Quarterly civil aviation statistics, fourth quarter 2024
Released: 2025-05-28
Highlights
Operating revenue for the 24 largest Canadian air carriers totalled $8.7 billion in the fourth quarter, up 8.1% compared with the same quarter of 2023.
At $7.4 billion, passenger revenue was the main revenue source for airlines in the fourth quarter of 2024, while air cargo generated $672.2 million in revenue.
On an annual basis, the 24 largest Canadian air carriers earned $35.2 billion in operating revenue in 2024, up 5.6% from 2023.
Operating revenue rises
During the fourth quarter of 2024, operating revenue for the 24 largest Canadian air carriers (Levels I and II) totalled $8.7 billion, up 8.1% from the fourth quarter of 2023 and 33.1% higher than the same quarter in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
At $7.4 billion, passenger revenue represented 84.9% of total operating revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024. Cargo revenue, accounting for 7.7% of total operating revenue, stood at $672.2 million.
Chart 1
Quarterly goods revenue, Canadian air carriers
On the other side of the ledger, total operating expenses were $8.7 billion in the fourth quarter, 12.2% higher than in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 37.4% higher than in the same quarter of 2019.
Chart 2
Operating revenue and expenses, Canadian air carriers
Other operating expenses, such as depreciation and maintenance, accounted for the largest share (55.8%) of total operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2024, followed by wages, salaries and benefits (23.1%) and turbo fuel (21.2%).
Growth in passenger traffic
The 24 largest Canadian air carriers transported 21.8 million passengers in the fourth quarter, 21.3 million on scheduled flights and 502,000 on chartered flights. This represented an increase of 3.6% from the same quarter in 2023, and 1.0% more than the pre-pandemic level reported in the same quarter in 2019.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, there were 10.5 million passengers on domestic routes and 11.3 million passengers on international routes. Among the international passengers, 5.2 million had taken transborder flights (between Canada and the United States) and 6.1 million were carried on other international flights.
Chart 3
Passengers carried, by sector, quarterly data, Canadian air carriers
Scheduled (non-charter) traffic was 54.8 billion passenger-kilometres in the fourth quarter, while capacity was 67.4 billion available seat-kilometres, resulting in a load factor of 81.3%. This was slightly below the load factor from the same quarter in 2023 (82.5%) and on par with that from the same quarter in 2019 (81.1%).
Chart 4
Passenger load factor, Canadian air carriers
2024: A year in recovery as more passengers take to the skies
In 2024, the 24 largest Canadian carriers transported 91.5 million passengers, up 3.3% from the 88.6 million passengers carried in 2023 and 98.5% of the 92.9 million passengers carried in 2019, before the pandemic. In 2024, domestic traffic—43.5 million passengers—was virtually unchanged (+0.2%) from the level in 2023. International traffic increased 6.2% year over year to 48.0 million passengers in 2024. This was the second consecutive year that the 24 major Canadian carriers flew more passengers on international flights than on domestic ones.
Chart 5
Passengers carried, by sector, annual data, Canadian air carriers
Total operating revenue earned in 2024 totalled $35.2 billion, 5.6% higher than in 2023, while total operating expenses rose by 9.0% to $33.4 billion during the same period.
Chart 6
Annual operating revenue and expenses, Canadian air carriers
The increasing share of passengers flying on international routes was reflected in other measures. Total traffic reached 241.7 billion passenger-kilometres in 2024, 6.1% higher than in 2023 and 3.9% above the 2019 level. Each passenger travelled an average of 2,642 kilometres in 2024, 5.5% above the 2019 level (2,505 kilometres). At 2.6 million hours, total hours flown were 9.3% below those reported in 2019.
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Note to readers
This release covers Canadian Level I and II air carriers. The number of air carriers remained 24 in 2024; however, one Level II air carrier was reclassified to Level I.
In 2023, Level I and II carriers accounted for 93.1% of the total operating revenue as published in the table Civil aviation financial statistics, Canadian air carriers, Levels I to III, annual. Final estimates for the 2024 annual civil aviation statistics will be available in early 2026.
Level I air carriers include every Canadian air carrier that, in the calendar year before the year in which information is provided, transported at least 2 million revenue passengers or at least 400 000 tonnes of cargo.
Level II air carriers include every Canadian air carrier that, in the calendar year before the year in which information is provided, transported (a) at least 100,000, but fewer than 2 million, revenue passengers, or (b) at least 50 000 tonnes, but fewer than 400 000 tonnes, of cargo.
Net non-operating income and loss are from commercial ventures that are not part of the air transportation services, from other revenues and expenses attributable to financing or other activities that are not an integral part of air transportation, and from special recurrent items of a non-periodic nature. Provision for income taxes is also included. Non-operating income can be, for example, capital gains from the sale of aircraft, interest income and foreign exchange adjustment, while non-operating expenses can include capital losses and interest on bank loans and other debt.
The average passenger trip length is calculated by dividing the number of passenger-kilometres by the number of passengers. Trips across Canada and around the world are included in this calculation.
Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted.
Survey data are revised on a quarterly basis to reflect new information.
Because of rounding, components may not add up to the total.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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