Air Canada says aims to avoid bankruptcy filing

Air Canada said on Friday that it is working to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection, a move that analysts had speculated the country's largest airline would need as it faces a raft of challenges.

Air Canada said on Friday that it is working to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection, a move that analysts had speculated the country's largest airline would need as it faces a raft of challenges.

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"Our objective is to avoid any filing," said Chief Executive Calin Rovinescu on a conference call with analysts. "We need to have labor stability as we put the financing structures in place to avoid a filing."

Earlier on Friday the company reported a 39 percent increase in its first-quarter loss as demand for air travel and cargo services continued to decline. It said 2009 would be challenging.