Air Canada and Porter Airlines both recorded gains in load factor year-over-year in September, with Air Canada reporting a record 82.2% of seats filled for the month. WestJet’s load factor dropped 2.2 points to 75.5%, but it carried 49,000 more passengers than in September 2009, as capacity grew by nearly 12%.
Capacity was up at Air Canada too – the airline enjoyed a system traffic increase of 11.7% on a capacity increase of 8.4%.
At upstart Porter, in just the second month of publicly providing traffic statistics, the airline reported a load factor of 55.8%, a significant jump from 47.6% the year before. The fast-growing carrier says it greeted 56,000 more passengers in September 2010 over September 2009.
For the month of September, Air Canada reported a record system load factor of 82.2% on a consolidated basis with Jazz (from which Air Canada purchases regional capacity), versus 79.7% in September 2009, an increase of 2.5 percentage points. System traffic increased 11.7% on a system wide capacity increase of 8.4%.
AC says 21% traffic growth in the Pacific was key to its successful month, the 10th consecutive month of year-over-year traffic increases.
"I am very pleased to report a record load factor of 82.2%for the month of September, on a consolidated basis with Jazz," said Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada President and CEO. "These record load factor results are attributable to our commitment to deliver an award-winning product and to an increased utilization of our existing fleet as we pursue strategic opportunities in international markets.”
WestJet downplayed its load factor drop, saying the result is still above the historical average for the month and pointing to an increase of nearly 50,000 passengers. "Overall, we are pleased with both our September and third quarter traffic results. We continue to prudently expand our network, positioning us well for the future. We are also positive about the upward recovery we are experiencing," said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky.
Porter, which claimed an industry-leading break-even load factor of 49% in 2009, said it was more than satisfied with September’s results. “Porter continues posting traffic figures with excellent gains across the board,” said President and CEO Robert Deluce. “We are especially pleased with numbers from recent months and anticipate a similarly strong conclusion to the calendar year.”
