Despite Air Canada controversy in 2023 with passenger experience & treatment, the airline has produced strong profits for 2023.
Whilst financial results were very strong for the airline, they will aim to utilise 2024 as a strategy to enhance the passenger experience further.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Strong Profits for Air Canada in 2023…
For the full-year 2023 period, Air Canada recorded operating income of C$2.279 billion from revenues of C$21.833 billion, which they believe is a reflection of strong demand for air travel domestically and internationally.
Adjusted 2023 EBITDA was recorded at $3.982 billion, which they have also said was at the higher end of the guidance they put out at the start of last year.
Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada said the following on the results:
“Air Canada produced very strong results for the fourth quarter and full year 2023, delivering on its key financial goals and strategic priorities.”
“For the full year, we had record operating revenues of $21.8 billion, up 32 per cent from 2022 as demand for air travel remained strong. Annual operating income was $2.3 billion; a $2.5 billion improvement from the previous year.”
“Our adjusted EBITDA was nearly $4 billion; more than twice that of full year 2022. These results stem from the effective management, hard work and customer centric approach of everyone at Air Canada.”
“I thank the entire team for their dedication as we safely transported more than 46 million passengers in 2023.”
“The focus on operational improvements was evident as, even with the growth in traffic and ongoing supply chain challenges, our key operational metrics and customer satisfaction improved year over year”.
[monsterinsights_popular_posts_inline]
Improving Passenger Experience Will Be A Priority for 2024…
Air Canada did come into the press throughout the Summer period last year over their approaches to passenger experiences.
More specifically, there was an issue back in August where a passenger with cerebral palsy was forced to disembark the aircraft on his own.
As a result of this, the Canadian Government fined the airline C$97,500 for the violation towards passengers with disabilities.
This caused widespread condemnation, controversy and significant PR damage to Air Canada, and understandably so.
On top of this, and this is something that Rousseau accepted and noted in the financial results, that customer service levels need to be enhanced.
“We also took important steps during the year to enable ourselves to continue performing consistently as we remain firmly committed to our plan and to enhancing our level of customer service, improving our operational reliability, strategically adding to our key hubs and network and growing profitably.”
Looking ahead, all eyes will be on what 2024 will look like for Air Canada, as well as whether passenger experience will be enhanced and fixed over this new period in the decade.
Click the banner to subscribe to our weekly newsleter.
Click the photo to join our WhatsApp channel so then you can stay up to date with everything going on in the aviation industry!
