WestJet Reports 12.3 Percent Increase in Traffic

Canadian air carrier WestJet released its June 2016 traffic numbers today, reporting a 12.3 percent increase in revenue passenger miles compared to the same period in 2015.

The airline also announced a record load factor of 80.4 percent – a 3.5 percent increase year over year – and a 7.5 percent increase in available seat miles over the same period.

In the second quarter of 2016, the airline reached a load factor of 80.8 percent, and flew a record 5.3 million guests – a year over year increase of 7.0 percent, or approximately 345,000 additional guests.

“We are very pleased with our double-digit traffic growth as we flew a record numbers of guests in the second quarter and also celebrated WestJet Encore’s third birthday,” said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. “As we transition into our busy summer season, I want to thank our almost 12,000 WestJetters for their commitment to providing our brand of friendly caring service each and every day.”

WestJet now expects its RASM for the second quarter of 2016 to decline between 5.5 to 6.0 percent year over year, as compared to its previous forecast of a decline between 7.5 to 9.5 percent year over year, with the difference primarily driven by a higher second quarter load factor than previously expected.

— Dana Niland