Air Canada’s corporate demand has “stabilized a little bit,” according to Lucie Guillemette, chief commercial officer, speaking on a fourth quarter earnings call.
That demand, said Guillemette, is down around 30% for North America compared with 2019, but the carrier, she added, is a seeing a steady growth in corporate business for international markets.
Guillemette said that while the airline would like to see corporate demand come back to higher levels, there is improvement from a revenue standpoint because of the new products and strong bookings in premium cabins.
Membership in the carrier’s Aeroplan frequent flyer program is at an all-time high, said Guillemette, and continues to grow. Gross billings from points sold to third parties were up nearly 50% over the fourth quarter in 2019. And the airline also saw a 50% growth in total points redeemed over the same comparable period.
The carrier continues to make solid progress with its strategy of growing Aeroplan by diversifying beyond Canada, according to Guillemette. In 2022, international gross billings were 76% higher than in 2019, making up an increased share of Aeroplan’s third-party billings.
The airline plans to operate approximately 84% of first quarter 2019 capacity at the beginning of this year, said Guillemette, and is aiming to reach 90% of 2019 levels for full-year 2023. Ticket sales in the fourth quarter of 2022 were 102% above those in the same period of 2019 on less capacity, and these sales remain strong in all services and in all cabins in 2023.
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