Air Canada Is Picking Its Path Out of Pandemic Slump, Paying Down Debt and Waiting for New Planes

Roughly 74% of Air Canada's 2023 passenger revenue came from trips that began or ended outside of Canada, with just over 21% from flights to or from the U.S. Air Canada capitalizes on so-called sixth freedom traffic, which connects long-haul international routes to the U.S. via layover in a Canadian airport. While we think Air Canada came into the COVID-19 crisis in better financial shape than many of its U.S.-based peers, its international exposure and extensive travel restrictions in the Canadian market placed it under comparably more financial stress.