$AC.TO

Air Canada and the IAMAW Reach Tentative Agreement on New Contract

Air Canada (AC.TO) has reached a tentative collective agreement with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) representing more than 11,000 Air Canada employees in Maintenance, Cabin Services, Airport Airside Operations, Cargo, Finance and Clerical, the company said over the weekend.Terms of the new agreement remain confidential pending ratification by the union membership, expected to be completed over the next few weeks, and approval by the Air Canada Board of Directors, stated the company. "The agreement recognizes the contributions and skills of Air Canada's operations and administrative employees," added the company.Shares in AC were up $0.51 or 2.4% to $21.50 last Friday.

Air Canada and the IAMAW Reached Tentative Agreement on New Contract

Air Canada Customer Service Agents Ratify a New Four-Year Contract

Air Canada (AC.TO) customer service agents ratified a new four-year collective contract, Unifor, the union representing the 6,000 employees said on Friday.The union said the new contract raises the agents' compensation by 12% in the first year and 3% in each of the next three years, along with a signing bonus. The also secured improvements to shift premiums, longevity pay, as well as payment for unused sick days carried over from the previous calendar year."This agreement shows what can happen when we put their needs first. We're seeing it with meaningful gains in wages, pensions, benefits and job security, while recognizing the critical role our members play in supporting passengers every day. We are proud of what our bargaining committee achieved on behalf of members from coast-to-coast," Unifor Local 2002 President Tammy Moore said in a statement.

Air Canada Says Safety Unaffected by Licensing Issue; Pilot Removed Immediately

Air Canada (AC.TO) after trade Monday said safety was not compromised in a case involving a former pilot who lacked the required licence certification for his role.The former pilot held a valid Commercial Pilot Licence and completed all required training and competency checks during his employment. However, after being promoted to captain, he did not hold the required Airline Transport Pilot Licence, the company said."Immediately upon Air Canada's discovery of this, the individual was removed from active duty, and the company voluntarily reported the matter to Transport Canada," it added.The individual is no longer employed by the company. Due to privacy laws and an ongoing criminal investigation, Air Canada said it cannot provide further details, according to the statement.

Air Canada and Abra Group Sign Pact to Expand Travel and Connectivity between Canada, Latin America and Beyond

Air Canada (AC.TO) and Abra Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a broad, long-term strategic partnership.The agreement would enable the partners to expand their global reach, providing customers and shippers "greater connectivity across North, Central and South America and beyond," Air Canada said. It would also deepen commercial integration through coordinated sales and distribution and establish a Joint Business Agreement on select Canada-Latin America routes, to enable deeper commercial integration, the company noted.The proposed strategic partnership is expected to expand codeshare cooperation across the Americas and beyond, including for travel between Latin America and other international markets via Canadian gateways and enhance the Customer Experience to provide more seamless travel, including coordinated airport services, smoother connections, aligned baggage policies, and improved disruption management. The company also believes that the partnership would strengthen frequent flyer cooperation and explore greater cargo collaboration.Shares of the company closed up 0.4% to $21.41 on Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

TSX Closer: The Index Posts a Fresh Record Close; Morningstar On Best- and Worst-Performing Canada Stocks

The resources-heavy Toronto Stock Exchange closed at a fresh record high on Tuesday, boosted by higher commodity prices and confidence the equity market fundamentals in place for most of the last two months will continue.The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 434.57 points, or 1.25%, to 35,169.46, with most sectors higher. The prior record close of 34,830 was set on May 25.The index was led higher by Base Metals, up 4%, followed by the Battery Metals Index, up 2.7%, and then Energy, up 2.4%. In contrast, Health Care was down 1.2% and Telecom down near 0.75%.According to FactSet the TSX was, going in to today, up 10.91% from its 2026 closing low of 31,317.41 hit Friday, March 20, and year to date up 3,022.13 points or 9.53%.Morningstar Canada published a note entitled 'Best- and Worst-Performing Canadian Stocks' in which it notes The Morningstar Canada Large-Mid Cap Index rose 2.35% in May, amid a rally in the communication-services sector. The index tracks the top 90% of the Canadian investable universe by market cap, and each month, Morningstar screens it for the best- and worst-performing companies.Among the best performing stocks of May 2026, Morningstar cited Capstone Copper (CS.TO), HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO), First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO), Air Canada (AC.TO) and Lundin Mining (LUN.TO).Among the worst performing stocks of May 2026, it cited Stantec (STN.TO), GFL Environmental (GFL.TO), Element Fleet Management (EFN.TO), Energy Fuels (EFR.TO) and WSP Global (WSP.TO).Of commodities, gold was higher late afternoon Tuesday, but fell back from early highs as the dollar rose. Gold for July delivery was last seen up US$11.30 to US$4,517.60 per ounce, after earlier touching $4,571.30.Also, West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed higher, rising off session lows following reports Iran is considering a new U.S. peace deal to end the war, a day after prices surged after the two sides appeared to be on the brink of resuming hostilities. WTI crude oil for July delivery closed up $1.60 to settle at US$93.76 per barrel, after earlier touching US$90.12. August Brent oil was up US$1.01 to US$95.99.

National Bank Notes Airlines Not Raising Atlantic Route Fares Enough to Cover Jet Fuel Price Hikes

The Canada to Europe route is one of the largest drivers of profitability in the peak summer period for Canadian airlines, notes National Bank.In an update to his March outlook, analyst Cameron Doerksen reports that, despite the fuel prices spike, capacity for summer 2026 (May 1 to October 31) has stayed relatively consistent since the beginning of March, with overall seats still expected to be up 5.2% y/y, unchanged since March.He notes that summer 2025, jet fuel spot averaged C$0.89/liter, but the summer average so far is C$1.45/liter (+63%) with the spot price currently at C$1.37/liter. Airlines will need to increase fares by about 15% to materially offset higher fuel cost, based on the current spot jet fuel price, he calculates.However, based on spot fare checks for several key Canada-Europe routes, as well as third-party observations from KAYAK, while fares are higher on some key routes, other busy routes show fare decreases. On the routes that do show higher fares, the increases are less than the ~15% Doerksen sees as necessary to fully offset higher fuel costs.The Atlantic market is the single largest summer market for Air Canada (AC.TO), representing ~35% of the airline's total passenger revenue in the second and third quarters last year. Air Canada has had some success in raising fares to offset higher fuel prices, but higher costs will still likely weigh on margins through the summer. With more exposure to premium travel than other Canadian carriers, Air Canada is arguably best positioned of all the Canadian carriers to raise fares to offset fuel, Doerksen says.Air Canada is rated sector perform with a price target of $22.00 on its shares.The summer period and the trans-Atlantic market specifically is the most important driver of profits for Transat, but as a leisure-focused carrier, raising fares to offset the fuel price spike may be tougher than for other large network carriers with greater premium customer exposure, Doerksen adds. He expects the higher fuel prices to weigh on profitability for Transat in the coming quarters. Transat is rated underperform with a price target of $2.25 on its shares.Price: $21.68, Change: $+0.42, Percent Change: +1.98%

Air Canada Reaches Tentative Agreement With Unifor

Air Canada (AC.TO) has reached a tentative collective agreement with Unifor, the company said on Friday.Unifor represents 6,000 contact centre, customer relations, concierge, airport in-terminal and customer journey management employees at Air Canada.Terms of the new agreement are confidential pending a ratification vote by the membership, which is expected to be completed over the next month, as well as approval by the Air Canada board of directors, a statement said.Air Canada shares were last seen down $0.02, to $20.28, on the Toronto Stock Exchange.Price: $20.29, Change: $-0.02, Percent Change: -0.10%

CIBC Say Aviation Week Data Indicates Business Aviation Utilization Tops Both Prior-Year and Pre-COVID Levels

CIBC Capital Markets on Tuesday said recent Aviation Week data indicates business aviation utilization remains above both prior-year and pre-COVID levels, even as activity increasingly diverges across operators within the fractional segment.At the aggregate level, the backdrop "remains constructive", said CIBC."For the Feb-Apr/26 period, Corporate, Fractional, Charter, and Private individual operator classes all exceeded their utilization levels from both 2025 and 2019," noted CIBC. "Corporate operators, the largest segment with fleets exceeding 21,600 aircraft, recorded just under 1MM flight hours over the three-month period, up 4% Y/Y and 33% above the same period in 2019."Fractional operators were stronger, with activity up 11% Y/Y and 93% above pre-COVID levels, stated CIBC. It noted that, within the category, however, performance is not uniform. NetJets and Flexjet both saw higher flight hours over the period, with NetJets up 11% Y/Y and Flexjet up 12% Y/Y, said CIBC and noted that, in contrast, VistaJet, Flyexclusive, and Wheels Up all reported lower activity, with VistaJet down 9%, Flyexclusive down 4%, and Wheels Up down 46%.According to CIBC, taken together, the data suggests that recent divergence is occurring within a market where overall utilization remains elevated. It further noted that, given that fractional utilization as a group is still growing (+11% Y/Y), gains at the largest operators are offsetting declines elsewhere within the same segment."There are also notable differences in fleet positioning across operators," said CIBC. "NetJets and Flexjet operate fleets across multiple cabin categories, while other operators are more concentrated in narrower segments of the market."CIBC noted, while the utilization data does not isolate fleet mix as a driver, the split highlights that activity is not evenly distributed across the operator base.For Bombardier Inc (BBD-B.TO), CIBC noted, the key takeaway is that the broader demand environment "remains intact". Utilization across both Corporate and Fractional segments continues to run above prior-year and pre-pandemic levels, supporting ongoing aircraft activity across core end markets."Overall, the data points to a market that remains active in aggregate, but where utilization trends are becoming increasingly uneven across operators," added CIBC.Price: $19.63, Change: $+0.85, Percent Change: +4.53%

National Bank on April Airfares

National Bank notes the air transportation component of Canadian CPI data for April edged down 1.7% after posting a 2.9% increase in March, the first irise since June 2024.April fares were down 3.6% from March.The decline is surprising, given Canadian airlines implemented fuel surcharges on most routes with Air Canada (AC.TO) reporting, despite the higher fares, demand has not declined, writes analyst Cameron Doerksen."However, we note that fuel surcharges have been more aggressive on international routes, and we believe the StatCan survey is more weighted to domestic routes which could partially explain why April data did not come in stronger," Doerksen adds.He expects fares for Air Canada and Transat A.T. (TRZ.TO) to be higher in the short term with Air Canada also noting at the time of its first-quarter results that it was booking forward yields in the mid-teen percentages y/y. However, the longer high fuel prices persist, the more risk there is that higher airfares will lead to some demand destruction, Doerksen says.Air Canada is rated sector perform with a $22.00 price target on its shares. Transat is also rated sector perform with a $3.00 price target on its shares.Price: $18.79, Change: $-0.39, Percent Change: -2.03%

Air Canada Q1 Adjusted Loss Narrows, Reports Record Operating Revenue as It Suspends 2026 Guidance

Air Canada (AC.TO) first-quarter adjusted net loss narrowed as operating revenue advanced, the company said after trade on Thursday as it suspended its 2026 guidance due to volatile aviation fuel prices amid the Iran war.Air Canada reported an adjusted loss, which excludes most one-time items, of $16 million, or $0.05 per share, an improvement from the adjusted loss of $150 million, or $0.45, in the prior year period. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a loss of $0.45 per share.Operating revenue rose 11% to a record $5.8 billion, driven by strong demand across the network, and above analysts expectations of $5.5 billion.Adjusted cost per available seat mile edged up year-over-year to $0.161 from $0.153, a statement added.Air Canada suspended its fiscal 2026 guidance, citing ongoing disruption in global energy markets and volatility in jet fuel prices. It is guiding to second quarter adjusted EBITDA of $575 million to $725 million, and increasing available seat miles (ASM) capacity by 0.5% to 1.0% year over year."Supported by solid demand, our second quarter 2026 guidance reflects our expectation to offset between 50% and 60% of the estimated incremental fuel expense through various commercial and cost actions. We continue to see strong demand across the network and throughout the booking window for the latter half of the year," said chief executive Michael Rousseau.Air Canada shares closed up $0.64 to $18.65 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Air Canada Q2 Guidance ASM Capacity 0.5% to 1% Increase From Q2 2025

Air Canada Q2 Guidance Adjusted EBITDA $575M to $725M

Air Canada Suspended FY26 Guidance and Introduced Q2 2026 Financial Guidance "Providing Near-term Visibility"

Air Canada Says Delivered Record Q1 Operating Revenues of $5.8 Billion

Air Canada Price Target Cut to $25.50 at Stifel Canada

Stifel Canada trimmed its price target on Air Canada (AC.TO) shares to $25.50 from $28.00 while maintaining its buy rating ahead of the company reporting its first-quarter results after market close on April 30.Analyst Daryl Young expects the results to be relatively strong, despite challenges related to winter storms, Cuba fuel crises, Mexico safety disruptions, and the Middle East conflict. "However, the key focus will be the durability of demand and pace of fuel price pass-through heading into the peak Q3 period (traditionally >40% of EBITDA)."Young believes demand has remained resilient. Air Canada is also well-positioned versus smaller Canadian peers given its scale, flexible fleet, and segmented offering, he points out."We expect AC to lower its full-year 2026 guidance alongside Q1/26 results or possibly withdraw it altogether, in favour of quarter-to-quarter guidance pending fuel price stability."Price: $18.30, Change: $-0.22, Percent Change: -1.19%

Air Canada Receives First A321XLR Aircraft From Airbus

Air Canada (AC.TO) received the first of 30 Airbus A321XLR aircraft it ordered, the airline said on Friday.The aircraft, leased from SMBC Aviation Capital, has a range of up to 4,700 nautical miles and with 30% lower fuel burn per seat. It is also able to operate with up to 50% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), a statement said.This flying range allows Air Canada to operate non-stop transatlantic flights from Montreal and Toronto to destinations such as Berlin, Toulouse and Edinburgh.Air Canada currently operates a fleet of 136 Airbus aircraft and has 61 aircraft on order, including recently ordered A350 aircraft.Air Canada shares were last seen up $0.10 to $18.36 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.Price: $18.35, Change: $+0.09, Percent Change: +0.49%

Air Canada Receives Its First Airbus A321XLR

Canadian Airline Scheduling "Largely" Intact For Now, Says Stifel Canada

U.S. airlines are starting to curtail off-peak capacity, but Canadian scheduling appears largely intact for now, writes Stifel Canada analyst Daryl Young.In a note, Young says Canadian airlines are still planning strong growth through peak summer. Scheduled capacity increases in the second quarter are led by the Pacific (+9.0%) and Atlantic (+4.7%), partially offset by ongoing weakness in U.S. Transborder (-10.1%).Air Canada (AC.TO) (+2.4%) and Porter (+8.6%) have maintained growth in the second quarter and onward, but WestJet (-1.9%) and Flair (-2.9%) have curtailed capacity, he points out."To date, indications are that demand has remained healthy and is effectively absorbing fuel price surcharges/higher airfares . . ., but the longer fuel prices remain elevated the greater the potential for demand destruction."Stifel Canada has a buy rating and $28.00 price target on Air Canada.Price: $18.38, Change: $+0.09, Percent Change: +0.49%

Air Canada Price Target Lowered to $22.00 at RBC

RBC Capital Markets cut its price target on the shares of Air Canada (AC.TO) by $3.00 to $22.00, to reflect the evolving geopolitical landscape, but reiterated its outperform rating.Analyst James McGarragle's trimmed his estimate for 2026 EBITDA to $3.0 billion, below management's guidance of $3.35 billion to $3.75 billion, reflecting elevated jet fuel costs (and the expected negative impact to demand as higher costs are passed through), "though we see upside should fuel prices normalize on a peace deal."McGarragle anticipates the carrier will implement fare increases in the second quarter to recover elevated fuel costs through both surcharges and base ticket adjustments. "We continue to view 2026 as a transitory year and anticipate a significant FCF inflection in 2028-2029 off normalizing capital expenditures."Price: $18.82, Change: $+0.06, Percent Change: +0.32%