Key WestJet advantage

Article Excerpt

WESTJET AIRLINES $12.56 (Toronto symbol WJA; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (1-877-493-7853; www.westjet.com; Shares outstanding: 138.8 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; No dividends paid) reported that its revenue rose 7.4% in the three months ended March 31, 2010, to $619.8 million from $579.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 55.5%, to $0.12 from $0.27, mostly due to one-time expansion costs at WestJet Vacations, plus higher fuel costs. WestJet’s load factor hit 78.2% in June 2010, up from 72.9% in June 2009. The load factor is the portion of available seats that are occupied by paying passengers. It increased even though WestJet added 10.9% to its passenger capacity. Revenue passenger miles (the total of paying passengers on all flights, multiplied by distance travelled) rose 19% this year from June 2009. One key WestJet advantage is that its workforce isn’t unionized, and many of its employees are shareholders. Many flyers find this leads to friendlier service than they get with unionized workers, who may…