Air Canada has access to funding already — it just wants better rates, expert says

While Rovinescu said he was “cautiously optimistic” about a trial by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer that found a COVID-19 vaccine had been 90 per cent effective, he noted it’s not an instant cure for the industry’s problems. “When does demand return?” Rovinescu asked.

As stock markets around the world soared on news that a COVID-19 vaccine is getting closer, outgoing Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu said air travel won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until as late as 2025.

The note of caution — which Rovinescu has sounded before — came after the airline reported a third-quarter loss of $685 million Monday, and said flight capacity will be down 75 per cent in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago.

“It’s going to be three to five years in terms of getting back to 2019 levels,” said Rovinescu, in his second-last earnings call before he hands over the reins to deputy CEO Michael Rousseau next February.

Air Canada’s shares shot up $4.53 to $20.35 in Monday trading, a gain of more than 28 per cent on the day, following stock market trends around the world, as pharmacy giant Pfizer announced a COVID-19 vaccine trial had been 90 per cent effective.

The hefty quarterly loss comes as the federal government gets ready to offer a COVID-19 aid package to the airline industry, something Air Canada — as well as other airlines including WestJet and Porter — had been seeking. But at least one industry watcher says an air industry relief package risks undercutting other government pandemic programs, including the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility.