Air Canada Reports March Load Factor

MONTREAL, April 4, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - For the month of March, Air Canada reported a system load factor of 81.5 per cent, versus 79.5 per cent in March 2011, an increase of 2.0 percentage points.  System traffic increased 4.8 per cent on a system-wide capacity increase of 2.2 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 March, Air Canada reported a system load factor of 81.5 per cent, an increase of two percentage points from the previous year," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Led by an increase in traffic in the Atlantic market of 10.2 per cent, we generated greater traffic in all markets Air Canada serves, with system wide growth of 4.8 per cent on a capacity increase of 2.2 per cent through higher utilization of our existing fleet.  I thank our customers for their ongoing loyalty to Air Canada, something which we do not take for granted.  I also thank those employees who have worked doubly hard to take care of our customers during this busy travel period marked by a range of operational challenges."

  March Q1
  2012 2011 Change 2012 2011 Change
Traffic (RPMs mln) 4,621 4,411 +4.8% 12,946 12,355 +4.8%
Capacity (ASMs mln) 5,668 5,546 +2.2% 16,344 15,859 +3.1%
Load Factor 81.5% 79.5% +2.0 pts 79.2% 77.9% +1.3 pts
               
Canada RPMs 1,220 1,212 +0.7% 3,539 3,408 +3.8%
ASMs 1,495 1,515 -1.3% 4,419 4,333 +2.0%
LF 81.6% 80.0% +1.6 pts 80.1% 78.7% +1.4 pts
               
US
Transborder
RPMs 924 873 +5.8% 2,538 2,367 +7.2%
ASMs 1,135 1,087 +4.4% 3,235 3,048 +6.1%
LF 81.4% 80.3% +1.1 pts 78.5% 77.7% +0.8 pts
               
Atlantic RPMs 951 863 +10.2% 2,422 2,287 +5.9%
ASMs 1,193 1,143 +4.4% 3,334 3,227 +3.3%
LF 79.7% 75.5% +4.2 pts 72.6% 70.9% +1.7 pts
               
Pacific RPMs 799 771 +3.6% 2,285 2,207 +3.5%
ASMs 940 926 +1.5% 2,713 2,652 +2.3%
LF 85.0%      83.3% +1.7pts 84.2% 83.2% +1.0 pts
               
Other* RPMs 727 692 +5.1% 2,162 2,086 +3.6%
ASMs 905 875 +3.4% 2,643      2,599 +1.7%
LF 80.3% 79.1% +1.2 pts 81.8% 80.3% +1.5 pts

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

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 180 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 60 Canadian cities, 57 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 1,290 destinations in 189 countries. In 2011, 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.

 

For further information:

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

Internet :  aircanada.com