The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, June 29, edition that Scotiabank analyst Konark Gupta has reaffirmed his "sector outperform" recommendation for Air Canada. The Globe's Darcy Keith writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Gupta targets the shares at $31. Analysts on average target the shares at $29.37. Mr. Gupta says Delta Air Lines' investor day on Tuesday, in which it raised its second quarter and full-year guidance, should be perceived as positive for Air Canada. The leading U.S. airline told investors that there was continued robust demand for air travel, especially for international travel, which is on pace for a record summer. Delta believes the recovery in demand will last for years. Mr. Gupta says, "We continue to believe that Air Canada's guidance is conservative and see potential for upside, particularly for 2024." He notes that Air Canada's passenger traffic recovered to 87 per cent of prepandemic levels in the first quarter this year with an 84.8-per-cent load factor. Mr. Gupta says in a note, "We estimate 91-per-cent recovery in Q2/23 and the full-year, supported by recent acceleration in the number of passengers screened across Canada's major airports."