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  1. In 2008, Canadian Level I to III air carriers reported over 57 million enplaned passengers, an all-time high, up 4.5% from 2007, continuing the upward trend that began in 2004. The domestic sector grew 4.6% in 2008 to 34.7 million passengers, while the international sector (including Canada-United States) rose 4.4% to 22.8 million passengers. The scheduled passenger counts reached 52.5 million and the charter passenger counts, 5.0 million. In terms of passenger-kilometres flown, these carriers recorded 130.6 billion passenger-kilometres in their scheduled and charter operations in 2008, up 3.4% from the previous year. The domestic sector (+3.8%) advanced at about the same pace as the international sector (+3.2%).
  2. In 2008, Canadian Level I to III air carriers reported a net loss of $679.1 million, a deterioration from the $909.6 million profit recorded in 2007. In 2008, total operating revenues generated by the Canadian Level I to III air carriers amounted to $17.5 billion, up 7.8% from 2007, continuing the upward trend that began in 2004. The total operating expenses increased to $16.9 billion in 2008, up 12.0% over the previous year.
  3. In 2008, 96.6 cents of each operating revenue dollar were used to cover operating expenses. Aircraft operations absorbed the largest portion of each operating revenue dollar, at 53.1 cents, followed by general services and administration (28.3 cents) and maintenance (10.3 cents).
  4. Total assets of the Canadian Level I to III air carriers reached $16.3 billion in 2008, up 1.2% compared to 2007.
  5. Total employment in the aviation industry grew 2.0% to 41,855, while total wages and salaries went up 4.4% to $2.7 billion. In 2008, wages and salaries accounted for 15.8% of the operating expenses, down from 16.9% in 2007.
  6. Canadian Level I to III air carriers consumed 5.9 billion litres of fuel (turbine fuel and gasoline) in 2008 and spent $5.5 billion acquiring the fuel. In 2008, fuel costs accounted for 32.4% of the operating expenses, up from 26.4% in 2007.