Air Canada saw its cargo revenues decline in the first quarter of the year as weaker volumes on its Atlantic services took their toll.
The Montreal-headquartered airline recorded a 9% year-on-year decline in first-quarter cargo revenues to C$215m.
Increases in its domestic, US transborder and Pacific cargo revenues were not enough to offset a 28.7% decline in its Atlantic cargo revenues to $84m.
“The decline was primarily due to lower revenues in the Atlantic market on lower yield and volume year over year,” the airline said in its quarterly update.
“The decline was partially offset by increased volume in the other markets, most notably the Pacific market—aligned with the year-over-year capacity increase in that region.”
During the quarter, the airline also added its eighth Boeing 767 freighter to its fleet and announced the launch of a new freighter service to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD).
The service will operate three times per week (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) with a Boeing 767 freighter, connecting Air Canada Cargo’s global hub at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) with its self-handled warehouse operation at ORD.
The first quarter cargo performance follows declines in 2023 as the market continued to re-settle following Covid.
Air Canada’s full year 2023 cargo revenues declined 27% year on year due to reduced air cargo demand and a loss of capacity in the form of temporary passenger freighters (preighters).