Soaring Q2 profits for Air Canada, as bookings continue to roll in

MONTREAL — Air Canada has released its Q2 results, underlining the carrier’s strong performance as the blockbuster 2023 recovery continues.

The airline’s operating revenues for Q2 were $5.427 billion, up 36% from the second quarter of 2022.

Operating income was $802 million, with an operating margin of 14.8%, compared to an operating loss of $253 million in the second quarter of 2022.

“Air Canada’s second quarter results were driven by strong demand and show the effectiveness of our plan. As a result of the hard work of our people, the appeal of our growing global network, as well as our leading brand and product offering, operating revenues in the quarter reached $5.4 billion, an increase of 36% from a year ago. Operating income was $802 million, a year-over-year improvement of over $1 billion, and our adjusted EBITDA reached $1.2 billion with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 22.5 per cent,” said Michael Rousseau, Air Canada’s President and CEO.

Air Canada carried over 11 million customers across its global network in the quarter, a year-over-year increase of about 23%.

Despite having more trained resources than last summer and improved tools, however, Rousseau acknowledged that Air Canada’s operations in June and July “were not at expected levels. We are increasing our efforts to protect the customer journey from disruption, regardless of the cause. This includes using any influence we have, in such instances as pilot attrition at our principal regional partner or global supply chain issues, or working to mitigate the effects of situations beyond our control, such as disruptive storm activity in our key hubs and markets. We are confident that our efforts will generate positive outcomes.”

Rousseau added that Air Canada was particularly pleased with its international performance, propelling nearly 70% of the year-over-year increase in passenger revenues.

Air Canada Vacations continued to see high demand for leisure travel packages, and Aeroplan added compelling new partners and grew its membership.

Based on current passenger booking patterns, Rousseau said Air Canada sees prevailing strength in travel demand over the second half of 2023. “We continue to focus intently on cost discipline and liquidity management. We ended the quarter with more than $9.6 billion in cash, cash equivalents and investments. This will enable us to further invest in our business, deleverage our balance sheet and ensure our company maintains the resiliency and adaptability needed for long-term success and to navigate through evolving market conditions,” he said.