(from the Canadian Press, by way of the CH online)
TORONTO — Canadian airlines say they saw record passenger numbers last month, which is usually a slow period for business travellers.
WestJet, Canada’s second-largest airline, said Monday its traffic improved in January with a record load factor of 79.9 per cent, compared to 77.8 per cent in the year-earlier.
Revenue passenger miles, or traffic, increased 11.5 per cent and capacity, measured in available seat miles, grew 8.6 per cent year-over-year.
“We are very happy with this strong start to 2012 and the new record January load factor. Our capacity increases are being nicely absorbed and the healthy demand for air travel has continued into the new year,” said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky.
Calgary-based WestJet recently announced a code sharing agreement with Delta Air Lines, which will help it add to its 75-city network. The airline also plans to add capacity with the arrival of 38 new planes through 2018 and is considering adding a short-haul service.
Montreal-based Air Canada, the country’s largest airline also saw a record load factor of 79.1 per cent, up from 78 per cent.
Its system-wide traffic, which includes regional airlines through which Air Canada purchases capacity, increased 3.3 per cent, while capacity grew 1.9 per cent.
The rest of the article is located
here.
I should note there is an article error - westjet hasn't done a code share with Delta Airlines, it's code sharing with American.