Air Canada faces some currency pressure after executing its strategy solidly in 2014

Air Canada is maintaining a reasonably positive outlook on demand in early 2015 across all geographies, with the exception of certain pockets of pressure including some areas in Western Canada where the energy sector is a significant economic driver.

The airline's results in 2014 reflect its business adaption during the last couple of years of increasing its leisure passenger mix and long-haul flying, which pressure yields. But Air Canada stresses the incremental capacity driven by the longer stage lengths and change in passenger composition is low-cost incremental capacity that improves margins and profitability.

Air Canada largely proved the validity of that theory in CY2014 as operating margins and adjusted profits increased for the year. The airline is facing some cost pressure in CY2015 due the falling value of Canada's currency against the USD, but believes its foreign denominated revenues create some hedge against some of its expenses paid in USD.