Business cabin recovery primarily driven by leisure and loyalty program redemptions >>
Air Canada’s non-contracted business travel has rebounded, providing encouragement about prospects in the business cabin going forward, according to Mark Galardo, executive vice president of revenue and network planning, speaking on a first quarter earnings call.
While saying that the recovery has plateaued a little on the corporate front, the carrier is seeing a significant business cabin recovery, according to Galardo. That trend, he said, is driven primarily by a combination of leisure travel and loyalty program redemptions, contributing to a better mix in 2023 as against 2019.
Amos Kazzaz, who will be retiring as CEO on June 30, said that a series of distribution changes to drive customers to NDC channels and new commercial arrangements with industry providers will create cost transformation opportunities. Additional investments in digital technologies, according to executives, include new dynamic boarding passes, biometric facial recognition technology in airports and the ability to pre-order meals through the carrier’s website and mobile app.
Air Canada reported record first-quarter passenger revenue of $3 billion, representing more than double the figure from the first quarter of 2022. The carrier also had record first-quarter total revenue of $3.63 billion, a 90% increase year over year and about 10% higher than the first quarter of 2019. The net income of $2.97 million compares with a net loss of $722 million the previous year.
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