Airlines

2016 a ‘Satisfying’ Year for Air Canada

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As it prepares to celebrate its 80th anniversary this year, Air Canada has provided a review of 2016 highlights – a year which officials are calling “highly satisfying.”

“We produced record EBITDAR financial results during each of the first three quarters of 2016 on which we have reported. We significantly increased our global footprint with the launch of 28 new routes, including 15 new international and 12 US transborder routes. With new service to Morocco, we joined the elite club of global carriers serving all six continents,” said Air Canada president Calin Rovinescu.

He added, “We created 1,500 new high quality jobs in Canada between our mainline, rouge and Express services, with Air Canada now employing approximately 30,000 people. We generated greater customer engagement, serving approximately 45 million people on our expanded network.

“We won many awards, including being named the fastest growing brand among Canada’s largest companies and being recognized by Skytrax as the only Four Star international network carrier in North America. We were also named among Canada’s Top 100 Employers for a fourth year in a row.”

The airline also invested significantly in its fleet and product, taking delivery of nine new Boeing 787 Dreamliners in 2016 with nine more planned for 2017. It also reconfigured its entire Boeing 777 fleet with state-of-the-art Dreamliner cabin configuration and inflight entertainment systems.

“Shareholders took note as well. Our common shares returned nearly 34% over the year, outperforming all of our North American airline peers, the Dow Jones U.S. Airlines Index and the S&P/TSX Composite Index,” said Rovinescu. “Our appreciation is extended to all of our stakeholders who have helped us achieve this success in 2016 and we look forward to another strong year in 2017.”

(http://www.aircanada.com)