Air Canada Q1 2018 revenue rises above $4bn

Leading Canadian airliner Air Canada has announced that it recorded revenues of $4.07bn for Q1 2018, rising over $300mn from the $3.64bn recorded in the same quarter of 2017.

This growth was largely driven by the rise in the airliner’s passenger revenue, up to $3.5bn, with the firm’s traffic growth of 11.4% beating its 8.6% capacity increase.

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“We are pleased with our strong results in the first quarter, historically the most challenging of the year for airlines in Canada,” said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“Alongside the record quarterly and annual results we have previously reported, our performance in this more challenging quarter affirms Air Canada's progress towards consistent earnings and long-term, sustained profitability.”

However, despite the rise in revenues, Air Canada revealed that it lost $170mn, equating to 62 cents per diluted share, for the quarter – significantly higher than the $13mn, equating to 5 cents per share, for the same three-month period of last year.

This loss was lower than expected due to the airlines strong performance, but still a significant rise, largely as a result of increased fuel costs.