WestJet Posts 14 Percent Profit Lift

WestJet posted third quarter net earnings of CAD$116 million (USD$87 million), up 13.9 percent from CAD$101.8 million in the same quarter of 2015.

Total revenue for the quarter was CAD$1.124 billion, up 7.6 percent from last year. Revenue per available seat mile (RASM), however, came in 2.7 percent lower at 14.73 Canadian cents.

Looking forward, WestJet expects revenue per available seat mile to grow from the first quarter of 2017 after several negative quarters.

Costs per available seat mile (CASM) were 2.6 percent lower at 12.50 Canadian cents.

WestJet carried 5.9 million passengers, a 7 percent increase, with a load factor of 84 percent, up 2.2 percentage points on last year’s quarter.

“I am very pleased with how our robust business model has… delivered not only record third quarter net earnings, but also achieved our second best ever quarterly net earnings and earnings per share in our twenty-year history,” chief executive Gregg Saretsky said.

One issue WestJet has is the reliability of its London flights. Although loads are strong, reliability has been a problem on the old Boeing 767s it uses on the routes. Several flights have been cancelled and last month a flight was diverted to Iceland after an engine problem.