MONTREAL — Air Canada’s full year load factor for 2015 was 83.5%, a slight increase of 0.1 points over 2014 but still a record for the carrier based on an increase in traffic of 9.6% and a capacity increase of 9.4%.

For the month of December, Air Canada reported a system-wide capacity increase of 7.3% and a load factor of 81.6%.  On this additional capacity, traffic increased 6%. Air Canada reports traffic results on a system-wide basis, including regional airlines from which Air Canada purchases capacity and Air Canada rouge.

“I am pleased to report our highest ever load factor for the full year 2015,” said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer. “In December, Air Canada generated greater traffic in all markets served and surpassed previous records for passengers boarded on two occasions during the month, with over 134,000 customers served on Dec. 30 and over 131,000 on Dec. 18.  These strong results underscore the effectiveness of our commercial strategy that contributed to Air Canada serving more than 41 million customers in 2015, an all-time record for the airline.”