Scheduled Air Transportation in Canada - Industry Market Research Report

First class: Industry market share concentration is likely to increase

Canadian airlines performed well prior to the COVID-19 pandemic as rising levels of disposable income enabled more consumers to purchase airline tickets, while a relatively weak Canadian dollar has encouraged inbound travel from foreign consumers visiting Canada. The pandemic caused many airlines to suspend international service, while governments imposed social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus, severely constraining industry revenue in 2020 and 2021, which went below one-third of 2019 levels. Airlines have bounced back strongly from the pandemic as a vaccine enabled the travel to begin to normalize, a process that will continue in the coming years. Revenue is estimated to have decreased at a CAGR of 0.8% over the past five years to $29.3 billion. This includes a projected increase of 10.5% in 2023 alone as travel continues to return to pre-pandemic levels and revenue is still growing rapidly.

This industry provides air transportation for passengers and cargo over regular routes and on regular schedules. Network carriers operate a significant portion of their flights using at least one hub where connections are made for flights on a spoke system. Regional carriers provide service from small cities, mostly using smaller aircraft and jets to support the network carriers’ hub and spoke systems. Airlines that transport mail are included in this industry.

This report covers the scope, size, disposition and growth of the industry including the key sensitivities and success factors. Also included are five year industry forecasts, growth rates and an analysis of the industry key players and their market shares.