Air Canada and WestJet have a hot month in August
Both post increased passenger traffic
Lisa Schmidt Calgary Herald
September 8, 2005
WestJet Airlines Ltd. and Air Canada flew fuller planes in August, despite difficult weather and both airlines expanding their networks.
Air Canada said Wednesday it posted another month of record load factor -- the number of seats occupied by passengers -- at 85.3 per cent overall. That compared with 83.2 per cent during the same month last year.
Overall, traffic at Canada's largest airline rose 5.5 per cent, while capacity, or the number of seat miles available -- increased 2.9 per cent.
"In August, Air Canada again achieved the highest load factor of any month in its history and maintained a 17-month trend of record-breaking load factors," said Montie Brewer, Air Canada's chief executive.
In Canada, Air Canada's capacity shrank 0.5 per cent and traffic increased 4.1 per cent, resulting in a domestic load factor of 85.7 per cent, a 3.8 percentage point increase year over year.
August is traditionally the busiest month for air travel, but one analyst said the figures were exceptional and "actually getting to be a bad thing."
"When I see load factors up in the 85 per cent range, that tells me there's a fair amount of spill that Air Canada's experiencing -- people who like to travel but the planes are full," said Rick Erickson, an aviation consultant in Calgary.
"It's really at a point where they've got to add more capacity and they are doing that with their RJs (regional jets)."
WestJet, the country's second-largest airline, said its load factor rose 3.7 percentage points to 83.5 per cent from the same month last year. Capacity was 17 per cent higher from the same month last year, while passenger traffic rose 22 per cent.
"It's got to be welcomed but, when I look at what the yields are like, I see Air Canada extremely aggressive and being the price leader on the discount side and forcing WestJet to match them," Erickson said, noting both airlines are feeling the pressure of higher fuel prices.
In trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday, WestJet shares rose 27 cents to $11.65, while shares of ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., the parent company of Air Canada, rose $1.18 to $37.18.
"....It's got to be welcomed but, when I look at what the yields are like, I see Air Canada extremely aggressive and being the price leader on the discount side and forcing WestJet to match them," Erickson said, noting both airlines are feeling the pressure of higher fuel prices. "
Oh no. That means I now work for a low cost airline. Clive please do something!!!
at the risk of blastor getting any kind of validation from someone actually acknowledging one of his posts, i have to say that despite what the article says, i have found westjet to be cheaper every time. while ac advertises the low fares, they are always sold out when I want to go. i guess they just have way fewer seats at those prices. I travel frequently shorthaul and always look at both prices before booking. i always end up going westjet. often it's due to lower price, but sometime, when prices are equal, it's due to the departure times. the leather seats are nice too!
The problem I have with Air Miles is the fact that I don't like them being able to track my shopping habits, and that was the concept behind Air Miles to start with, Aeroplan does the same, but at least you can opt out of them using your data or sharing it with their affiliates...
Honestly, folks, Aeroplan sucks now, compared to most other frequent flyer plans(of major carriers). The fact that I don't get status miles on flights priced to compete with WJ makes it not worth it. Even if i do build up enough points at the dismal rate of 50% of actual miles flown, there are so many fees, and reward tickets require more points than they used to, and they probably won't even have a seat available anyways. And, the two levels of rewards is a total piss off as well. I used to be able to get points tickets more or less when I wanted. Not anymore.
