Air Canada: Defined Benefit Pension Plans

An investor was reviewing his investment in Air Canada to decide whether or not to sell his shares in the company. Recent weakness in the airline industry and a three-day strike by service staff had caused the investor to reevaluate Air Canada’s long-term prospects. In particular, the investor wanted to consider the company’s pension plans in his analysis. A proposal to move new hires to defined contribution from defined benefit pension plans was a key point of contention between the company and striking workers. The investor knew the company’s pension plans were underfunded and he wanted to assess what impact the underfunding would have on the company’s future. Finally, the investor wanted to understand the impact that the change to International Financial Reporting Standards would have on Air Canada’s pension accounting.