Saturday Apr 5, 2008 What's next - a special 'no-shock' fee from Hydro-Québec?
Air Canada has just made you an offer you can refuse.

Friday Apr 4, 2008 Air Canada hits a new low in passenger service
You've got to hand it to the ingenuity of the public-relations industry. Take Air Canada's recent problem: Passengers were furious with the airline because too many of them were left stranded helplessly at airports during last month's massive snowstorm.

Thursday Apr 3, 2008 Air Canada happy to go extra mile - for a fee
Air Canada is ready to go the extra mile for travellers inconvenienced by delays or travel disruptions..

Saturday 09 February 2008 AIR CANADA COULD BE IN FOR CHANGE
Air Canada's parent company says its depressed stock could lead to privatization or partnership with a U.S. airline. The president of ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., Robert Milton, says the holding company has engaged in talks with private equity and pension funds as well as American carriers, but didn't name the parties. ACE owns 75 per cent of Air Canada. ACE had been hoping to unload its stakes in Air Canada, Jazz Income Fund, Aeroplan Income Fund and the service company ACTS by the second quarter of the year. But Mr. Milton explains that the current downturn in airline equities have made that eventuality doubtful. In 1999, Toronto-based Onex Corp. offered $5.7 billion to take over and to merge Air Canada with the now defunct Canadian Airlines.

Friday Feb 8, 2008 Air Canada seems on right course as it faces sky-high fuel costs and slowdown threat
Air Canada seems to be on the right course as it tries to fly through record-high fuel prices and the looming threat of ...

Air Canada (AC.B) - $11.75 - The Economy and ACE Wind-up
Outperform, Above Average Risk, Price Target: $17.00 (prev. $22.00)
US airlines have been very volatile as investors weigh the risks of being in a very economically sensitive group against the risk of not being in a sector poised for consolidation. This volatility has crossed the border. To offset rising fuel costs, Air Canada and WestJet have been raising fares. RBC CM believes domestic and transborder yields may have risen 3% to 5% between December ’06 and December ’07, while for the rest of the world a more modest 2%. Airline earnings are very sensitive to rates of economic growth and fuel prices. In Canada, the bulk of annual earnings are made in Q2 and Q3. RBC predicts the Canadian economy will grow by 2.1% in 2008. Domestic traffic has historically grown at 1.5x GDP. Rising oil prices combined with a pull back in the C$ and a weakening US economy are concerns.

2007

Thursday 06 December 2007 Air Canada (AC.A): $12.29 – Implications of ACE Unwinding
Outperform, Above Average Risk, Price Target: $22.00
ACE Aviation announced a $1.5 billion Dutch Auction to buyback ACE shares. The buyback does not have any direct impact on Air Canada, although it does signal that ACE is serious about eliminating its holding company status. There are three possible ways for ACE to deal with the 75 million shares of Air Canada it owns, as follows: 1) Sell into the market – which may prove difficult for it to realize a fair value; 2) Buyback the float of 25MM shares using cash at ACE and in effect leave ACE as Air Canada; or 3) Sell all of Air Canada to an industry or financial buyer. It should be noted that investors’ lack of enthusiasm for airline stocks means that the public markets may not be willing to recognize how undervalued Air Canada stocks are. RBC CM maintains its Outperform, Above Average Risk rating and price target of $22.00 for Air Canada

Tuesday 04 December 2007 (ACE.A-T, ACE.B-T) C$27.68 Brian Morrison, CA, 416 982 2753
ACTION LIST BUY (Unchanged);Target: C$39.00 ? (Prior: C$38.00)
ACE Announces $1.5-Billion Substantial Issuer Bid

TORONTO: COMPUTER GLITCH DISRUPTS THOUSANDS OF AIR TRAVELLERS
Thousands of air travellers were inconvenienced on Friday morning by computer troubles at Air Canada, as flights were delayed between 30 minutes to an hour. The problem was caused by broken links between the airline's main reservation computer at Pearson International Airport and those in the different airports across the country. The director general at Pearson, John Segaert, explained that the facility was temporarily unable to print boarding passes. Flights were running normally by afternoon.

Tuesday 13 November 2007 Air Canada (AC.A : TSX : $13.83)
In line Q3, but profit concerns for 2008
Credit Suisse rates a "underperform", target price cut to $11.25

Saturday Nov 10, 2007 Air Canada parent's days numbered as profit rises
The interests in Air Canada, its regional affiliate Jazz Air , loyalty program Aeroplan and aircraft maintenance firm ACTS are worth about C$2.4 billion ($2.6 billion), said ACE, which was created as part of Air Canada's emergence from bankruptcy protection in late 2004.
..In the third quarter, Montreal-based ACE earned C$224 million, or C$1.84 a share, up from a year-earlier C$103 million, or 95 Canadian cents a share. It said the numbers are not directly comparable as it stopped consolidating the results of Aeroplan and Jazz earlier this year.

Friday Oct 12, 2007 MONTREAL: AIR CANADA EXPECTS NEW BOEINGS DESPITE ANNOUNCED DELAY
Air Canada says it expects to start receiving deliveries of the Boeing Co.'s 787 Dreamliner airliner on time despite the manufacturers announcement on Wednesday that the first deliveries will be delayed by six months. The announcement concerns 15 of its 50 Dreamliner customers, the identities of which weren't divulged. Air Canada has ordered 37 Dreamliners, which are supposed to start arriving in 2010 and the company says Boeing hasn't notified it of any delay. The new aircraft's design improves fuel efficiency by 30 per cent, a major consideration for airlines when the price of a barrel of oil is around US$80. Since Boeing put the 787 on the market in 2004, it has sold 710 of them worth US$120 billion.

Friday 28 September 2007 The Financial Times reports that the Icelandic fund FL Group wants American Airlines to spin off part of its loyalty program. A spin off by American Airlines would be similar to what ACE Aviation (ACE) did with Aeroplan in 2005.

Wednesday 05 September 2007 Lessons from India
Air Canada recently announced that its flights to India would be cancelled and aircraft redeployed to China. Today, an Indian private-sector airline, ...

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Tuesday 14 August 2007 MONTREAL: AIR CANADA BANKING ON NEW PLANES
Air Canada has reported a decline of profit of 22 per cent which it attributes to the acquisition of new aircraft and the maintenance of old ones that are being phased out. CEO Montie Brewer says the shift to the new planes will cause profits to rise dramatically in coming months. Mr. Brewer says that while fleet renewal entails considerable costs for training, the airline expects the new aircraft to lead to profitability in the second half. Air Canada has received seven of 17 Boeing 777s ordered and 30 of 45 Embraer E190s. The planes offer increased capacity and lower operational costs.

Friday 10 August 2007 Air Canada profit climbs 2%
Quarterly results no longer include Jazz after the recent spinoff arranged by Air Canada parent

Wednesday 01 August 2007 rci AIR CANADA AGAIN RATED FIRST
Air Canada has been ranked as the best airline in North America in the world's largest survey of air travellers. The independent British-based research firm Skytrax surveyed more than 14 million travellers from more than 90 countries between August 2006 and June 2007. The survey was based on different aspects of passenger satisfaction for each airline's product and service standards. It's the second time in three years that Air Canada has placed first among North American carriers.

Friday 13 July 2007 Air Canada's pet ban plan partly nixed
Family pets still have time to collect Air Canada air miles, at least on international flights.
The suspension affects flights between Canada and the U.S. as well as other international flights to and from Canada. Pets will still not be allowed on Air Canada domestic flights starting July 15 since the Canadian Transportation Agency does not have jurisdiction to take similar action with regards to domestic routes. Pets will have to travel through its cargo division.

03/07/07 Talking Management - Taking charge with Robert Milton

Karl Moore of McGill University talks to Robert Milton of ACE Aviation about what it takes to be a leader

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Sat 07/07/2007 CHARLOTTETOWN: AIR CANADA, P.E.I. BURY THE HATCHET
Air Canada will resume year-round direct flights between Toronto and Charlottetown starting in December. The flights will take place four days a week. Air Canada stopped the flights except in the off-season because of a dispute with the island's government. The airline claimed that it had offered money to its competitor WestJet to begin service.

Friday 06 July 2007 MONTREAL: SALE OF AIR CANADA MAINTENANCE UNIT IMPENDS
The president of ACE Aviation, Air Canada's parent firm, says the airline's maintenance division will be sold in several weeks. But Robert Milton says ACE will keep a "meaningful" stake in Air Canada Technical Services. Mr. Milton declined to reveal the identity of interested investors or to specify how big a stake that ACE would retain.

Saturday Jun 23, 2007 ACE maintenance flies south

ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. has agreed to sell off a 70-per-cent stake in its aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul subsidiary...

Friday 22 June 2007 NO-WOOF, NO-MEOW, NO-FLY
The National fronts while CTV News, the Globe, the Star, the Citizen and the Post go inside with Air Canada’s decision to add cats and dogs to their no-fly list. As of July 15, Air Canada will no longer transport animals on domestic passenger flights. A motion to expand the policy to US and international passenger flights is now pending approval from the Canadian Transportation Agency. This decision is explained by the Montreal-based airline as merely a pragmatic effort to fit more luggage onboard. “It comes down to carrying bags for the vast majority of our customers or carrying pets for a small number of our passengers,” says Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick in the Star. Fitzpatrick also mentions that the policy isn’t unusual, citing British Airways and Cathay Pacific as airlines that share the pet ban. The National suggests that the decision may result from different motivations, citing a case in 2004 when a British Columbia family's dog died of carbon monoxide poisoning while travelling in an Air Canada cargo hold. In fact, the case didn’t come to much: the CTA exonerated Air Canada on the grounds that airlines are not responsible for the health of pets. Accordingly, Fitzpatrick denied that the decision was related to the case. Canada's other major carrier, WestJet, maintains its pet-friendly policies and will continue to fly animals across Canada.   

8 June 2007 CALGARY: AIR CANADA, WESTJET SET SEAT RECORDS
Both Air Canada and its chief rival WestJet report record load factors for the month of May. Air Canada's figure was 83.8 per cent, and WestJet's slightly more than 80 per cent. WestJet says its latest figure is 3.1 per cent higher than the previous record and was the fifth straight quarter it has seen the load factor measure improve. more

Monday 21 May 2007 Landing gear collapses on Air Canada Jazz flight
Shortly after landing at Toronto's Pearson Airport, the main landing gear collapsed on a 50-seat Bombardier CRJ-100, Air Canada Jazz confirmed Sunday.

Monday 14 May 2007 Air Canada loses $34-million in the first quarter
Loss trimmed compared to the $126-million lost a year earlier

Friday 11 May 2007 Air Canada loses $34-million in the first quarter
Loss trimmed compared to the $126-million lost a year earlier

3 Mar

Thursday 11 January 2007 Air Canada (AC.B) – $17.75 – Initiation of Coverage
Outperform, Above Average Risk – Price Target: $29.00Mbr> RBC CM has initiated coverage of Air Canada with an Outperform rating. Air Canada is leading the North American airline industry with its innovative pricing model, technology use to reduce costs, and the introduction of a better product at a lower cost. The company’s strategy of increasing capacity while reducing costs is expected to increase EBITDAR by almost 40% in 2007. RBC CM believes that if Air Canada can achieve this earnings growth and also trade in a range comparable to U.S. and European carriers the shares could trade at $29.00 in one y ear. Change to the fuel price will also affect the target price, with every US$1 per barrel drop in jet fuel increasing the 2008E EBITDAR by $29 million, which increases the target price by $1.50.

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