Passenger traffic - Air Canada 2011-2023

In 2023, the number of passengers carried by Air Canada amounted to approximately 44.8 million passengers. 

Air Canada

Air Canada is the national carrier of Canada, being founded by the Canadian government in 1937. The airline was fully privatized in 1989 and in 2001 acquired Canada’s then second largest airline – Canadian Airlines – to become the dominant airline in the Canadian market. The company experienced financial difficulties throughout the 2000’s and into 2010's but has consolidated their financial position in last ten years, recording strong revenue growth in 2018 and 2019, before affected severely by the coronavirus pandemic .Amid the global pandemic, the company's operating revenue decreased dramatically from 19 billion to around six billion Canadian dollars in 2020. As of 2022, the total operating revenue of Air Canada was 13.6 billion Canadian dollars. This was considerably higher than the previous year but still lower than the pre-pandemic year.

Air travel in Canada

The two main airlines in the Canadian market are Air Canada and low-cost carrier WestJet, who held domestic market shares of 46 percent and 34 percent respectively in 2018. In terms of passenger numbers, WestJet historically carries around half as many as Air Canada. This discrepancy can be explained by the far greater range of international destinations offered by Air Canada. However, the number of customer complaints received about Air Canada is disproportionately, coming in at 1,997 in 2019 – compared to 369 for WestJet.