Air Canada reports May traffic

MONTREAL, June 3 /CNW Telbec/ - For the month of May, Air Canada reported a system load factor of 82.0 per cent on a consolidated basis with Jazz (from which Air Canada purchases regional capacity), versus 79.5 per cent in May 2009, an increase of 2.5 percentage points. System traffic increased 9.7 per cent on a system wide capacity increase of 6.4 per cent.

"For the month of May, Air Canada reported a load factor of 82 per cent on a consolidated basis with Jazz. Led by a nearly 30 per cent increase in the Pacific, traffic grew faster than capacity in every segment, resulting in higher load factors in all markets. This is the sixth consecutive month in which we have reported a monthly traffic increase year-over-year on a consolidated basis," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer. "In May, we not only exceeded our customer satisfaction goals but Air Canada was also named Best Airline North America by the influential research firm Skytrax, which surveyed 17 million travellers worldwide for its 2010 World Airline Awards. This reflects our progress in providing our customers with a world class travel experience and an industry leading product. I thank our employees for their dedication in transporting Air Canada passengers comfortably and safely to their destinations and for delivering an award winning product to our customers."

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Air Canada's public communications may include written or oral forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are based on assumptions and are subject to important risks and uncertainties. Any forecasts or forward-looking predictions or statements cannot be relied upon due to, amongst other things, changing external events and general uncertainties of the business. Actual results may differ materially from results indicated in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including without limitation, industry, market, credit and economic conditions, the ability to reduce operating costs and secure financing, pension issues, energy prices, currency exchange and interest rates, employee and labour relations, competition, war, terrorist acts, epidemic diseases, environmental factors (including weather systems and other natural phenomena, such as volcanic eruptions, and factors arising from man-made sources), insurance issues and costs, changes in demand due to the seasonal nature of the business, supply issues, changes in laws, regulatory developments or proceedings, pending and future litigation and actions by third parties as well as the factors identified throughout Air Canada's public disclosure file available at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release represent Air Canada's expectations as of the date of this news release and are subject to change after such date. However, Air Canada disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations.

    
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                                 CONSOLIDATED
                       (AIR CANADA MAINLINE AND JAZZ)
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                                May                     Year-To-Date
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                       2010    2009  Change         2010    2009  Change
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    Traffic
     (RPMs mln)       4,236   3,863    +9.7%      19,797  18,680    +6.0%
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    Capacity
     (ASMs mln)       5,169   4,859    +6.4%      24,592  23,408    +5.1%
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    Load Factor        82.0%   79.5%   +2.5 pts     80.5%   79.8%   +0.7 pts
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              RPMs    1,348   1,297    +3.9%       5,983   5,882    +1.7%
              ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Canada    ASMs    1,684   1,667    +1.0%       7,510   7,400    +1.5%
              ---------------------------------------------------------------
              LF       80.0%   77.8%   +2.2 pts     79.7%   79.5%    0.2 pts
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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              RPMs      568     529    +7.4%       3,381   3,242    +4.3%
    US        ---------------------------------------------------------------
     Trans-   ASMs      770     732    +5.2%       4,425   4,288    +3.2%
     border   ---------------------------------------------------------------
              LF       73.8%   72.3%   +1.5 pts     76.4%   75.6%   +0.8 pts
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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              RPMs    1,117   1,083    +3.1%       4,244   4,216    +0.7%
              ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Atlantic  ASMs    1,324   1,286    +3.0%       5,335   5,270    +1.2%
              ---------------------------------------------------------------
              LF       84.4%   84.2%   +0.2 pts     79.6%   80.0%   -0.4 pts
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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              RPMs      797     617   +29.2%       3,386   2,741   +23.5%
              ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Pacific   ASMs      882     744   +18.5%       3,852   3,151   +22.2%
              ---------------------------------------------------------------
              LF       90.4%   82.9%   +7.5 pts     87.9%   87.0%   +0.9 pts
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              RPMs      406     337   +20.5%       2,803   2,599    +7.8%
    Latin     ---------------------------------------------------------------
     Amer &   ASMs      509     430   +18.4%       3,470   3,299    +5.2%
     Other    ---------------------------------------------------------------
              LF       79.8%   78.4%   +1.4 pts     80.8%   78.8%   +2.0 pts
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For further information: Isabelle Arthur (Montréal), [phone]; Peter Fitzpatrick (Toronto), [phone]; Angela Mah (Vancouver), [phone]; aircanada.com