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Air Canada shares dropped after the company said that it will make “meaningful” reductions to its summer flight schedule in order to quickly bring passenger volumes down to a manageable level. Canada’s largest air carrier fell 6% on Thursday, recovering slightly from an 8.8% tumble in intraday trading -- its biggest drop since early March -- as investors balked at its post-pandemic operational disruptions. Air Canada said it plans to cut 154 flights per day, on average, for the next two months; the carrier operates about 1,000 daily flights. “This surge in travel has created unprecedented and unforeseen strains on all aspects of the global aviation system,” Michael Rousseau, CEO of Air Canada, said in an email to customers Tuesday night. The changes will primarily reduce the frequency of smaller flights in the evening and late at night on domestic and US routes. But the airline will also suspend flights between Montreal and three cities -- Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Kelowna -- and between Toronto and Fort McMurray. The Toronto and Montreal hubs will be the most affected, while international flights will remain mostly unchanged. <br/>

Consumer rights advocates are demanding Air Canada provide compensation to many of the hundreds of thousands of passengers whose summer flights it cancelled - but whether the airline plans to concede remains up in the air.<br/>Canada's largest carrier said Wednesday night it will cut more than 15 per cent of its departures in July and August as the country's flight network sags under an overwhelming travel resurgence. The move will see more than 9,500 flights, or 154 per day on average, dropped from the airline's schedule - already operating at just 80% of pre-pandemic levels. The flights link mainly to the airline's Toronto and Montreal hubs, and run along domestic or Canada-US routes. No international flights other than those to the United States were among the cull. “This Canada Day weekend will be difficult,” CEO Michael Rousseau told employees in a memo dated Thursday. “I wish I could promise you that the measures we are taking will mean an easy summer ahead. While they will certainly provide some relief, it will take time and effort and we likely won't see the full benefit until the latter part of July.” Sylvie De Bellefeuille, a lawyer with Quebec-based advocacy group Option consommateurs, says many customers are “absolutely” owed compensation under Canada's passenger rights charter. The Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), which took force in 2019, require compensation - distinct from refunds - of between $400 and $1,000 for a cancellation or significant delay that is “within the carrier's control,” should the traveller opt to reject the rebooking, and in some cases when they accept it. “I believe it is the decision of Air Canada to cancel the flights,” De Bellefeuille said. “Therefore people should have a right of compensation.” While Rousseau apologized for cancellations and “customer service shortfalls,” the CEO also said in an email to travellers the schedule reduction stemmed from strains on the “global aviation system” - which falls outside Air Canada's control - calling them “unprecedented and unforeseen.”<br/>

Singapore Airlines now operates more flights to North America than in the pre-pandemic period, pulling far ahead of Cathay Pacific of Hong Kong, the city-state's rival trans-Pacific aviation hub in Southeast Asia. Singapore's flag carrier serviced at least 532 flights between its home country and North America in June, according to British analytics firm Cirium, exceeding the last peak in January 2020 by about 5%. Singapore Airlines "is the sole operator of direct flights to many destinations in the Americas," said Jason Sum, analyst at DBS Bank, who added that the carrier "generally enjoys higher margins on long-haul flights" when seat occupancy rates are elevated. The airline's carrying capacity to North America -- the number of available seats times the distance -- was 13% higher in June than in January 2020 on growing demand for both business and leisure trips. Seat occupancy ratio hit 87% for flights to the Americas in May. For Singapore, the US is the single biggest source of direct investments. Flights to the US accounted for 15% to 20% of Singapore Airlines' total pre-COVID revenue, according to DBS estimates, roughly on par with greater China, its main market. This recovery is happening while Tokyo and Seoul maintain border restrictions, giving Singapore a ripe opportunity to establish itself as the dominant gateway between North America and Southeast Asia. Singapore has long competed as a major hub with Hong Kong, which is now seeing an exodus of companies from the US and other major economies. Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's leading carrier, only serviced 130 flights to North America in June, plunging nearly 90% from January 2020 due to strict border restrictions. A direct flight from Singapore to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport takes over 18 hours. In March, Singapore Airlines resumed flights to Newark Liberty International Airport, which serves the metropolitan area. Roundtrip flights to greater New York now number three a day, an all-time high for the carrier.<br/>