COVID-19: Canada’s airlines start the long slog to recovery

Canadian airlines are joining operators worldwide in facing the reality ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic - it could take up to five years for demand to return to 2019 levels.

The country's largest operator - Air Canada - does not expect to return to 2019 levels of revenue and capacity for at least three years, which has forced the airline to make tough decisions regarding its workforce, and has resulted in the streamlining of its fleet.

Most airlines are opting to accelerate the retirement of older aircraft as they work to rightsize their operation to accommodate significantly diminished demand.

Canada's government has been slow to offer financial assistance to its airlines, but it appears that the country's larger airlines could possibly benefit from an aid package that is in development to assist larger companies, which has created concern among some of the country's smaller airlines that they will be left to fend for themselves.