News Releases

Airline reports a 63.7% increase in fourth quarter earnings from
operations

CALGARY, Feb. 13 /CNW/ - WestJet (TSX:WJA) today announced record fourth
quarter and full-year 2007 results. The airline's quarterly net earnings
increased to $75.4 million from $26.7 million in the same period last year.
Diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the fourth quarter was 57 cents compared
to 21 cents in the same period last year. These results included a one-time
favourable adjustment of $33.7 million due to corporate income tax rate
reductions enacted by the federal government in the quarter. Excluding the
one-time adjustment, fourth quarter net earnings were a record $41.7 million,
an increase of 56.3%, while diluted EPS was 32 cents, an increase of 52.4%,
when compared to the previous year.
For the full-year 2007, net earnings were $192.8 million, a 68.2%
increase compared to $114.7 million in 2006. Diluted EPS for the year was
$1.47, an increase of 67.0% compared to 88 cents in 2006. Excluding the
favourable tax adjustment and the second quarter aiRES adjustment, 2007 net
earnings were a record $181.3 million, an increase of 58.1%, while diluted EPS
was $1.39, an increase of 58.0% from 2006.
Sean Durfy, WestJet President and CEO said today, "The fourth quarter of
2007 was a strong end to a great year for our airline. The fourth quarter
capped 12 consecutive months of record load factor, revenues that surpassed
$2 billion as well as increases in market share domestically and on our U.S.,
Caribbean and Mexican routes. I would like to personally thank our over 6,700
WestJetters; these results are a testament to their perseverance, commitment
and passion."
The airline's fourth quarter earnings from operations were $73.4 million,
representing an operating margin of 13.3% and an increase of 63.7% over fourth
quarter 2006. Earnings from operations for the full-year 2007 were
$300.2 million, representing an operating margin of 14.0% and an increase of
50.5% over full-year 2006.
Fourth quarter revenue grew 22.4% to $553.4 million compared to
$452.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. The airline's 2007 revenue
increased to $2.2 billion compared to $1.8 billion in 2006, an increase of
21.9%.

<<
Operating Highlights
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q4 Q4 % Year-end Year-end %
2007 2006 change 2007 2006 change
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Load Factor 77.7% 75.5% 2.2 pts. 80.7% 78.2% 2.5 pts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASM (available
seat miles)
billions 3.819 3.315 15.2% 14.545 12.524 16.1%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
RPM (revenue
passenger miles)
billions 2.968 2.502 18.6% 11.739 9.792 19.9%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
RASM (revenue
per available
seat mile)
cents 14.49 13.64 6.2% 14.79 14.09 5.0%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yield (revenue
per revenue
passenger mile)
cents 18.65 18.07 3.2% 18.33 18.03 1.7%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
CASM (cost per
available
seat mile)
cents 12.57 12.29 2.3% 12.51(1) 12.50 0.1%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
CASM excluding
fuel - cents 8.84 9.08 (2.6%) 9.05(1) 9.10 (0.5%)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) excludes reservation system write-down of $31.9 million
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>

Sean Durfy continued, "For both the quarter and the year, we once again
demonstrated our ability to effectively manage our growth and match our
capacity increases with market demands. We increased capacity and load factor
while at the same time improving yield. We are particularly pleased to have
ended both the quarter and the year with significant improvements in RASM.
"Our ongoing commitment to containing costs was reflected in our strong
fourth quarter results that weathered increasing fuel prices. Fuel continues
to be our biggest expense which we try to mitigate through our fuel-efficient
fleet, blended winglet technology on our 700- and 800-series aircraft and
other fuel saving initiatives. Overall, we experienced an increase in CASM for
the fourth quarter, while keeping CASM for the full-year 2007 comparable to
that of last year.
"We continued to manage our business in a cost-effective manner and are
pleased with our fourth quarter CASM excluding fuel of 8.8 cents, 2.6% lower
than that of 2006. We achieved cost declines in aircraft operations, flight
operations, interest, aircraft leasing costs and maintenance. Our ability to
effectively manage controllable costs positions us to better deal with
fluctuating fuel prices.
"Two 737-700 aircraft were delivered in the fourth quarter, bringing our
total registered fleet size to 70 at year end. We accepted delivery of two
more 700-series aircraft in the early part of 2008 and will add an additional
five aircraft, three more 700s and two 800s, by the end of 2008 bringing our
fleet size to 77. Our capacity will increase in 2008 by 16% and we are
confident this will be absorbed through our successful capacity deployment
strategy.
"WestJet is ready for 2008 and believes that our low-cost focus along
with the dedication of our people will see us continue our growth momentum. We
were thrilled to be awarded Canada's Most Admired Corporate Culture for the
third year in a row, as recognized by over 180 top executives across Canada.
Our WestJetters continue to demonstrate that they are committed to maintaining
our industry-leading position and financial strength."
WestJet also reported fourth quarter and year-end operational
performance, achieving top-five ranking in all three categories for the full
year. WestJet calculates operational performance based on the Department of
Transportation's standards for the North American Airline industry.

<<
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q4 Q4 % Year-end Year-end %
2007 2006 change 2007 2006 change
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
On-time
performance 77.8% 81.4% (3.6 pts.) 82.6% 82.2% 0.4 pts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Completion rate 99.0% 99.3% (0.3 pts.) 99.2% 99.4% (0.2 pts.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bag ratio 4.31 4.58 (5.9%) 4.26 4.64 (8.2%)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

WestJet Airlines Ltd.
Consolidated Financial Statements
For the Three and Twelve Months Ended
December 31, 2007 and 2006
(Unaudited)

WestJet Airlines Ltd.
Consolidated Statement of Earnings
(Stated in thousands of Canadian dollars, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
December 31 December 31
2007 2006 2007 2006
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revenues:
Guest revenues $ 502,379 $ 410,172 $ 1,899,159 $ 1,556,400
Charter and other
revenue 43,055 37,666 227,997 194,869
Interest income 7,943 4,279 24,301 13,815
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
553,377 452,117 2,151,457 1,765,084
Expenses:
Aircraft fuel 142,359 106,307 503,931 425,506
Airport operations 69,273 61,958 289,695 245,131
Flight operations and
navigational charges 65,892 62,299 259,389 229,821
Sales and marketing 52,865 43,045 187,929 162,577
Depreciation and
amortization 32,838 30,115 127,223 111,442
General and
administration 26,909 22,657 104,263 83,025
Inflight 23,488 18,610 85,499 67,220
Interest 19,454 19,297 75,749 70,196
Aircraft leasing 18,152 17,647 75,201 71,432
Maintenance 18,489 16,870 74,653 67,501
Guest services 10,256 8,486 35,810 31,739
Loss on impairment of
property and equipment - - 31,881 -

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
479,975 407,291 1,851,223 1,565,590
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Earnings from operations 73,402 44,826 300,234 199,494

Non-operating income
(expense):
Gain (loss) on foreign
exchange (1,379) 2,783 (12,750) 32
Gain (loss) on disposal
of property and
equipment (399) 47 54 839

Non-recurring expenses - - - (15,600)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1,778) 2,830 (12,696) (14,729)
Employee profit share 8,845 5,355 48,568 20,284
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Earnings before
income taxes 62,779 42,301 238,970 164,481

Income tax recovery
(expense):
Current (1,083) (886) (4,362) (3,170)
Future 13,663 (14,764) (41,775) (46,635)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
12,580 (15,650) (46,137) (49,805)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net earnings $ 75,359 $ 26,651 $ 192,833 $ 114,676
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Earnings per share:
Basic $ 0.58 $ 0.21 $ 1.49 $ 0.88
Diluted $ 0.57 $ 0.21 $ 1.47 $ 0.88
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

WestJet Airlines Ltd.
Consolidated Balance Sheet
(Stated in thousands of Canadian dollars)
(Unaudited)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 31 December 31
2007 2006
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 653,558 $ 377,517
Accounts receivable 15,009 12,645
Income taxes recoverable - 13,820
Assets held for sale - 13,157
Prepaid expenses, deposits and other 39,019 30,727
Inventory 10,202 8,200
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
717,788 456,066

Property and equipment 2,213,063 2,158,746

Other assets 53,371 111,715
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
$ 2,984,222 $ 2,726,527
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 168,171 $ 121,157
Advance ticket sales 194,929 148,743
Non-refundable guest credits 54,139 40,508
Current portion of long-term debt 172,992 153,720
Current portion of obligations under capital
lease 375 356
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
590,606 464,484

Long-term debt 1,256,526 1,291,136

Obligations under capital lease 1,108 1,483

Other liabilities 11,337 14,114

Future income tax 174,737 149,283
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2,034,314 1,920,500
Shareholders' equity:
Share capital 448,568 431,248
Contributed surplus 57,889 58,656
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (11,914) -
Retained earnings 455,365 316,123
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
949,908 806,027

Commitments and contingencies
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
$ 2,984,222 $ 2,726,527
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

WestJet Airlines Ltd.
Consolidated Statement of Shareholders' Equity
(Stated in thousands of Canadian dollars)
(Unaudited)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 31 December 31
2007 2006
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Share capital:
Balance, beginning of year $ 431,248 $ 429,613
Issuance of shares pursuant to stock option
plans 1,551 -
Stock-based compensation on stock options
exercised 20,040 1,642
Shares repurchased (4,271) -
Share issuance costs, net of tax - (7)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
448,568 431,248

Contributed surplus:
Balance, beginning of year 58,656 39,093
Stock-based compensation expense 19,273 21,205
Stock-based compensation on stock options
exercised (20,040) (1,642)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
57,889 58,656

Accumulated other comprehensive loss:
Balance, beginning of year - -
Change in accounting policy (13,420) -
Other comprehensive income 1,506 -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(11,914) -

Retained earnings:
Balance, beginning of year 316,123 201,447
Change in accounting policy (36,612) -
Net earnings 192,833 114,676
Shares repurchased (16,979) -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
455,365 316,123

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total shareholders' equity $ 949,908 $ 806,027
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

WestJet Airlines Ltd.
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
(Stated in thousands of Canadian dollars)
(Unaudited)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
December 31 December 31
2007 2006 2007 2006
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Net earnings $ 75,359 $ 26,651 $ 192,833 $ 114,676

Other comprehensive income:
Amortization of hedge
settlements to aircraft
leasing 350 - 1,400 -
Unrealized period change
in fair value on cash
flow hedges 88 - 88 -
Reclassification of net
realized losses on cash
flow hedges to net
earnings 18 - 18 -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
456 - 1,506 -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total comprehensive
income $ 75,815 $ 26,651 $ 194,339 $ 114,676
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

WestJet Airlines Ltd.
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
(Stated in thousands of Canadian dollars)
(Unaudited)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
December 31 December 31
2007 2006 2007 2006
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash flows from (used in):

Operating activities:
Net earnings $ 75,359 $ 26,651 $ 192,833 $ 114,676
Items not involving cash:
Depreciation and
amortization 32,838 30,115 127,223 111,442
Amortization of other
liabilities (235) (217) (897) (868)
Amortization of hedge
settlements 350 384 1,400 1,427
Net realized loss on cash
flow hedge 18 - 18 -
Loss on disposal of
property, equipment and
aircraft parts 573 44 32,773 394
Stock-based compensation
expense 4,499 5,708 20,058 21,205
Future income tax expense
(recovery) (13,663) 14,764 41,775 46,635
Unrealized foreign
exchange loss (gain) 1,300 (3,268) 13,813 (346)
Change in non-cash
working capital (9,490) (19,363) 112,069 43,707
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
91,549 54,818 541,065 338,272
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Financing activities:
Increase in long-term
debt 32,040 37,811 141,178 418,581
Repayment of long-term
debt (39,349) (36,554) (156,516) (132,559)
Decrease in obligations
under capital lease (90) (85) (356) (480)
Share issuance costs - - - (10)
Shares repurchased (7,958) - (21,250) -
Issuance of common shares 84 - 1,551 -
Increase in other assets (7,102) (8,011) (20,897) (27,830)
Increase in non-cash
working capital - - (3,000) (1,071)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(22,375) (6,839) (59,290) 256,631
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Investing activities:
Aircraft additions (45,215) (43,789) (191,437) (438,906)
Aircraft disposals 1,963 56 1,975 3,822
Other property and
equipment additions (6,327) (7,303) (24,639) (43,590)
Other property and
equipment disposals 18 65 13,819 1,611
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(49,561) (50,971) (200,282) (477,063)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash flow from operating,
financing and investing
activities 19,613 (2,992) 281,493 117,840

Effect of exchange rate on
cash and cash equivalents (284) 1,565 (5,452) 37
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net change in cash and cash
equivalents 19,329 (1,427) 276,041 117,877

Cash and cash equivalents,
beginning of period 634,229 378,944 377,517 259,640

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash and cash equivalents,
end of period $ 653,558 $ 377,517 $ 653,558 $ 377,517
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interest paid $ (19,527) $ (19,346) $ (75,712) $ (67,077)
Taxes received (paid) $ (807) $ (544) $ 10,623 $ (3,081)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

WestJet Airlines Ltd.
Supplemental information
(Unaudited)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three Months Ended
December 31
increase/
2007 2006 (decrease)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating highlights:
Available seat miles (ASM) 3,818,613,107 3,314,759,901 15.2%
Revenue passenger miles
(RPM) 2,967,645,307 2,502,375,293 18.6%
Load factor 77.7% 75.5% 2.2 pts
Revenue per RPM (cents) 18.65 18.07 3.2%
Revenue per ASM (cents) 14.49 13.64 6.2%
Cost per passenger mile (cents) 16.17 16.28 (0.7%)
Cost per ASM (cents) 12.57 12.29 2.3%
Fuel consumption (litres) 189,434,295 165,605,465 14.4%
Fuel cost/litre (cents) 75.15 64.19 17.1%
Segment guests 3,280,342 2,889,435 13.5%
Average stage length (miles) 869 827 5.1%
Number of full time
equivalent employees at
period end 5,682 4,974 14.2%
Fleet size at period end 70 63 11.1%
Aircraft available for use 70 63 11.1%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twelve Months Ended
December 31
increase/
2007 2006 (decrease)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating highlights:
Available seat miles (ASM) 14,544,737,340 12,524,379,943 16.1%
Revenue passenger miles
(RPM) 11,739,063,003 9,791,878,403 19.9%
Load factor 80.7% 78.2% 2.5 pts
Revenue per RPM (cents) 18.33 18.03 1.7%
Revenue per ASM (cents) 14.79 14.09 5.0%
Cost per passenger mile
(cents)(1) 15.50 15.99 (3.1%)
Cost per ASM (cents)(1) 12.51 12.50 0.1%
Fuel consumption (litres) 723,104,203 617,963,429 17.0%
Fuel cost/litre (cents) 69.69 68.86 1.2%
Segment guests 13,004,726 11,168,027 16.4%
Average stage length (miles) 856 833 2.8%
Number of full time
equivalent employees at
period end 5,682 4,974 14.2%
Fleet size at period end 70 63 11.1%
Aircraft available for use 70 63 11.1%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1)Excludes reservation system write-down of $31.9 million in Q2 of 2007
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>

Conference call information

WestJet will hold a live analysts' conference call today at 9 a.m. MT (11
a.m. ET). Sean Durfy, President and CEO and Vito Culmone, Executive
Vice-President, Finance and CFO will discuss WestJet's 2007 fourth quarter and
year-end results and answer questions from financial analysts. The conference
call is available through the toll-free telephone number 1-800-926-7748.
Participants are encouraged to join the call 10 minutes prior to the scheduled
start, at 8:50 a.m. MT (10:50 ET). The call can also be heard live through an
Internet webcast in the Investor Relations section of westjet.com.

About WestJet

WestJet is Canada's leading low-cost, high-value airline offering
scheduled service throughout its 45-city North American and Caribbean network.
Named Canada's most admired corporate culture in 2005, 2006 and 2007, WestJet
pioneered low-cost flying in Canada. With increased legroom and leather seats
on its modern fleet of 72 Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft, and live
seatback television provided by Bell ExpressVu on the majority of its fleet,
WestJet strives to be the number one choice for travellers.