WestJet today announced December 2012 traffic results with a record load factor of 81.9 per cent.
Revenue passenger miles (RPMs), or traffic, increased 7.2 per cent year over year, and capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew 6.0 per cent over the same period. The airline flew 17.4 million guests in all of 2012 which is a year-over-year increase of 8.6 per cent or approximately 1,383,000 additional guests.
“We are very pleased to close out the year with six consecutive monthly load factor records and record high loads in all four quarters. Our positive momentum culminated in 2012 with a new single-day record of flying more than 57,000 guests on December 21st,” said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. “Our forward bookings continue to be strong and I want to thank our more than 9,000 WestJetters for their great efforts and caring attitudes, despite challenging weather, that ensured another memorable holiday travel season for our guests.”
December 2012 traffic results
December 2012December 2011ChangeLoad factor81.9%80.9%1.0 pts. ASMs (billions)2.0061.8936.0%RPMs (billions)1.6421.5327.2%
Fourth quarter
2012Fourth quarter
2011ChangeLoad factor81.9%78.7%3.2 pts.ASMs (billions)5.4875.3293.0%RPMs (billions)4.4934.1947.1%
Full-year 2012Full-year 2011ChangeLoad factor82.8%79.7%3.1 pts.ASMs (billions)22.06421.1864.1%RPMs (billions)18.26316.8918.1%
WestJet reached a major milestone in early December, when it took delivery of its 100th Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft. In 2013, WestJet will take delivery of an additional five Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft and seven Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft. “With the delivery of its first two Q400s scheduled for June and the launch of its first schedule in February, excitement is building as WestJet Encore gets closer to providing more communities with access to our low fares and caring guest experience,” added Gregg Saretsky.