MONTREAL, Jan. 7, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - For the month of December 2012,
Air Canada reported a record system load factor of 82.1 per cent,
versus 81.0 per cent in December 2011, an increase of 1.1 percentage
points. System traffic increased 3.2 per cent on a system-wide
capacity increase of 1.8 per cent. For the full year 2012, load factor
was a record 82.7 per cent, versus 81.6 per cent, an increase of 1.1
percentage points. Air Canada reports traffic results on
a system-wide basis, including regional airlines from which Air Canada
purchases capacity.
"For both the month of December and full year 2012, Air Canada achieved
record load factors of 82.1 and 82.7 per cent, respectively," said
Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Led by
increases in traffic in the U.S. transborder market of 6.6 per cent and
in the Atlantic market of 5.1 per cent, Air Canada generated greater
traffic for the month of December in all markets the airline serves
with system wide growth of 3.2 per cent on a capacity increase of 1.8
per cent through higher utilization of our existing fleet. These
strong results, for both the month and full year, underscore the
effectiveness of Air Canada's disciplined capacity management and our
award winning product. I want to thank our employees for taking care
of the more than 33 million customers Air Canada served in 2012 and,
above all, transporting them safely to their destination. Their
professionalism and efforts in earning our customers' loyalty have been
recognized by many industry awards, including the selection of Air
Canada by frequent world travelers as the Best International Airline in
North America."
In 2012, Air Canada was ranked for a third consecutive year "Best
International Airline in North America" in a worldwide survey of more
than 18 million airline passengers conducted by independent research
firm Skytrax. According to the 2012 Canadian Business Travel Survey
conducted by Ipsos Reid, Air Canada was the preferred airline for more
than 79 percent of frequent business travellers in Canada. In 2012,
readers of Global Traveler magazine voted Air Canada "Best Airline in North America," the readers
of Business Traveler voted Air Canada "Best North American Airline for International Travel"
and "Best In-Flight Services in North America," and the readers of Premier Traveler voted Air Canada "Best North American Airline for Business Class
Service," "Best North American Airline for International Travel" and
"Best Flight Attendants in North America."
|
|
DECEMBER
|
Q4
|
YEAR-TO-DATE
|
|
2012
|
2011
|
Change
|
2012
|
2011
|
Change
|
2012
|
2011
|
Change
|
Traffic (RPMs mln)
|
4,394
|
4,256
|
+3.2%
|
12,574
|
12,064
|
+4.2%
|
55,646
|
54,223
|
+2.6%
|
Capacity (ASMs mln)
|
5,349
|
5,253
|
+1.8%
|
15,485
|
15,290
|
+1.3%
|
67,271
|
66,460
|
+1.2%
|
Load Factor
|
82.1%
|
81.0%
|
+1.1 pts
|
81.2%
|
78.9%
|
+2.3 pts
|
82.7%
|
81.6%
|
+1.1 pts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Canada
|
RPMs
|
1,272
|
1,259
|
+1.0%
|
3,831
|
3,708
|
+3.3%
|
16,403
|
15,971
|
+2.7%
|
ASMs
|
1,520
|
1,550
|
-1.9%
|
4,591
|
4,588
|
+0.1%
|
19,858
|
19,666
|
+1.0%
|
LF
|
83.7%
|
81.2%
|
+2.5 pts
|
83.4%
|
80.8%
|
+2.6 pts
|
82.6%
|
81.2%
|
+1.4 pts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
US Transborder
|
RPMs
|
771
|
723
|
+6.6%
|
2,063
|
1,979
|
+4.2%
|
8,921
|
8,649
|
+3.1%
|
ASMs
|
1,020
|
958
|
+6.5%
|
2,696
|
2,625
|
+2.7%
|
11,409
|
11,094
|
+2.8%
|
LF
|
75.6%
|
75.5%
|
+0.1 pts
|
76.5%
|
75.4%
|
+1.1 pts
|
78.2%
|
78.0%
|
+0.2 pts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Atlantic
|
RPMs
|
933
|
888
|
+5.1%
|
2,837
|
2,687
|
+5.6%
|
13,951
|
13,675
|
+2.0%
|
ASMs
|
1,109
|
1,100
|
+0.8%
|
3,583
|
3,580
|
+0.1%
|
16,845
|
16,839
|
0%
|
LF
|
84.1%
|
80.7%
|
+3.4 pts
|
79.2%
|
75.1%
|
+4.1 pts
|
82.8%
|
81.2%
|
+1.6 pts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pacific
|
RPMs
|
806
|
792
|
+1.8%
|
2,403
|
2,287
|
+5.1%
|
10,013
|
9,706
|
+3.2%
|
ASMs
|
944
|
909
|
+3.9%
|
2,779
|
2,716
|
+2.3%
|
11,383
|
11,192
|
+1.7%
|
LF
|
85.4%
|
87.1%
|
-1.7 pts
|
86.5%
|
84.2%
|
+2.3 pts
|
88.0%
|
86.7%
|
+1.3 pts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other*
|
RPMs
|
612
|
594
|
+3.0%
|
1,440
|
1,403
|
+2.6%
|
6,358
|
6,222
|
+2.2%
|
ASMs
|
756
|
736
|
+2.7%
|
1,836
|
1,781
|
+3.1%
|
7,776
|
7,669
|
+1.4%
|
LF
|
81.0%
|
80.7%
|
+0.3 pts
|
78.4%
|
78.8%
|
-0.4 pts
|
81.8%
|
81.1%
|
+0.7 pts
|
* Includes Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South
America
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline
serving more than 175 destinations on five continents. Canada's flag
carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and in 2012
served more than 33 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled
passenger service directly to 59 Canadian cities, 56 destinations in
the United States and 63 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia,
Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Air Canada is a
founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air
transportation network serving 1,329 destinations in 194 countries.
SOURCE: AIR CANADA