Air Canada's Slow and Steady Climb Out of Pandemic Conditions Tests Its Cost Discipline

Roughly 74% of Air Canada's 2023 passenger revenue came from trips that began or ended outside of Canada, with just over 21% from flights to or from the US. Air Canada capitalizes on so-called sixth-freedom traffic, which connects long-haul international routes to the US via layover in a Canadian airport. While we think Air Canada came into the covid crisis in better financial shape than many of its US-based peers, its international exposure and extensive travel restrictions in the Canadian market placed it under comparably more financial stress.