With passenger revenues from the airline’s U.S. transborder segment dropping 11% during the second quarter, Air Canada says it made the right call to shift capacity toward high-demand international markets as Canadians’ appetite for cross-border travel lagged.
“We navigated through a period of significant economic and geopolitical uncertainty, and we contended with reduced demand for transborder travel, an evolving geopolitical landscape affecting the Middle East and India, increased competition in China-Hong Kong and some currency fluctuations,” said Air Canada chief commercial officer Mark Galardo.
He added, “We made the right early calls to match our capacity to the evolving demand landscape, and our diversified network and disciplined capacity management supported strong performance in international overall,” said Galardo.
Domestic routes saw a three per cent boost in revenues during the quarter.
“We kept a strong and steady presence and offered more options for travellers to explore the country, increasing capacity on key leisure destinations,” Galardo said.
Capacity has also shifted from the transborder market to sun destinations going into the second half of the year.
Galardo added the airline is closely monitoring the Canada-U.S. sector and has the flexibility to adjust to changing market conditions.
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