Air Canada Reports $685M Third Quarter Loss Compared With $636M Profit a Year Ago

Air Canada Reports $685M Third Quarter Loss Compared With $636M Profit a Year Ago
Air Canada planes sit on the tarmac at Pearson International airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Oct. 14, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette)
The Canadian Press
11/9/2020
Updated:
11/9/2020

MONTREAL—Air Canada reported a $685-million loss in its third quarter compared with a profit of $636 million in the same quarter last year as the number of people flying plunged due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related travel restrictions.

The airline says the loss amounted to $2.31 per diluted share compared with a profit of $2.35 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2019.

Operating revenue in the quarter was $757 million, down from $5.53 billion in the same quarter last year.

The airline says its net cash burn for the quarter totalled $818 million or approximately $9 million per day, better than its expectations for between $1.35 billion and $1.6 billion or between $15 million and $17 million per day.

Air Canada says the total number of passengers carried in the quarter was down 88 percent compared with a year ago.

It says it plans to cut its fourth-quarter capacity by approximately 75 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2019.