WestJet reports December load factor of 79.2 per cent

Airline increases December traffic by 3.9 per cent year over year and flies a record 20.3 million guests in 2015

CALGARY, Jan. 7, 2016 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced December 2015 traffic results with a load factor of 79.2 per cent. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs), or traffic, increased 3.9 per cent year over year, and capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew 6.1 per cent over the same period. In 2015, WestJet achieved an on-time performance rate of 85.3 per cent, an improvement of 6.4 percentage points and flew a record 20.3 million guests, a year-over-year increase of 3.2 per cent or approximately 629,000 additional guests.

"We are pleased to have welcomed more than 20 million guests on board in 2015, an all-time high for WestJet, notwithstanding further softening in Alberta demand," said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. "I want to thank our more than 11,000 WestJetters for continuing to deliver our brand of friendly caring service over this busy holiday season."

December 2015 traffic results

	December 2015	December 2014	Change
Load factor	79.2%	80.9%	(1.7 pts)
ASMs (billions)	2.426	2.286	6.1%
RPMs (billions)	1.923	1.850	3.9%
	Fourth quarter 2015	Fourth quarter 2014	Change
Load factor	78.4%	79.7%	(1.3 pts)
ASMs (billions)	6.525	6.378	2.3%
RPMs (billions)	5.114	5.081	0.6%
	Full-year 2015	Full-year 2014	Change
Load factor	80.0%	81.4%	(1.4 pts)
ASMs (billions)	26.902	25.584	5.2%
RPMs (billions)	21.526	20.829	3.3%

In December, WestJet launched new non-stop service from Toronto Pearson to West Palm Beach and Sarasota, Florida, Huatulco, Merida and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and San Jose, Costa Rica. The airline also launched new non-stop service from Calgary to Huatulco, Mexico and Liberia, Costa Rica. These non-stop flights offer exciting new destinations and enhanced connectivity from around Canada to guests looking for low fares, high value, and WestJet's remarkable brand of friendly caring service.

About WestJet
We are proud to be Canada's highest-rated airline for customer service, powered by an award-winning culture of care and recognized as one of the country's top employers. We offer scheduled service to 100 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 150 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 vacations 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:
2015/2011/2008-2005 Canada's 10 Most-Admired Corporate Cultures (Waterstone Human Capital)
2015/2014/2013/2012 Canada's Most Attractive Employer (Randstad)
2015/2014/2013/2012 Top three brands in Canada (Canadian Business magazine)
2015 Best Employers in Canada (Aon Hewitt)
2015/2014/2013 WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard ranked #1 in Canada (MoneySense magazine)
2015/2014/2013 WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard ranked #1 in the Canada's Choice ranking (RewardsCanada.ca)
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)
2014/2013/2012/2011 Highest equity score: airline, vacation package supplier brands (Harris/Decima EquiTrend Study)

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SOURCE WestJet

WestJet Media Relations, 1-888-WJ-4-NEWS (1-888-954-6397), Email: [email protected], Website: www.westjet.com; WestJet Investor Relations, 1-877-493-7853, Email: [email protected]