CALGARY, Oct. 11, 2016 /CNW/ – WestJet today announced September 2016 traffic results with a load factor of 79.9 per cent an increase of 2.5 percentage points year over year. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs), or traffic, increased 16.3 per cent year over year, and capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew 12.6 per cent over the same period. In the third quarter of 2016, the airline flew a record 5.9 million guests, a year-over-year increase of 7.0 per cent or approximately 384,000 additional guests.

“We are pleased with our fifth consecutive month of double-digit traffic growth, as we achieved our second highest load factor for a third quarter at 84.0 per cent and flew a record 5.9 million guests,” said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. “As we transition through our shoulder period into the busy winter season, I want to thank our almost 12,000 WestJetters for their commitment to providing our brand of friendly caring service.”

In September, WestJet announced a multi-year agreement as primary provider for Suncor Energy to fly employees and contractors to and from its oil sands operations in Northern Alberta beginning in early November 2016. WestJet will use a combination of its Boeing 737 Next-Generation and Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft to fly Suncor employees and contractors between Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Kelowna, Saskatoon, and Fort McMurray and its operations in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta.