Air Canada Reports Strong Year-End Holiday Travel Period

DALLAS — Air Canada (AC) has announced a strong operational performance for the year-end holiday travel period, with nearly 2.6 million customers transported safely.

The airline achieved some of its best operational results in a decade, including completing 98 percent of scheduled flights and achieving an on-time performance of 70 percent.

Operational Results

During the peak travel period between December 18, 2023, and January 6, 2024, AC experienced several operational highlights:

• Approximately 2.6 million customers flew on Air Canada, which is about a 10 percent increase compared to the same period in 2022.
• The on-time performance (OTP), measured by the industry standard of arrival within 15 minutes of the scheduled time, was 70 percent. This is a significant improvement from 40 percent in 2022 and higher than the pre-pandemic holiday period in 2019 when OTP was 54 percent.
• The average delay, when one occurred, was 37 minutes, which is a 43 percent reduction from 2022 and 10 percent better than the last pre-pandemic holiday period in 2019.
• Air Canada operated 20,075 flights during this period, with a completion rate of 98 percent. This resulted in an 80 percent reduction in canceled flights compared to 2022 and a 71 percent reduction compared to the last pre-pandemic holiday period in 2019.
• The volume of delayed or mishandled bags dropped by 58 percent compared to the prior year, resulting in a baggage handling success rate of 98.6 percent. Domestic travelers also benefited from a new tracking feature on the Air Canada Mobile App that allows them to monitor the progress of their bags.

Air Canada achieved its best results in a decade for flight arrivals within 15 minutes, flight completion, the fewest canceled flights, and baggage delivery, excluding the peak pandemic year of 2020.

Operational Improvements

Air Canada is committed to continuous operational improvement. In the second half of 2023, the airline achieved a 19.1 percentage point improvement in on-time performance. To consistently exceed pre-pandemic levels, Air Canada has implemented several measures, including:

• Maintaining stable staffing levels that exceed those from 2019, with increased experience levels reinforced through additional training programs
• Improving schedule design to allow for additional flexibility in ground time and connecting time for customers
• Collaborating closely with key partners in the travel ecosystem, including airport authorities, security agencies, customs and border processing, air traffic control, and third-party ground handlers, caterers, and fuelers
• Focusing on customer experience through a new internal program called ECX (Elevating the Customer Experience), which aims to improve key passenger touchpoints through investments in technology, self-service, and business process redesign

Featured image: C-GJYI, Air Canada Airbus A220-300 @KSLC. Photo: Michael Rodeback/Airways