Air Canada has announced a significant drop in its third-quarter profits, a direct result of a costly labor strike that disrupted operations during the peak summer travel season. The airline reported a Q3 profit of $264 million, a sharp decline from the $2.04 billion earned in the same period last year.
The Montreal-based carrier’s operating revenues for the quarter, which ended September 30, totaled $5.77 billion. This represents a nearly 5% decrease from the $6.1 billion reported in the third quarter of the previous year. Consequently, diluted earnings per share fell to 88 cents, compared with $5.38 a year ago.
These financial results were heavily impacted by a three-day work stoppage in August involving over 10,000 flight attendants. The strike led to the cancellation of more than 3,000 flights and brought operations to a halt. Air Canada has estimated the total financial cost of this disruption to be approximately $375 million.
According to CEO Michael Rousseau, the quarterly performance met the company’s revised expectations, which had been adjusted downward to account for the strike’s impact. In September, the airline lowered its full-year financial guidance in response to the significant losses incurred from the labor dispute.