Air Canada still faces challenges on its Pacific routes: CAPA

CAPA - Centre for Aviation, in a report entitled: 'Trans-Pacific challenges cloud Air Canada's bullish outlook for the rest of its network', stated (12-Sep-2017) the carrier still faces challenges on its Pacific routes, and will transfer capacity deployed from its Vancouver hub to Beijing and Shanghai to the Atlantic, where demand is stronger. All large global North American carriers have been battling weak conditions in the trans-Pacific for at least a year, with Air Canada's own capacity increasing 23% year-on-year on Pacific routes in 2Q2017. Air Canada stated capacity between North America and Asia grew 11% year-on-year in 2Q2017, and the double digit industry capacity increases, combined with competitive pricing and its own launch pricing on new routes, drove Pacific yields down 6%. Seats between North America and Asia will continue to be elevated throughout the remainder of 2017 and into early 2018, according to data from CAPA and OAG. Overall, Air Canada believes conditions in the trans-Pacific remain challenging, and like its North American peers, it faces the conundrum of positioning itself to capture growth in Asia for the long term, while working to adjust to current competitive pressure. [more - CAPA Analysis]