Air Canada Suspends 2019 Financial Guidance

Air Canada said today that it is suspending all financial guidance it provided in respect of the first quarter and full year 2019.

The carrier’s announcement comes following Transport Canada’s safety notice closing Canadian airspace to Boeing 737 MAX aircraft until further notice; the Federal Aviation Administration’s temporary grounding order; and Boeing’s decision to suspend MAX deliveries to airline customers,

In a statement, the company said that: “In light of the current uncertainty, Air Canada is suspending all financial guidance it provided on Feb. 15, 2019 and Feb. 28, 2019 in respect of the 2019 financial year.”

That statement continued: “The financial guidance provided for the years 2020 and 2021 with respect to annual EBITDA margin (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and impairment, as a percentage of operating revenue) and annual ROIC (return on invested capital) as well as the cumulative free cash flow over the 2019-2021 period remains in place.

It concluded by saying that: “Air Canada continues to adapt a contingency plan to address the evolving situation and will provide updates as developments warrant.”