Nearly 2.6 million customers transported
safely to celebrate the season
MONTREAL, Jan. 8, 2024
/CNW/ - Air Canada today reported a strong operational performance
for the year-end holiday travel period, during which nearly 2.6
million customers were transported safely. The airline achieved
some of its best operational results in a decade, including
completing 98 per cent of scheduled flights, with an on-time
performance of 70 per cent.
"We thank our customers for entrusting their travel to Air
Canada and I am proud that we delivered on our promise to transport
them safely and conveniently. Over the holidays we carried about
2.6 million customers on more than 20,000 flights, with an on-time
performance of 70 per cent. Our success was the result of extensive
advance preparations and the hard work of our people, helped by
moderate winter weather. With a clear focus on our customers and on
improving the stability and resilience of our operation, we have
implemented a range of initiatives to ensure we continue to improve
our operational performance into 2024 and beyond," said
Craig Landry, Executive Vice
President and Chief Operations Officer at Air Canada.
Operational Results
This holiday season, the peak travel period for Air Canada
occurred between December 18, 2023,
and January 6, 2024. Operational
highlights include:
- Approximately 2.6 million customers flew on Air Canada, about
10 per cent more customers than in the same period in 2022. This is
equivalent to moving nearly the entire combined population of
Manitoba and Saskatchewan, or everyone in Canada's Atlantic provinces.
- On-time-performance (OTP), measured by the industry standard of
arrival within 15 minutes of scheduled time, was 70 per cent. This
is a dramatic increase from 40 per cent in 2022, when severe winter
weather disrupted travel, and well above the last pre-pandemic
holiday period in 2019, when OTP was 54 per cent.
- The average delay, when one occurred, was 37 minutes, which is
a 43% reduction from 2022 and 10% better than the last pre-pandemic
holiday period in 2019. There were 20,075 flights operated, with a
completion rate of 98 per cent. This resulted in a 80% reduction in
cancelled flights as compared to 2022, and an 71% reduction as
compared to the last pre-pandemic holiday period in 2019.
- The average delay, when one occurred, was 37 minutes, which is
a 43 per cent reduction from 2022 and 10 per cent better than the
last pre-pandemic holiday period in 2019. There were 20,075 flights
operated, with a completion rate of 98 per cent. This resulted in a
80 per cent reduction in cancelled flights as compared to 2022, and
an 71 per cent reduction as compared to the last pre-pandemic
holiday period in 2019.
- The volume of delayed or mishandled bags dropped by a sharp 58
per cent as compared to the prior year, translating into a baggage
handling success rate of 98.6 per cent. This year, customers
travelling domestically benefitted from a new tracking feature
on the Air Canada Mobile App that lets them monitor the progress of
their bag at key points in the journey.
For the period, excluding the peak pandemic year of 2020, Air
Canada achieved its best results in a decade for flight arrivals
within 15 minutes, flight completion, fewest cancelled flights and
for baggage delivery.
Operational Improvements
Air Canada is committed to
operational improvement, as demonstrated by a 19.1 percentage point
improvement in OTP in the second half of 2023. Significant efforts
are underway, not only to address the lingering challenges the
pandemic created, but to ensure that operational performance will
consistently exceed pre-pandemic levels. A few examples of such
measures include:
- Stable staffing levels that exceed those from 2019, with
continually increased experience levels reinforced through
additional training programs.
- Improvements in schedule design that allow for additional
flexibility in ground time and connecting time for customers.
- Deep collaboration in planning and execution with all key
partners in the travel ecosystem, including airport authorities;
agencies responsible for airport security, customs and border
processing and air traffic control; as well as 3rd party
ground handlers, caterers, and fuelers. All these partners have
worked hard to improve and prepare for this winter season and Air
Canada thanks them for our common success.
- A systematic focus on customer experience through a new
internal program across the company called ECX, or Elevating the
Customer Experience, that breaks down all key passenger touch
points and generates improvements through investments in
technology, self service, and business process redesign.
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. Air Canada provides
scheduled service directly to more than 180 airports in
Canada, the United States and Internationally on six
continents. It holds a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax. Air
Canada's Aeroplan program is
Canada's premier travel loyalty
program, where members can 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 partners. Its
freight division, Air Canada Cargo, provides air freight lift and
connectivity to hundreds of destinations across six continents
using Air Canada's passenger and freighter aircraft. Air
Canada aims to achieve an
ambitious net zero emissions goal from all global operations by
2050. Air Canada shares are publicly traded on the TSX in
Canada and the OCTQX in the
US.
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SOURCE Air Canada