Air Canada's CEO said Friday he's seeing the first signs of economic recovery, but he doesn't expect a return to full revenues at the Montreal-based airline for at least a year.

"Although we are seeing indications that the bottom of the recession is now behind us, the industry is still facing an extremely challenging revenue environment, and we do not expect to see a full recovery for another 12 to 18 months," Calin Rovinescu told analysts in a conference call.

Air Canada reported net income of $277 million, or $2.44 a share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30. In the same period a year ago, it had a net loss of $132 million, or $1.32 a share.

Adjusting for a gain on foreign exchange of $295 million on assets of $1 million, the airline produced a loss of 19 cents a share.