Today the Canadian budget airline WestJet said that during December 2018 it managed to achieve a load factor of 82.8%, slightly down from the same month last year.
Whilst the load factor was slightly down, the carrier saw revenue passenger miles (RPMs), or traffic, increased 3.4 per cent year over year, while capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew 4.5 per cent over the same period.
The airline welcomed an additional 57,000 guests in December, a year over year increase of 2.7% and set a record for guests flown on a single day with over 82,000 guests choosing WestJet on Friday, December 21. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the airline flew a record 6.2 million guests, a year over year increase of 2.9% or approximately 175,000 additional guests. For the full year of 2018, the airline flew a record 25.5 million guests, a year over year increase of 5.6 % or approximately 1.4 million additional guests.
"We are very pleased to have welcomed more than 25 million guests on board in 2018 while achieving our highest ever full-year load factor," said Ed Sims, WestJet President and CEO. "I want to thank every individual WestJetter for providing our guests with a safe and remarkable travel experience during the busy holiday season." 
December 2018 traffic results
December 2018
|
December 2017
|
Change
| |
Load factor
|
82.8%
|
83.6%
|
-0.8 pts.
|
ASMs (billions)
|
2.877
|
2.754
|
4.5%
|
RPMs (billions)
|
2.381
|
2.303
|
3.4%
|
Fourth Quarter 2018
|
Fourth Quarter 2017
|
Change
| |
Load factor
|
81.6%
|
82.6%
|
-1.0 pts.
|
ASMs (billions)
|
8.109
|
7.659
|
5.9%
|
RPMs (billions)
|
6.615
|
6.329
|
4.5%
|
Full Year 2018
|
Full Year 2017
|
Change
| |
Load factor
|
83.8%
|
83.6%
|
0.2 pts.
|
ASMs (billions)
|
32.939
|
30.998
|
6.3%
|
RPMs (billions)
|
27.587
|
25.904
|
6.5%
|
(Photos WestJet)
