three months ended March 31 totalled $2.72 per diluted share, compared with a loss of $3.90 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2021.
Revenue totalled $2.57 billion, compared with $729 million in the first three months of last year.
Air Canada says its first-quarter cost per available seat mile was 21.8 cents, compared with 42.2 cents a year earlier, while its adjusted cost per available seat mile was 15.6 cents, compared with 40.4 cents in the first quarter of 2021.
© 2022 The Canadian Press