Air Canada

‘s booking patterns rebounded soon after the disruption from a

flight attendant strike

that shut down the airline’s operations in August, company executives say.

The airline said robust momentum in bookings is positioning it to deliver “solid results” in the fourth quarter, which it expects will outperform last year’s Q4 results.

“Demand has been strong despite the disruption’s impact,” Air Canada’s chief commercial officer, Mark Galardo, said during the company’s earnings call on Nov. 5.

Chief executive Michael Rousseau said Air Canada shut down and restarted operations in record time in response to the labour disruption.

He also said that the carrier’s voluntarily introduced goodwill policies, which have received more than 150,000 customer claims to date, are expected to finish in the coming weeks.

“We are encouraged by the speed at which booking patterns recovered and the strength that has followed,” Rousseau said.

Negotiations with airport staff, contact centres and maintenance facilities will also begin soon, the CEO added.

The company again updated its outlook for 2025 to reflect the financial impact of the

flight attendant strike

, which led to a decline in revenues.

Its third-quarter earnings results were released Tuesday, and were mostly in line with the preliminary results it provided on Sept. 24 reflecting the impact of the strike.

The labour disruption was estimated to cost the company $375 million in operating income and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). It attributed the five per cent year-over-year decline in operating revenues to the strike.

The airline said the cost included a revenue impact estimated to be $430 million, mainly due to customer refunds and compensation, as well as lower than expected travel bookings in August and early September.

It also included $145 million in costs that were estimated to have been avoided due to the reduced flying activity during the labour disruption, largely attributable to lower fuel expenses.

Cost avoidance was partially offset by an estimated $90 million in incremental costs associated with reimbursements to customers for out-of-pocket expenses and labour-related operating costs.

Air Canada’s total operating expenses increased eight per cent year-over-year, largely due to $173 million from one-time pension plan amendments and other labour-related charges.

Despite this, the airline said its third-quarter results still met expectations after adjusting for the strike impact, which occurred at the peak of the summer season.

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For its guidance, the company now expects to have an adjusted EBIDTA between $2.95 billion to $3.05 billion in 2025, slightly up from the September update of $2.9 billion to $3.1 billion, but still below the initial guidance provided in May of $3.2 billion to $3.6 billion in adjusted EBITDA.

Air Canada now forecasts a nearly 0.75 per cent increase in capacity compared to 2024, down from the one- to three-per-cent growth that was expected back in May.

Its guidance on free cash flow for 2025 has been updated to $0 to $200 million, instead of the September update of -$50 million to $150 million. The initial forecast of free cash flow announced in May was break even +/- $200 million.

“In all, we are encouraged by the trends in the fourth quarter and what we’re seeing for early 2026, although we anticipate a slight decline in unit revenue in the fourth quarter, adjusting for the disruption in Q3,” Galardo said. “This is a sequential improvement through the year.”

• Email: dpaglinawan@postmedia.com