Airline making progress restoring customer service to
pre-pandemic norms
MONTREAL, Aug. 17,
2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada today provided the
following update on its operational improvement initiatives
implemented in response to the challenges the global airline
industry has encountered emerging from the pandemic.
"At Air Canada, we know how much our customers value travel and
their reliance on us to transport them safely, comfortably and
without disruption. This is always our goal and we share with them
their disappointment that, coming out of the pandemic, the global
industry faltered due to the unprecedented challenges of restarting
after a two-year, virtual shutdown," said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive
of Air Canada.
"Earlier this summer, I committed on behalf of everyone at Air
Canada that we would do everything possible to restore our
company's industry leading standards of customer care. Among other
things, this included innovation at the airport, operational
changes and significant schedule adjustments and today these are
yielding demonstrable improvement in the metrics that matter most
to our customers. While I am very satisfied with the progress to
date, and I thank our employees for their unrelenting efforts, we
all continue to work hard on behalf of our customers to complete
our recovery."
For the period June 27 to August
14, during which it carried approximately 6.4 million
customers, the Air Canada family (including Air Canada, Air Canada
Rouge and Air Canada Express), recorded the following operational
improvements as it returns to its pre-pandemic customer service
levels:
- Flight Delays – Comparing the week of
June 27 to the week of August 8, there was a 48% reduction or 1,160
fewer flights that took a delay longer than one hour. In
addition, flight delays overall are getting shorter. For
flights that experienced any delay, the average arrival delay
during the week of June 27 was 28
minutes longer than the same week in 2019. As of the week of
August 8, this had improved to 12
minutes.
- Flight Cancellations - There has been a
substantial reduction in the volume of flight cancellations.
During the week of August 8, there
was a 77% reduction in the number of cancelled flights as compared
to the week of June 27. This translates into 960 fewer
flights cancelled. Furthermore, flight completion, which is
the percentage of all scheduled flights that are not canceled,
reached 96.7% during the week of August
8, which was less than one percentage point lower than the
same week in 2019. The vast majority of customers experiencing
cancellations, often due to weather or other unexpected factors,
were able to travel within 24 hours.
- Baggage Handling - The strongest area of improvement
over this period can be seen in baggage handling, where the airline
handles over 650,000 bags per week. During the week of
June 27, mishandling rates per 1,000
customers were approximately 2.5 times the same number in
2019. As of the week of August
8, this rate has fully recovered to 2019 levels with a
baggage handling success rate of 98%.
Air Canada continues to work
with its partners to address the issues disrupting the air
transport ecosystem in Canada.
Evidence of the success of these joint efforts is a marked decrease
in delays and cancellations for airlines, contributing to increased
overall stability in Air Canada's operations. This has resulted in
an enhanced customer experience, with better on-time performance,
schedule reliability and baggage delivery.
Each day on average, Air Canada currently operates nearly 1,100
flights and regularly carries 135,000 people.
Air Canada has been prudently restoring its schedule as
it recovers from the effects of COVID-19 and this summer it plans
to operate 79 per cent of its pre-pandemic capacity as the industry
stabilizes. In support of this, the carrier has recalled employees
laid off during the pandemic and continues to hire additional
workers. It currently has approximately 34,000 employees compared
to 34,700 prior to the pandemic.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest airline, the country's flag
carrier and a founding member of Star
Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation
network celebrating its 25thanniversary in 2022. Air
Canada provides scheduled
passenger service directly to 51 airports in Canada, 51 in the
United States and 86 internationally. It is the only
international network carrier in North
America to receive a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax, which
in 2021 gave Air Canada awards for the Best Airline Staff in
North America, Best Airline Staff
in Canada, Best Business Class
Lounge in North America, and an
excellence award for managing COVID-19. Through its leading
travel loyalty Aeroplan program, Air Canada offers the ability to
earn or redeem points on the world's largest airline partner
network of 45 airlines, plus through an extensive range of
merchandise, hotel and car rental rewards. Its freight division,
Air Canada Cargo, provides air freight lift and connectivity to
hundreds of destinations across six continents using Air Canada's
passenger flights and cargo-only flights with its fleet of Boeing
767-300 freighters. Air Canada has
committed to a net zero emissions goal from all global operations
by 2050.
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SOURCE Air Canada