Air Canada shares are taking flight after the country’s largest airline announced it would sell a quarter of its Aeroplan loyalty program to Blackstone and a group of Canadian pension funds for $2.5 billion. The carrier’s stock price jumped 15 per cent after markets opened Wednesday before settling to a roughly 10 per cent increase following the announcement the night before. The sale marks a windfall for the Montreal-based company just as high fuel prices from the Middle East war deliver a half-billion-dollar hit to its earnings this year. The Aeroplan buyers are led by private equity giant Blackstone and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, with the Public Sector Pension Investment Board and the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. among the other investors. Air Canada says it will maintain full control of the travel reward program’s day-to-day operations. It plans to use proceeds from the deal to repay $1.7 billion in bonds and buy back up to $800 million in shares in September. The sale is set to close on Monday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2026.
