(Adds forecast, Q4 details, company background)
Feb 17 Air Canada said its costs would fall this year if the Canadian dollar remained unchanged from 2015 levels and announced plans to buy up to 75 CS300 aircraft from Bombardier Inc as part of a plan to renew its fleet.
A falling Canadian dollar has been weighing on Air Canada because the company makes major purchases such as fuel and planes in dollars.
Canada’s biggest airline said it expects adjusted cost per average seat mile, which excludes fuel expenses, to fall 2-3 percent this year, “if the value of the Canadian dollar were at 2015 levels”.
“The transformative changes we’ve made in recent years provide us with a cost structure, fleet and flexibility to respond, as we did in 2015, to competitive market conditions, fluctuations in the Canadian dollar and to economic weakness,” Chief Executive Calin Rovinescu said in a statement.
Air Canada’s aircraft purchase order would be valued at as much as $ 3.8 billion based on the list price of the aircraft, Bombardier said.
Air Canada’s net loss widened to C$ 116 million ($ 84 million), or 41 Canadian per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from C$ 100 million, or 35 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 40 Canadian cents per share, matching the average analyst estimate, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Operating revenue rose 2.5 percent to C$ 3.18 billion. ($ 1 = 1.3835 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Anet Josline Pinto in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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