TORONTO – In its third quarter results, Air Canada has revealed that it has done better than expected, with a nearly 19% spike in traffic leading to a 75.7% increase in net income.

Benefitting from a combination of lower costs and increased traffic on its routes, Canada’s largest airline reported that revenue rose 10.6% to $4.45 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $4.30 billion.

The company expects cost per available seat mile (CASM) to decline 5-6% in the fourth quarter, and by 2.75-3.75% this year. Plus, adjusted CASM (how much an airline spends to fly a passenger) fell 5.9% in the third quarter.

Having added seven nonstop routes to Europe and one to Asia, Africa and Australia earlier this year, Air Canada also reported 27.9% growth in international-to-international passengers connecting via Canada. As such, traffic increased almost 19%, while fuel cost per litre fell 10.2%.

Net income jumped to $768 million, or $2.74 per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, from a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned $2.93 per share, above the average analyst estimate of $2.55, according to Thomson Reuters.