Air Canada reported a smaller first-quarter adjusted loss on Thursday, as Canada's largest carrier benefited from a rebound in bookings for business travel.

Major North American carriers are cashing in on a resurgence in big spending by corporate customers who have been largely absent from the post-pandemic travel boom.

Executives at Air Canada's U.S. peers have also highlighted expectations for robust travel demand across both domestic and international routes in the upcoming summer season.

The International Air Transport Association expects 4.7 billion people to travel in 2024, compared with 4.5 billion in 2019.

Its adjusted loss narrowed to C$96 million ($69.98 million), or C$0.27 per share, from C$188 million, or C$0.53 per share, a year earlier.

The Canadian carrier's quarterly operating revenue rose 7% to C$5.2 billion in the quarter ended March 31.

($1 = 1.3719 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Arun Koyyur)