Air Canada announced a successful operational performance during the year-end holiday travel season, having safely transported almost 2.6 million customers. The airline achieved exceptional operational outcomes, comparable to those of the past ten years, by successfully operating 98 percent of its scheduled flights and maintaining a 70 percent on-time performance.
We express gratitude to our valued customers for choosing Air Canada as their preferred airline, and we take pride in fulfilling our commitment to providing safe and convenient travel. During the holiday season, we served approximately 2.6 million passengers on over 20,000 flights, achieving a 70 percent on-time performance. This success was made possible through meticulous preparation and the dedicated efforts of our staff, supported by favorable winter conditions. By maintaining a strong customer focus and investing in initiatives to enhance operational stability and resilience, we are committed to further improving our performance in 2024 and beyond, stated Craig Landry, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Air Canada.
This holiday season, the peak travel period for Air Canada occurred between December 18, 2023, and January 6, 2024. Operational highlights include:
Approximately 2.6 million customers flew on Air Canada, about 10 percent more customers than in the same period in 2022. This is equivalent to moving nearly the entire combined population of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, or everyone in Canada’s Atlantic provinces.
On-time-performance (OTP), measured by the industry standard of arrival within 15 minutes of scheduled time, was 70 percent. This is a dramatic increase from 40 per cent in 2022, when severe winter weather disrupted travel, and well above the last pre-pandemic holiday period in 2019, when OTP was 54 percent.
The average delay, when one occurred, was 37 minutes, which is a 43% reduction from 2022 and 10% better than the last pre-pandemic holiday period in 2019. There were 20,075 flights operated, with a completion rate of 98 per cent. This resulted in a 80% reduction in cancelled flights as compared to 2022, and an 71% reduction as compared to the last pre-pandemic holiday period in 2019.
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. There were 20,075 flights operated, with a completion rate of 98 per cent. This resulted in a 80 percent reduction in cancelled flights as compared to 2022, and an 71 percent reduction as compared to the last pre-pandemic holiday period in 2019.
The volume of delayed or mishandled bags dropped by a sharp 58 percent as compared to the prior year, translating into a baggage handling success rate of 98.6 percent. This year, customers traveling domestically benefited from a new tracking feature on the Air Canada Mobile App that lets them monitor the progress of their bag at key points in the journey.
For the period, excluding the peak pandemic year of 2020, Air Canada achieved its best results in a decade for flight arrivals within 15 minutes, flight completion, fewest cancelled flights and for baggage delivery.
