Air Canada reported operating revenue of nearly $5.5 billion in the second quarter, an increase of nearly $1.5 billion compared to last year. This was specifically driven by a 42% increase in passenger revenues. The airline achieved a positive operating income of $802 million and a net income of $838 million for Q2, 2023.
The airline’s operating expenses went up this year and increased by $391 million, compared to last year, to reach $4.625 billion citing higher operating capacity and more passengers traveling on the airline. However, the expenses were partially offset due to a nearly 32% decrease in jet fuel prices.
Commenting on the results, Michael Rousseau, chief executive, Air Canada said: “Air Canada's second-quarter results were driven by strong demand and show the effectiveness of our plan. As a result of the hard work of our people, the appeal of our growing global network, as well as our leading brand and product offering, operating revenues in the quarter reached $5.4 billion, an increase of 36 percent from a year ago."
Air Canada posted an operating income of $802 million and an operating margin of 14.8%. This was a significant increase of over $1 billion compared to last year when the airline posted a loss of $253 million.
Overall, the net income for this year's second quarter was $838 million. This was a $1.2 billion improvement from the second quarter of 2022. This large income resulted in $2.34 diluted earnings per share. Last year's second quarter resulted in a diluted loss of $1.60 per share.
Additionally, the net cash flow from operating activities increased by $426 million and reached $1.490 billion for the quarter. This resulted in a free cash flow of $965 million.
"I thank the entire team for its continued dedication to serving our customers, including collaborating with our partners, who also share the responsibility of ensuring a smooth customer journey. We safely carried over 11 million customers across our global network in the quarter, a year-over-year increase of about 23%,” Rosseau added.