Air Canada confirms losses
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Canadian national carrier Air Canada has confirmed the losses it disclosed in its preliminary results last month.
Overall the carrier had a net loss of US$143 million in the first quarter of 2013 compared to 2012’s net loss of US$162 million.
Calin Rovinescu the president and chief executive officer of Air Canada released the following statement: “In the quarter we made progress towards the sustainable transformation of Air Canada by narrowing our net loss as compared to the previous year. In addition, we reached an important agreement with the Government of Canada on extending Air Canada’s pension funding arrangements to 30 January, 2021. This was then followed last week by the launch and pricing of a private offering of enhanced equipment trust certificates (EETCs) – a first for a Canadian airline.
“While the first quarter’s loss was narrowed compared to the previous year, the quarter fell short of our expectations, in part due to a decline in premium travel demand. We are encouraged to see an improvement in second quarter economy and premium class cabin booking trends which are running above last year’s levels, although the yield environment remains challenging. We remain focused on executing on our plan to increase value for our stakeholders and to continue to reduce our cost structure with the upcoming deliveries of five additional Boeing 777 aircraft, the launch of our leisure carrier Air Canada rouge, the transfer of Embraer 175 regional aircraft to Sky Regional, and the development of our international network with Toronto Pearson as its North American gateway airport. Along with ongoing initiatives for revenue generation and cost control, we are confident of continued improvements and a successful performance for the year ahead. I thank our 27,000 employees for their commitment to taking care of our customers and their dedication to helping ensure Air Canada’s long term success.”