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Jun 16, 2010 | 11:12 am

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Air Canada says recovery in business travel slow

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1626879620100616

June 16 (Reuters) - Air Canada (ACa.TO) (ACb.TO) is experiencing only a tepid recovery in business-class travel, traditionally the most lucrative part of its operations, a top executive at Canada's biggest airline said on Wednesday.

"(The return of the business traveler) is happening slowly but it has not happened to any great degree at this point in time," said Michael Rousseau, Air Canada's executive vice-president and chief financial officer.

Typically, it takes two to three years after an economic recession for the number of business travelers to get back to pre-slump levels, he said.

"We are starting to see that now, but again I can be very clear to you that many, many large corporations in Canada have not reverted back ... to where they were in Q1 2008," Rousseau told an audience at a Bank of America Merrill Lynch conference in New York.

Airline analysts have in recent months raised their expectations for Air Canada as the Canadian and global economies recover.

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