"Air Canada recorded a net loss of $1.049 billion [US$740 million] or $4.00 [US$2.84] per diluted share compared to net income of $345 million [US$245 million] or $1.26 [US$0.89] per diluted share in the first quarter of 2020," the statement said.
The first quarter results included $504 million worth of foreign exchange losses and the net debt increased by $940 million to $2.96 billion after Air Canada had to draw down lines of credit to maintain liquidity.
Air Canada said it still expects second-quarter capacity to decline by 85 to 90 percent in comparison to 2019 and rebound only slightly in the third quarter to 25 percent of 2019 third-quarter capacity.
In April, Air Canada announced that it is adopting the government’s Emergency Wage Subsidy and intends to rehire workers it laid off at the end of March after revenues fell by at least 15 percent as domestic and international travel was grounded to a halt.
