Air Canada Reports March Load Factor on Record Volume of Passengers

Traffic increased 12.9 per cent on capacity increase of 11.1 per cent

MONTRÉAL, April 6, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - For the month of March, Air Canada reported a system load factor of 83.1 per cent, versus 81.7 per cent in March 2014, on a system-wide capacity increase of 11.1 per cent. On this additional capacity, system wide traffic for March increased 12.9 per cent for the month. Air Canada reports traffic results on a system-wide basis, including regional airlines from which Air Canada purchases capacity and Air Canada rouge®.

"I am pleased to report a load factor of 83.1 per cent for the month of March, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the previous year, and an increase in traffic of 12.9 per cent for the month," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Air Canada generated greater traffic in all markets resulting in an unprecedented volume of passengers transported for the month. Our traffic increase was led by significant growth in the U.S. transborder, Atlantic, Pacific and Latin American and Caribbean markets. These strong traffic results underscore the effectiveness of our commercial strategy focusing on international growth and the strategic deployment of Air Canada rouge to compete more effectively in leisure markets. I would like to thank our employees for their hard work, professionalism and dedication especially during this challenging month for all of us."

 


March

Q1


2015

2014

Change

2015

2014

Change

Traffic (RPMs mln)

5,469

4,843

+12.9%

14,937

13,465

+10.9%

Capacity (ASMs mln)

6,583

5,926

+11.1%

18,335

16,773

+9.3%

Load Factor

83.1%

81.7%

      +1.4 pts

81.5%

80.3%

      +1.2 pts









Canada

RPMs

1,362

1,297

+5.0%

3,805

3,664

+3.8%

ASMs

1,651

1,569

+5.2%

4,657

4,564

+2.0%

LF

82.5%

82.7%

      -0.2 pts

81.7%

80.3%

      +1.4 pts









US
Transborder

RPMs

1,215

1,008

+20.5%

3,191

2,710

+17.7%

ASMs

1,446

1,202

+20.3%

3,883

3,310

+17.3%

LF

84.1%

83.9%

      +0.2 pts

82.2%

81.9%

      +0.3 pts









Atlantic

RPMs

1,122

970

+15.7%

2,938

2,507

+17.2%

ASMs

1,420

1,305

+8.8%

3,860

3,485

+10.8%

LF

79.0%

74.3%

      +4.7 pts

76.1%

71.9%

      +4.2 pts









Pacific

RPMs

1,098

971

+13.1%

3,026

2,841

+6.5%

ASMs

1,268

1,152

+10.1%

3,621

3,366

+7.6%

LF

86.6%

84.3%

      +2.3 pts

83.6%

84.4%

      -0.8 pts









Latin
America &
Caribbean

RPMs

672

597

+12.6%

1,977

1,743

+13.4%

ASMs

798

698

+14.3%

2,314

2,048

+13.0%

LF

84.2%

85.5%

      -1.3 pts

85.4%

85.1%

      +0.3 pts

The calculation of passenger load factor is based on whole figures and not on rounded million.

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 190 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2014 served more than 38 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 Canadian cities, 52 destinations in the United States and 78 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,321 airports in 193 countries.  Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax that ranked Air Canada in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers as Best Airline in North America in 2014 for the fifth consecutive year.  For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com.

 

SOURCE Air Canada

For further information: Contacts : Isabelle Arthur (Montréal), 514 422-5788; Peter Fitzpatrick (Toronto), 416 263-5576; Angela Mah (Vancouver), 604 270-5741; Internet : aircanada.com