News Releases

WestJet reports April load factor of 80.2 per cent

Airline flies a record 1.7 million guests for the month of April

CALGARY, May 5, 2015 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced April 2015 traffic results with a load factor of 80.2 per cent. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs), or traffic, increased 3.1 per cent year-over-year, and capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew 5.8 per cent over the same period. The airline flew 1.7 million guests in April, a year-over-year increase of 1.6 per cent or approximately 27,000 additional guests, and achieved an on-time performance rate of 91.2 per cent, a year-over-year improvement of 8.5 percentage points.

"We are pleased with our continued traffic growth as we welcomed a record number of guests on board in April even as Easter shifted to overlap spring break this year, creating one holiday period as compared to two in 2014," said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. "We continued to improve our operational efficiency in April and I want to thank our more than 10,000 WestJetters for their dedication to safely performing on time."

April 2015 traffic results

  April 2015 April 2014 Change
Load factor 80.2% 82.3% (2.1 pts)
ASMs (billions) 2.280 2.155 5.8%
RPMs (billions) 1.829 1.774 3.1%
  Year-to-date 2015 Year-to-date 2014 Change
Load factor 81.3% 82.9% (1.6 pts)
ASMs (billions) 9.099 8.670 4.9%
RPMs (billions) 7.395 7.191 2.8%

WestJet will hold its quarterly analysts' conference call on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, at 8 a.m. MDT (10 a.m. EDT) following the release of its 2015 first quarter financial results. President and CEO Gregg Saretsky and Executive Vice-President of Finance and CFO Vito Culmone will discuss WestJet's 2015 first quarter results and answer questions from financial analysts and members of the media. The conference call will be available in Toronto by calling 416-915-3239, in Vancouver by calling 604-638-5340 and across Canada and the United States through the toll-free telephone number 1-800-319-4610. The call can also be heard live through an Internet webcast accessible via the Media and Investor Relations section of westjet.com.

WestJet will hold its AGM at 10 a.m. MDT (12 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, at WestJet's Calgary campus, which is located at 22 Aerial Place NE, Calgary, Alberta. The AGM will be available through an Internet webcast in the Media and Investor Relations section of westjet.com.

About WestJet

We are proud to be Canada's most-preferred airline, powered by an award-winning culture of care and recognized as one of the country's top employers. We offer scheduled service to more than 90 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. Through our regional airline, WestJet Encore, and with partnerships with airlines representing every major region of the world, we offer our guests more than 120 destinations in more than 20 countries. Leveraging WestJet's extensive network, flight schedule and remarkable guest experience, WestJet Vacations delivers affordable, flexible travel experiences with a variety of accommodation options for every guest. Members of our WestJet Rewards program earn WestJet dollars on flights, vacation packages and more. Our members use WestJet dollars towards the purchase of WestJet flights and vacation packages on any day, at any time, to any WestJet destination with no blackout periods  ̶  even on seat sales. For more information about everything WestJet, please visit westjet.com.

Recent recognition includes:
2015 Best Employers in Canada (Aon Hewitt)
2014 Interbrand Canada's Best Canadian Brands (Rank #20)
2014 Brands of the Year (Strategy magazine)
2014 Canada's Most Preferred Airline (Ipsos)
2014 Value Airline of the Year (Air Transport World magazine)
2014/2013/2012 Canada's Most Attractive Employer (Randstad)
2014/2013 WestJet RBC MasterCard ranked #1 in Canada (Money Sense magazine and RewardsCanada.ca)
2014/2013/2012/2011 Highest equity score: airline, vacation package supplier brands (Harris/Decima EquiTrend Study)

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SOURCE WestJet

For further information:

WestJet Media Relations
1-888-WJ-4-NEWS (1-888-954-6397)
Email: media@westjet.com
Website: www.westjet.com

WestJet Investor Relations
1-877-493-78