With the crippling pandemic in the rear-view mirror, Air Canada is climbing back to stability and profitability, earning record revenues and a small profit in its 2023 first quarter.

"Air Canada's impressive first quarter performance reflects the strength of our brand, the very strong demand environment across all markets and the effective execution of our strategic plan,” said president and CEO Michael Rousseau.

“When compared to the same quarter in 2022, passenger revenues more than doubled and hit a first quarter record of close to $4.1 billion, supported by our diversified network and our strong international franchise,” Rousseau added.

The CEO said Q1 results “exceeded both internal and external expectations” and strong forward bookings suggest high demand will persist through the rest of the year.

"All areas of the business contributed meaningfully during the quarter,” Rousseau said, noting that Air Canada Vacations produced “remarkable results” during the first three months of the company’s fiscal year. Aeroplan was a strong performer too, gaining new members and seeing gross billings increase by 50% when compared to the first quarter of 2022

The record revenues for the quarter enabled Air Canada to achieve free cash flow of nearly $1 billion, nearly $900 million more than in the year-before period. “This will allow us to continue investing in our future, including by further deleveraging our balance sheet," said Rousseau.

First quarter operating revenues of $4.887 billion increased $2.314 billion from the same quarter in 2022, primarily from higher passenger revenues. Operating revenues increased about 10%, with capacity up 53% from the first quarter of 2022, reaching 84% of first quarter 2019 capacity.

The record Q1 revenue enabled Air Canada to turn a profit for the second consecutive quarter, following 11 straight quarters of losses totalling $10.1 billion. Net income amounted to $4 million, representing close to a $1 billion turnaround from $974 million in losses a year ago.