WestJet's revenue from managed corporate business travel
increased 15 percent year over year in the fourth quarter. Part of the uptick came
from "a couple of nice months" from the energy sector, including oil
and gas exploration and crew movement, WestJet EVP of commercial Bob Cummings
said during the carrier's earnings call. The energy sector slowdown of recent
years had hit
WestJet's business in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
"I'm hesitant to call it an upswing, but it looks that
way," Cummings said.
Revenue from premium economy seating rose 30 percent year
over year, another indicator of growing corporate business, president and CEO
Gregg Saretsky said. WestJet has pitched its premium
Plus seating to corporate travelers as a lower-cost alternative to Air
Canada's business class.
WestJet's total revenue increased 6.2 percent to C$1
billion. Traffic increased 13.7 percent, and capacity increased 11.2 percent.
The carrier's load factor increased 1.8 percentage points to 80.2 percent.
Yield declined 6.7 percent.
For
the full year 2016, WestJet reported net earnings of C$295.5 million (US$219.4
million), down 19.6 percent compared with 2015.