Who Owns Air Canada?

Air Canada has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from all operations by 2050. The airline's primary near-term lever is sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In 2023, Air Canada signed a supply agreement with Neste for approximately 78 million liters of unblended SAF over multiple years, one of the largest SAF procurement commitments by a North American airline.

The airline operates a corporate LEAVE LESS program that offers corporate customers verified carbon offset options for business travel emissions. The program supports projects certified under recognized offset standards.

Fleet renewal is the most material near-term emissions reduction pathway for Air Canada. The Airbus A220-300, which replaced older Embraer and Boeing narrowbodies on domestic and transborder routes, burns approximately 20 percent less fuel per seat than the aircraft it replaced. The Boeing 787-9 achieves similar efficiency gains on long-haul routes versus the Boeing 777 it partially replaced.

Air Canada does not hold any independently verified ESG certification at the corporate level. Its sustainability disclosures follow the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework, as required for Toronto Stock Exchange-listed companies.

The following awards are verifiable through the organizations cited:

• APEX Five Star Global Airline (2024, 2025): Air Canada received the APEX Five Star Global Airline Award based on passenger ratings collected through APEX's global survey program. The airline has held this rating for multiple consecutive years.
• Skytrax Best Airline in North America (2024): Air Canada was ranked the best airline in North America in the 2024 Skytrax World Airline Awards, which are based on passenger survey responses.
• Skytrax World's Best Business Class Lounge Dining (2024, 2025): The Signature Suite at Toronto Pearson received this award at the 2024 and 2025 Skytrax ceremonies, recognizing the lounge's culinary program.

Passenger Compensation Disputes (Ongoing): Air Canada has faced a series of legal challenges under Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), which came into force in 2019. Multiple class action lawsuits allege that the airline classified flight delays as outside its control in order to avoid compensation obligations, when the root causes were within the airline's control. A Quebec Superior Court authorized a class action on this basis in 2022. A separate case involving passenger Jeremy Landry resulted in a court ordering Air Canada to pay $15,000 for failing to meet rebooking obligations. As of May 2025, the class action litigation is ongoing.

Supreme Court Pricing Case: The Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear a case in which a Quebec Court of Appeal had ordered Air Canada to pay passengers more than $10 million in damages arising from charges above advertised prices. The Supreme Court case had not been decided as of May 2025.

COVID-19 Refund Disputes (2020-2021): Air Canada initially issued travel vouchers rather than cash refunds when it cancelled flights during the COVID-19 pandemic, a practice that consumer advocates and regulators argued violated passenger rights. As a condition of the federal government's $5.9 billion aid package announced in April 2021, Air Canada agreed to issue cash refunds to affected passengers totaling approximately $1.4 billion. No regulatory fine was imposed, but the episode drew sustained public criticism.

Labor Disputes: Air Canada has experienced several labor disputes since privatization. A 2012 strike by pilots and mechanics was legislated back to work by the federal government, invoking the Canadian Industrial Relations Board. In 2023, flight attendants represented by CUPE reached a new collective agreement after strike action became a possibility. As of May 2025, collective agreements with most major labor groups are in force.

Market Dominance and Competition Bureau Reviews: The Competition Bureau of Canada reviewed Air Canada's acquisition of Canadian Airlines in 2000 and imposed consent order conditions, including restrictions on predatory pricing and requirements to maintain service on routes where competition had been eliminated. The bureau has periodically reviewed Air Canada's conduct in subsequent years, most recently examining the airline's 2023 proposed acquisition of Canadian charter carrier Sunwing Airlines. That acquisition was abandoned in 2023 after regulatory conditions were imposed.