MONTREAL, Jan. 7, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - For the month of December 2012, Air Canada reported a record system load factor of 82.1 per cent, versus 81.0 per cent in December 2011, an increase of 1.1 percentage points.  System traffic increased 3.2 per cent on a system-wide capacity increase of 1.8 per cent. For the full year 2012, load factor was a record 82.7 per cent, versus 81.6 per cent, an increase of 1.1 percentage points.  Air Canada reports traffic results on a system-wide basis, including regional airlines from which Air Canada purchases capacity.

"For both the month of December and full year 2012, Air Canada achieved record load factors of 82.1 and 82.7 per cent, respectively," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Led by increases in traffic in the U.S. transborder market of 6.6 per cent and in the Atlantic market of 5.1 per cent, Air Canada generated greater traffic for the month of December in all markets the airline serves with system wide growth of 3.2 per cent on a capacity increase of 1.8 per cent through higher utilization of our existing fleet.  These strong results, for both the month and full year, underscore the effectiveness of Air Canada's disciplined capacity management and our award winning product.  I want to thank our employees for taking care of the more than 33 million customers Air Canada served in 2012 and, above all, transporting them safely to their destination. Their professionalism and efforts in earning our customers' loyalty have been recognized by many industry awards, including the selection of Air Canada by frequent world travelers as the Best International Airline in North America."

In 2012, Air Canada was ranked for a third consecutive year "Best International Airline in North America" in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers conducted by independent research firm Skytrax.  According to the 2012 Canadian Business Travel Survey conducted by Ipsos Reid, Air Canada was the preferred airline for more than 79 percent of frequent business travellers in Canada.  In 2012, readers of Global Traveler magazine voted Air Canada "Best Airline in North America," the readers of Business Traveler voted Air Canada "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best In-Flight Services in North America," and the readers of Premier Traveler voted Air Canada "Best North American Airline for Business Class Service," "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and "Best Flight Attendants in North America."

* 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 2012 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 1,329 destinations in 194 countries.

SOURCE: AIR CANADA