LONDON – Air Canada has exceeded pre-pandemic movement numbers based on RadarBox.com’s seven-day rolling average.
Despite a tumultuous Summer period dealing with staff shortages and airport disruption, the carrier has been able to keep its movement statistics up.
Without further ado, let’s get into the numbers…
The Numbers…
For October 29-November 5, the carrier achieved 831 movements, which is an increase of 22.03% compared to the same period last year.
The data also shows that Air Canada has exceeded pre-pandemic numbers by 84 movements, which is a strong start in the face of the carrier moving onwards to future growth.
Below is the last four weeks’ worth of data:
| Date | 2019 Numbers | 2021 Numbers | 2022 Numbers | Percentage Difference (2022 vs. 2021) |
| October 1-8 | 818 movements | 701 movements | 922 movements | +31.53% |
| October 8-15 | 844 movements | 682 movements | 909 movements | +33.28% |
| October 15-22 | 826 movements | 674 movements | 902 movements | +33.83% |
| October 21-29 | 759 movements | 673 movements | 889 movements | +32.10% |
What we can see from the data is that Air Canada has been comfortably exceeding pre-pandemic numbers for the last four weeks and does appear to have been the same since June of this year.
Things Are On The Up…
Things definitely appear to be on the up for Air Canada, especially after their positive third-quarter results, which were unveiled back in October.
Reporting a positive $644 million in operating income and a strong operating margin of 12.1 percent, this was the first quarter since the onset of the pandemic when Air Canada delivered such numbers.
Chief Operating Officer Michael Rousseau said: “Air Canada’s solid third-quarter results stem from the ongoing restoration of our extensive network, an improved operational performance, our modern and efficient fleet, as well as leading products and services, and an incredible team of employees.”
When comparing this year’s results against that of a year ago, their operating capacity, which is measured by ‘Available Seat Miles’, has more than doubled.
Capacity is at 79% of what it was in the same quarter in 2019. Passenger revenues are close to being at the same place as Q3 in 2019, with $4.818 billion in revenue representing approximately 94% of the revenues that were made pre-pandemic.
Looking towards Q4 2022, Air Canada hopes to have its Available Seat Miles figure at 73 percent of the 2019 result and forecasts to end the year at 85 percent of its 2019 fourth quarter number.
Its forward-looking projections assume that jet fuel will average out at a cost of $1.33 Canadian dollars per liter for the year.
Overall…
It remains clear that Air Canada is enjoying a spell of positive environments, as the higher flight movement statistics are reflecting more positive financial results for the carrier.
The Winter 2022/23 season will be an interesting one for the carrier, especially for tourists who wish to visit Canada during the very snowy months.
But for now, Air Canada can sit back and reap the benefits but must continue on this path in order to continue its successes going into the medium and long-term future.
