Transat A.T. Inc. revenue more than doubled to $62.8 million in 2021 versus the same period in 2020. Despite that encouraging sign, the company posted a loss of $121.3 million in its latest quarter.
"Since we resumed operations on July 30, business has been growing steadily," said Annick Guérard, President and CEO.
"We met and exceeded our targets for resumption of operations in the last quarter and reduced our use of cash. The winter season that is now beginning will see the continuation of our return to more significant volumes. While we remain cautious given the evolving variants, we remain optimistic that we're on track to returning to normal."
Transat is still a long, long way from normal. For the 2021 fiscal year as a whole, the company earned revenues of $124.8 million, a decrease of $1.2 billion (90.4%) compared with 2020.
Transat suspended its airline operations on January 29, 2021 for the second time since March 2020. A partial resumption didn't start until July 30, 2021.
For the full year 2021, operations generated an adjusted operating loss of $401.2 million compared with $426.0 million in 2020, an improvement of $24.7 million. However, Transat reported an adjusted operating loss of $213.9 million compared with $122.2 million in 2020, a deterioration of $91.7 million.
Guérard and her team can only look forward, and she maintains that things are looking up.
"For the winter, we plan to operate from eight Canadian airports to eight destinations in Europe, 22 in the South and five in the United States, including Miami and Fort Myers, where we'll be flying for the first time. To do that, we will be deploying capacity that will grow from 50% to 75% of pre-pandemic capacity over the winter. We will then build volume further for the summer season, which will include two new routes to Europe and two new destinations in the United States."
Transat's ramping up saw the company open its fiscal 2022 on November 1 with over 2,000 employees, compared with only 750 at the height of the pandemic crisis. Guérard says projected volume will allow the company to recall about 1,500 more during the year.
"It's heartwarming to see our employees gradually taking back up their positions with us. They are the reason that Transat is what it is today, and they are the ones who will build tomorrow's growth and success," Guérard said in a press release.
Across all of its markets, Transat's average capacity for winter 2022 is 60% of 2019 capacity, increasing from 50% to 75% over the course of the season. For sun destinations, Transat's capacity in 2022 represents 55% of 2019 capacity, while the low season winter transatlantic program is at 65% of 2019 capacity. The U.S. is a bright spot, with cross-border capacity growth of 45% compared to 2019 winter season capacity.
With the Omicron variant capturing headlines and spurring new travel restrictions, Transat says "it remains impossible to predict the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on future bookings, and on financial results." As a result, the company is not providing an outlook for winter 2022.
Despite the uncertainty going forward, Transat says the current situation "shows encouraging signs such as the level of bookings observed and the increase in the vaccination rate."
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