Estimated reading time 2 minutes, 3 seconds.
WestJet has announced February 2014 traffic results with a load factor of 84.6 per cent. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs), or traffic, increased 7.3 per cent year over year, and capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew 9.2 per cent over the same period. The airline flew 1.5 million guests in February, a year-over-year increase of 8.0 per cent or approximately 114,000 additional guests.
“We are pleased with the strong traffic growth, achieving our second-highest February load factor in WestJet’s history, and welcoming more guests into our network, as we celebrated WestJet’s 18th birthday in February,” said WestJet president and CEO Gregg Saretsky. “I want to thank our nearly 10,000 WestJetters for their exceptional dedication to providing our guests with a remarkable experience every day, even with an unprecedented number of weather-related irregular operations.”
WestJet now anticipates its revenue per available seat mile (RASM) for the first quarter of 2014 to be flat to down slightly year over year, due to slightly softer domestic demand and a larger impact than previously anticipated from the Easter and Passover holidays shifting into the second quarter of 2014. The previous outlook released on Feb. 4, 2014, in conjunction with the airline’s fourth quarter 2013 financial results, guided to a first quarter RASM of flat to up slightly when compared with the first quarter of 2013.
In February 2014, WestJet announced it has signed a multi-year agreement with Panasonic Avionics Corporation to provide the airline with a new inflight entertainment system with added connectivity and entertainment options. The addition of WiFi is a strategic step forward to enable guests, especially business travellers, to make their time in the air as productive as possible.
