Air Canada Reports Strong Second Quarter Profit

Air Canada reported a 61 percent boost in net income for its second quarter as it flew more passengers, and operating revenue rose by 13 percent.

Net profit for the quarter to end June was CAD$300 million (USD$239.7 million), from CAD$186 million in the prior year period. Operating income edged up slightly to CAD$281 million on revenue of CAD$3.91 billion.

Air Canada’s chief executive Calin Rovinescu said the airline delivered record operating revenues, exceeding last year's results.

Air Canada carried 11.9 million passengers during the quarter, a 9.7 percent increase on 2Q16. It increased ASM capacity by 13.5 percent and saw RPM traffic rise by 13.6 percent. Load factor edged up by 0.1 of a percentage point to 82.5 percent.

“Demand continues to be robust in a stable fuel and pricing environment as we move into what has historically been our most important quarter given the travel demands and patterns of our North American customers,” Rovinescu said.

CASM (cost per available seat mile) operating costs rose 0.5 percent and yield fell 1.4 percent in the quarter. The airline paid 61.3 Canadian cents per litre of fuel, up from the 52.2 cents it paid in last year’s quarter.

Looking forward Air Canada expects adjusted CASM (a measure that excludes fuel expense, and special items) to decrease 1.5 to 2.5 percent in the third quarter. For the full year, the airline expects adjusted CASM to decrease by between 3.0 and 5.0 percent on last year.