Air Canada beats expectations, reports profits despite lagging performance and flight delays

Air Canada greatly beat analyst estimates for its second quarter results, reporting operating income of $802 million compares to an operating loss of $253 million the year before, the company said on Friday.

However, Michael Rousseau, Air Canada’s chief executive officer said “despite having more trained resources than last summer and improved tools, our operations in June and July were not at expected levels,” referring to flight delays and cancellation that have plagued Canada’s largest airline.

Speaking on a conference call with analysts, Rosseau blamed “pilot attrition” and “supply chain issues” as well as unmanageable factors like storm activity for the airline’s declining performance, adding that the company is “increasing efforts to protect the customer journey from disruption.”

Hit terribly by COVID-caused border closures and travel restrictions, Air Canada’s reported $4.9 billion in revenue, indicating that Canada’s largest airline is on the path to salvage the financial ruin brought on by the pandemic as travelers return to flying after a somber three years.

This is only the airline’s second quarter to turn a profit, after 11 straight quarters of losses totaling $10.1 billion. Despite flight tardiness that included delays and cancellations in the second quarter, Air Canada’s earnings soared to post pandemic levels.

On an adjusted basis, Air Canada said it lost 53 cents per diluted share last quarter, however, analysts had estimated for an adjusted loss of 74 cents per share, according to estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

“Air Canada’s second quarter results were driven by strong demand and show the effectiveness of our plan,” Rousseau said.

Rahat Sandhu