YIPEEEEE! We may get 1/5 increase in revenue. WOOOOOOOHOOOO! Let's celebrate!!! Free Koolaid to all
Revenue may rise one-fifth this year: WestJet
Seat capacity could climb 14 per cent
BRENT JANG
TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
WestJet Airlines Ltd.'s revenue could jump one-fifth this year as it expands its seat capacity to stave off competition from Air Canada, WestJet chief executive officer Clive Beddoe said yesterday.
The Calgary-based carrier's 2006 revenue may rise to $1.7-billion, compared with $1.4-billion last year, he said during a transportation webcast organized by National Bank Financial Inc.
WestJet forecasts that its capacity this year could climb 14 per cent to 12.2 billion available seat miles.
Mr. Beddoe said WestJet, which already flies to Montreal, would like to add Quebec City to its network within a year. "Our limitation on going to Quebec City is simply the number of French-speaking flight attendants we have within our organization. But hiring people in Calgary who are bilingual is a bit of a challenge," he said. "We have added a lot of bilingual flight attendants to our organization. Our expectation is that we get the prerequisite number that we feel we need, probably by the end of this year."
The combative Mr. Beddoe took the opportunity to jab Jazz Air Income Fund, which is 79.7-per-cent owned by Air Canada's parent, ACE Aviation Holdings Inc.
He described the new trust as "an artificial way to sell off a piece of the business. But fundamentally, it doesn't make any sense."
Jazz chief financial officer Allan Rowe and ACE CFO Brian Dunne didn't respond to Mr. Beddoe's comments, but they defended Jazz by saying it has a robust business model with healthy growth prospects as a regional carrier.
As for the international operations of Air Canada, Mr. Dunne said he's looking forward to delivery of new Boeing 777s starting next year and Boeing 787 Dreamliners beginning in 2010.
Some so-called Original Air Canada (OAC) pilots are upset at a recent Canada Industrial Relations Board ruling that preserves the airline's existing seniority list, which they view as favouring former Canadian Airlines International Ltd. pilots. Disgruntled OAC pilots say they're having second thoughts about backing the Boeing order.
"Were we led down the garden path, to allow Air Canada to obtain the B777 and B787 unimpeded? You be the judge," said a union committee memo sent yesterday to members of the Air Canada Pilots Association. The memo warned that the seniority fight is far from over.
WestJet Airlines WJA-T Last Trade:Mar 22, 2006 15:57 EST Last: C$ 10.800 Net Change: C$ 0.000 % Change: 0.00%
Air Canada (ACE Aviation Holdings ACE.B-T) Last Trade:Mar 22, 2006 Last: C$ 33.980 Net Change: C$ 0.660 % Change: 1.98%
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Last edited by Blastor on Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Come on Blastor !... Keep your comments for yourself please !
At least it is more profit than last year and they are makin' money ! It is hard to make money in the aviation industry (salary, fuel raise, Airport and NavCan fees, etc.) !
let's see, that's a 20% increase... about 300 million more dollars of revenue compared to last year(according to the article)... sounds like a healthy increase to me. Hmm, and only a 14% increase in capacity. Sounds like a nicer profit share to me!
