Omicron will hurt this quarter, but demand is returning, says Chorus CEO

The head of Chorus Aviation says he expects flying activity will move closer to pre-pandemic levels in Q2, despite being thrown off course by the Omicron variant over the past two months. CEO Joe Randell said Thursday that use of aircraft on Air Canada regional routes could reach 87% between April and June as demand rises in step with easing travel restrictions and COVID-19 anxieties. Chorus, which provides regional service for the country's largest carrier and and leases planes across the globe, said Air Canada plane use is on track to reach 60% of the 2019 level in the current quarter. That's after ending the year at 76%, which sat at the bottom end of the company's guidance in the fall. "The fourth quarter was going well, etc. And then Omicron struck," Randell told analysts. “While there is a drop in the first quarter as a result of Omicron, I think there's reason to believe that now things are going to pick back up and we're going to get to where we were pre-Omicron and plus," Randell said. The expectations mark a slight scale-down from enthusiastic predictions three months ago, when Randell said a return to full operations by late in the second quarter "could be very achievable." Some of Chorus’s 17 plane-leasing clients remain in a financial hole, resulting in cash collection of 83% last quarter — an improvement from 77% in Q3, as more carriers find their footing.<br/>