Air Canada says the country害羞草研究所檚 passenger rights overhaul will hardly hurt its bottom line, though the full effect won害羞草研究所檛 be known until implementation next year.

On a call with analysts Monday, chief financial officer John Di Bert said the financial impact of regulatory changes 害羞草研究所� both rights reforms and stricter rules around pilots害羞草研究所� shift length and rest periods 害羞草研究所� would put 害羞草研究所渁dditive pressure害羞草研究所� on costs.

害羞草研究所淏ut certainly those would be incremental to the current cost base,害羞草研究所� he said.

Asked whether the new traveller rights rules would drain hundreds of millions of dollars or mere tens of millions from company coffers, Di Bert replied: 害羞草研究所淗undreds of millions would feel heavy. But certainly it could have some impacts that may still be felt when we look forward to (2024) and beyond.害羞草研究所�

In April, the federal government announced sweeping reforms to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, with the specifics now being hashed out by Canada害羞草研究所檚 transport regulator.

The changes appear to scrap a loophole through which airlines have denied customers compensation for flight delays or cancellations when they were required for safety purposes.

The new rules also ratchet up the maximum penalty for airline violations to $250,000 害羞草研究所� a tenfold increase 害羞草研究所� and put the regulatory cost of complaints on carriers.

Airlines have faced few penalties from the Canadian Transportation Agency for breaches related to passenger compensation for delays and cancellations. Theregulator has issued only one, according to Air Passenger Rights advocacy group president Gabor Lukacs.

害羞草研究所淚f fines were issued more frequently, airlines would not waste peoples害羞草研究所� money with unreasonably refusing to pay,害羞草研究所� he said.

National Bank analyst Cameron Doerksen highlighted several financial pain points at Air Canada, including an upcoming collective agreement for pilots that is widely expected to bring them big gains, given the major wage hikes this year at three major U.S. carriers as well as WestJet.

害羞草研究所淲hile the company will face some incremental upward pressure on costs in 2024 due to increased pilot costs as well as higher costs from new passenger protection legislation in Canada 害羞草研究所� which will impact all airlines 害羞草研究所� we note that Air Canada currently has about eight per cent more employees than 2019 even though it will fly 12 per cent less capacity this year,害羞草研究所� Doerksen said in a note to investors on Monday.

Air Canada took in $16.66 billion in revenue through the first nine months of the year, and net income topping $2.09 billion.

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