WestJet posts impressive passenger traffic figures

An ever growing number of passengers are choosing to travel with WestJet, Canada’s second largest airline, according to load factor figures released earlier today. Even more importantly, the rise in the number of passengers observed this past March is now the fifteenth consecutive month of continuous growth for the airline. In comparison to WestJet’s success, Air Canada’s load factor figures appear to be stagnating, which may serve as a source of relief for the Calgary-based carrier, since AC remains its fiercest rival on the vast majority of domestic routes. According to the newest statistics, WestJet’s airplanes were nearly 87 percent full last month, representing an increase of well over one percent over figures from the same period in 2007. Although one percent growth may not seem significant on the surface, it is important to remember that WestJet also increased capacity on many routes. One factor that should be taken into consideration when assessing this rise in passenger figures is that unlike last year, Easter was celebrated in March and the four-day long-weekend associated with this holiday is always a busy time for airports and airlines alike.

Air Canada’s planes were noticeably less full that those operated by its discount rival, Westjet. The overall load factor on AC flights stood at 82.9 percent in March, which actually represents a slight decline of about 0.1 percent, compared to figures from 2007. Air Canada, like WestJet, did also increase capacity, by around 3.9 percent, which explains the slight decline in the number of occupied seats on flights. Air Canada Jazz, the national carrier’s regional subsidiary, however, did slight better, posting an increasing in load factor of about 0.5 percent, which means that on average 76.5 percent of seats on planes were occupied.

www.westjet.com