Air Canada Reports Record October Load Factor

MONTREAL, Nov. 5, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - For the month of October, Air Canada reported a record system load factor of 82.9 per cent, versus 79.4 per cent in October 2011, an increase of 3.5 percentage points.  System traffic increased 4.9 per cent on a system-wide capacity increase of 0.4 per cent. Air Canada reports traffic results on a system-wide basis, including regional airlines from which Air Canada purchases capacity.

"For the month of October, Air Canada reported a record load factor of 82.9 per cent, an increase of 3.5 percentage points from the previous year," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This record load factor for the month and strong traffic results overall underscore the effectiveness of our ongoing disciplined approach to managing capacity and our award-winning product that continues to earn customers' loyalty.  Led by increases in traffic on Atlantic, Pacific and domestic Canada routes of 7.1, 6.8 and 5.0 per cent, respectively, system traffic grew 4.9 per cent while overall capacity increased 0.4 per cent.  I thank our employees whose professionalism and dedication was brought to bear in taking care of our customers and transporting them safely to their destinations during the recent severe weather conditions in the U.S. northeast."

 
  October Year-To-Date
  2012 2011 Change 2012 2011 Change
Traffic (RPMs mln) 4,500 4,290 +4.9% 47,572 46,449 +2.4%
Capacity (ASMs mln) 5,425 5,405 +0.4% 57,210 56,575 +1.1%
Load Factor 82.9% 79.4% +3.5 pts 83.2% 82.1% +1.1 pts
               
Canada RPMs 1,373 1,308 +5.0% 13,945 13,570 +2.8%
ASMs 1,650 1,622 +1.7% 16,917 16,700 +1.3%
LF 83.2% 80.6% +2.6 pts 82.4% 81.3% +1.1 pts
               
US
Transborder
RPMs 653 634 +3.0% 7,511 7,304 +2.8%
ASMs 831 833 -0.2% 9,544 9,302 +2.6%
LF 78.6% 76.1% +2.5 pts 78.7% 78.5% +0.2 pts
               
Atlantic RPMs 1,177 1,099 +7.1% 12,291 12,087 +1.7%
ASMs 1,445 1,444 +0.1% 14,706 14,704 0.0%
LF 81.5% 76.1% +5.4 pts 83.6% 82.2% +1.4 pts
               
Pacific RPMs 898 841 +6.8% 8,508 8,260 +3.0%
ASMs 981 989 -0.8% 9,586 9,465 +1.3%
LF 91.5% 85.0% +6.5 pts 88.8% 87.3% +1.5 pts
               
Other* RPMs 399 408 -2.2% 5,317 5,228 +1.7%
ASMs 518 517 +0.2% 6,457 6,404 +0.8%
LF 77.0% 78.9% -1.9 pts 82.3% 81.6% +0.7 pts

* Includes Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 175 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and in 2011 served more than 33 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 59 Canadian cities, 56 destinations in the United States and 63 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America.  Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,356 destinations in 193 countries. In 2012, Air Canada was ranked Best International Airline in North America in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers conducted by independent research firm Skytrax. 

 

SOURCE: AIR CANADA - CORPORATE - FINANCE

For further information:

Isabelle Arthur (Montréal)  514 422-5788
Peter Fitzpatrick (Toronto)  416 263-5576
Angela Mah (Vancouver)  604 270-5741

Internet :  aircanada.com