Sky-high fuel costs pushed Air Canada to slash its profit forecast by hundreds of millions of dollars for the year after a turbulent quarter that saw its bottom line nearly cut in half.
The country’s largest airline recovered less than half of its fuel expanse last quarter, but aims to recoup about 70 percent in the current one, said chief financial officer John Di Bert.
The surging price of kerosene, particularly in September and after, drove a year-over-year fuel cost increase of 75 percent or $906 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, he said.
Amid an ongoing conflict in the Middle East that has throttled global oil exports, Di Bert expects the fuel price to hover around $1.72 per litre—”significantly higher than originally planned.”…