Air Canada records operating revenue of $21.8bn in 2023

Air Canada has published its full year 2023 review, with president and CEO of Air Canada explaining: “We met key financial objectives and advanced or exceeded most of our strategic and operational goals for the year, demonstrating our ability to perform consistently”. In the full year, the flag carrier earned a full year operating income of $2.3bn on a record operating revenue of $21.8bn. Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled (reaching almost $4bn) and the leverage ratio reduced from 5.1x adjusted EBITDA as of December 31 2022 to 1.1x as of December 31 2023. Cash generated from operating activities reached approximately $4.3bn. Throughout 2023, Air Canada launched 14 new routes to serve 188 direct destinations, welcoming over 46 million passengers; a 24% increase from 2022’s 37 million. These were served with an average of 1,025 daily flights versus 945 in 2022. 23 aircraft were added to the fleet over the course of the year, comprising 18 787-10 Dreamliners and five 373 MAX 8s. Excluding the value of Aeroplan, Air Canada’s total unencumbered asset pool stood at approximately $6.6bn at year-end. The airline also entered into agreements to acquire 18 further 787-10s with options for another 12, and is also considering adding A220-300 and A321XLRs to its expanding fleet.