Air Canada lost $61M a day during strike: analysts

Financial analysts say Air Canada faced roughly $61-million a day in lost revenue during this week’s flight attendant strike.

According to a Royal Bank of Canada estimate, this is on top of the costs associated with repositioning crews and planes, rebooking thousands of passengers and labour expenses of the tentative deal that was reached with CUPE, reports the Globe and Mail.

“The disruption likely caused a considerable financial loss for the airline and affected other allied sectors including tourism and those that rely heavily on air cargo,” credit-ratings company Morningstar DBRS said in a research note.

Bank of Montreal stock analyst Fadi Chamoun estimates that the strike will cut Air Canada’s third-quarter earnings before interest and taxes by around $400 million.

However, he noted that the airline’s strong financial footing and solid market presence should allow it to absorb the impact of the strike and handle a “modest” decline in future ticket sales.

“We do not expect the events to leave a lasting brand damage,” Mr. Chamoun said in a note to clients, adding that “we don’t expect the medium-to-long-term financial framework to be materially impacted.”

As previously reported, Air Canada has suspended its guidance for third quarter and full-year 2025 operating results due to the effects of this week’s work stoppage.

Speaking with PAX earlier this week, Mark Nasr, Air Canada’s executive vice president and chief operations officer, said it’s too soon to discuss the financial impact of the shutdown.

“We will give an update in due course,” he said. “At this point, the most important thing is getting everybody back on their way and ensuring customers are where they need to be. Then we will determine the costs associated with it, and we'll make appropriate disclosures.”

Air Canada gradually resumed its operations on Tuesday after a nearly four-day strike grounded operations, impacting the flights of some 500,000 customers.

As of Friday (Aug. 22), nearly 100 per cent of Air Canada’s flights were operating again.  

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