The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Air Canada enjoyed surging profits in its latest quarter as consumers continued to spend on travel, despite higher inflation and interest rates weighing on their wallets. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe says that the country's flag carrier saw net income for its third quarter jump to $1.25-billion from a half-billion-dollar loss in the same period a year earlier. On Monday, chief executive officer Michael Rousseau said demand remains "very stable." Passenger revenues for the quarter ended Sept. 30 leaped 22 per cent year-over-year. Adjusted earnings also surpassed those from 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic. The frothy earnings arrived despite lower flight capacity than four years ago and business from corporate customers sitting 25 to 30 per cent below prepandemic demand. The smaller fleet may have contributed to a relatively weak on-time performance, which saw Air Canada rank ninth out of 10 major North American airlines, according to aviation data firm Cirium. About 68 per cent of the carrier's 32,000-plus flights in September arrived on time, versus between 76 per cent and 86 per cent for the top seven airlines, including WestJet.