Air Canada reported third quarter 2021 financial results.
"We are encouraged by the favourable revenue and traffic trends in the third quarter, with strong increases in key passenger geographic segments, a record cargo performance and significant improvements in both Air Canada Vacations and Aeroplan. The combination of these factors, along with effective cost controls, resulted in net cash flow of $153 million for the quarter, materially better than expected and as compared to the third quarter of 2020," said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada.
"Another major accomplishment was the series of financing transactions completed in August, allowing us to lower our cost of borrowing, extend the maturities of our corporate debt, and raise gross proceeds of about $7.1 billion. As a result, at the end of the third quarter of 2021, Air Canada had about $9.5 billion in available liquidity on its balance sheet. This strong liquidity position and the confidence it conveys is a core element of our long-term prospects as we rebuild our airline. We also have about $4.9 billion available under undrawn facilities.
"Since the start of the year we have recalled more than 10,000 employees. We have expanded services to the U.S., and have launched new routes, such as to Cairo. We also announced expansions of our services to India and South America as well as the return next summer of popular seasonal destinations such as Barcelona, Venice, Nice and Reykjavik. To support our network restoration, we have reversed our decision to cancel two Airbus A220 aircraft orders and are now accelerating deliveries of new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. For our customers, we are pleased to bring back amenities such as onboard meal service and Maple Leaf Lounges.
Air Canada plans to increase its fourth
quarter 2021 ASM capacity by about 135 per cent from the same quarter in 2020.
When compared to the same period in 2019, fourth quarter ASM capacity is
expected to decrease by about 47 per cent.
In light of the transition towards a post-pandemic environment and consistent with industry practice, Air Canada will not be providing net cash burn guidance going forward.
Air Canada will continue to adjust capacity and take other measures as required, including so as to account for passenger demand, public health guidelines, and travel restrictions globally, as well as other factors, such as inflation and other cost pressures.
“Air Canada Cargo is pleased to have reported record-breaking results for the third quarter of 2021. As the markets continue to show robustness, Air Canada Cargo remains committed to maintaining consistent cargo capacity to its customers on key trade lanes. Air Canada Cargo’s third quarter results of $366 million is an increase of 69 per cent vs. Q3 of 2020, and more than double the same quarter in 2019. At the close of the third quarter, Air Canada Cargo’s year-to-date results reached an incredible milestone of $1 billion, which is a record. And we continue to invest in key areas for Air Canada Cargo, including new technologies such as an Application Programming Interface (API) for our customers, enhancements to our cold chain facilities in Toronto and the upcoming arrival of our first dedicated Boeing 767-300ER freighter, which is to arrive later this year,” said Jason Berry, Vice President, Cargo, at Air Canada.
