Air Canada reported a first-quarter net loss of C$400 million (US$342 million), nearly 40 per cent greater than the C$288 million loss a year earlier.

Air Canada’s new president and CEO Calin Rovinescu said the carrier is urgently seeking relief from its pension funding obligations. Rovinescu told shareholders at the company’s AGM in Montreal, that the carrier has a “pressing need to achieve an alternate pension funding solution”. He said Air Canada has a C$2.9 billion pension funding solvency deficit and has asked unions for a funding “moratorium.”

Rovinescu also told shareholders that “liquidity will continue to be a prime concern” and said AC is actively seeking new sources of financing. It currently has C$1.1 billion cash on hand but wants to build a cash reserve “closer to 15 per cent of revenue,” or around C$1.7 billion.