Airline increases traffic by 7.0 per cent year over year and
improves on-time performance to 89.4 per cent
CALGARY,
July 7, 2015 /CNW/ - WestJet today
announced June 2015 traffic results
with a load factor of 76.9 per cent, a decrease of 0.5 percentage
points year over year. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs), or traffic,
increased 7.0 per cent year over year with a more aggressive mix of
lower fares, and capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs),
was 7.6 per cent higher over the same period. WestJet achieved an
on-time performance rate of 89.4 per cent in June, an improvement
of 3.7 percentage points year over year. In the second quarter of
2015, the airline achieved a load factor of 78.1 per cent, a
decrease of 1.5 percentage points year over year, and flew a record
5.0 million guests, a year-over-year increase of 3.9 per cent or
approximately 184,000 additional guests.
"We are pleased with our traffic growth in the
second quarter and are committed to keeping our costs low in order
to provide affordable air travel for our guests," said WestJet
President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. "I
want to thank all WestJetters for their commitment to improving our
on-time performance while continuing to provide our guests with the
friendly caring service for which WestJet is known."
June 2015 traffic
results
|
June 2015 |
June 2014 |
Change |
Load factor |
76.9% |
77.4% |
(0.5 pts) |
ASMs (billions) |
2.187 |
2.032 |
7.6% |
RPMs (billions) |
1.682 |
1.572 |
7.0% |
|
Second quarter
2015 |
Second quarter
2014 |
Change |
Load factor |
78.1% |
79.6% |
(1.5 pts) |
ASMs (billions) |
6.655 |
6.193 |
7.5% |
RPMs (billions) |
5.199 |
4.930 |
5.5% |
|
Year-to-date 2015 |
Year-to-date 2014 |
Change |
Load factor |
79.9% |
81.4% |
(1.5 pts) |
ASMs (billions) |
13.473 |
12.707 |
6.0% |
RPMs (billions) |
10.765 |
10.347 |
4.0% |
WestJet today provided an update to its outlook for
the second quarter of 2015. While continuing to expect
year-over-year margin expansion and record net earnings for a
second quarter, the airline now expects:
- As a result of a substantively enacted increase in the
Alberta provincial corporate
income tax rate from 10 to 12 per cent, WestJet expects its
effective tax rate for the full year 2015 to be 29 to 30 per cent,
as compared to its previous guidance of 27 to 28 per cent. For the
second quarter of 2015, WestJet expects its effective tax rate to
be approximately 31 per cent;
- RASM to be down approximately 5.7 per cent year over year, as
compared to its previous guidance of a moderate year-over-year
decline, with the difference primarily driven by a more aggressive
mix of lower fares during the quarter and higher than expected
ASMs;
- CASM, excluding fuel and profit share to be up approximately
0.5 per cent year over year, as compared to its previous guidance
of up 2.0 to 2.5 per cent, with the difference primarily driven by
lower than expected airport operating costs and lower marketing,
general and administration expenses, as well as higher than
expected ASMs; and
- Fuel cost per litre to be approximately 69 cents, at the high end of its previous
guidance of 67 to 69 cents.
The outlook information provided above is a
preliminary estimate only, is subject to completion of WestJet's
quarterly financial close processes and has not been reviewed by
the Company's auditors. Please see below for a cautionary statement
with respect to the use of forward-looking information. WestJet
does not intend to provide updates to guidance in future periods,
except as may be required by law.
In the second quarter, WestJet launched non-stop
service on several new routes. WestJet Encore began non-stop
service between Toronto and
Fredericton, NB on April 15, 2015 and between Calgary and Terrace,
BC on May 3, 2015. WestJet
also began non-stop service between Calgary and Yellowknife, NT as well as Toronto and Gander,
NL on May 3, 2015 and between
Halifax and Glasgow, Scotland on May 29, 2015.
In June, WestJet announced that it had selected
London, England as the first
transatlantic destination for its wide-body Boeing 767-300ERW
aircraft, with service from Canada
through London Gatwick beginning in the spring of 2016.
Gatwick provides WestJet guests
with easy access to central London, as well as connectivity to other
low-cost airlines with service to destinations in Europe and beyond. Further announcements on
schedules, pricing and launch cities will be communicated later
this summer, with service commencing in spring 2016.
Caution regarding forward-looking
information
This news release contains forward-looking information, some
of which that may constitute a financial outlook, as defined under
applicable Canadian securities legislation, including without
limitation, with respect to the following: WestJet's expectation of
continued year-over-year margin expansion and record net earnings
for the second quarter; WestJet's expectation of an effective tax
rate of 29 per cent to 30 per cent for the full year 2015 and
approximately 31 per cent for the second quarter of 2015; the
expectation that WestJet's second-quarter 2015 RASM will be down
approximately 5.7 per cent, year over year; WestJet's expectation
that 2015 second-quarter CASM, excluding fuel and employee profit
share, will be up approximately 0.5 per cent year over year; the
expectation that WestJet's second-quarter 2015 fuel cost per litre
will be approximately 69 cents; and
WestJet's plans to operate its wide-body Boeing 767-300ERW aircraft
to London Gatwick beginning in the spring of 2016 and
the timing of further announcements on schedules, pricing and
launch cities. The forward-looking information, including any
financial outlook, contained in this news release, is provided to
assist investors in understanding our assessment of WestJet's
future plans, operations and expected results. The forward-looking
information may not be appropriate for other purposes and is
expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
By its nature, forward-looking information is
subject to numerous risks and uncertainties including, but not
limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, changing
domestic and international airline industry conditions, volatility
of fuel prices, currency fluctuations, interest rates, competition
from other airline industry participants (including new entrants,
capacity fluctuations and changes to the pricing environment),
labour matters, government regulations, stock market volatility,
the ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external
sources, and additional risk factors discussed in documents WestJet
files from time to time with securities regulatory authorities,
which are available on SEDAR at sedar.com or, upon request, without
charge from the Company. Readers are cautioned that undue reliance
should not be placed on forward-looking information as actual
results may vary materially from the forward-looking information.
The forward-looking information contained in this news release is
qualified by the assumptions that are stated or inherent in such
forward-looking information and represent WestJet's expectations as
of the date of this news release, and are subject to change after
such date. WestJet does not undertake to update, correct or revise
any forward-looking information as a result of any new information,
future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable
law.
Non-GAAP measures
This news release contains disclosure respecting non-GAAP financial
measures including, without limitation, CASM, excluding fuel and
employee profit share. Non-GAAP measures are included to enhance
the overall understanding of WestJet's financial performance and to
provide an alternative method for assessing WestJet's operating
results in a manner that is focused on the performance of WestJet's
ongoing operations, and to provide a more consistent basis for
comparison between reporting periods. These measures are not
calculated in accordance with, or an alternative to, GAAP and do
not have standardized meanings. Therefore, they may not be
comparable to similar measures provided by other entities. Readers
are urged to review the section entitled "Reconciliation of
non-GAAP and additional GAAP measures" in WestJet's management's
discussion and analysis of financial results for the quarter ended
March 31, 2015, which is available on
SEDAR at sedar.com, for a further discussion of such non-GAAP
measures.
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 ΜΆ 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