WestJet has reported record traffic results for February 2018, with a load factor of 86.4% representing an increase of 1.2 percentage points year-over-year.

Revenue Passenger Miles (RPMs) increased 6.1% year-over-year, while capacity (measured in Available Seat Miles) grew 4.6% over the same period.

The airline flew a record 1.9 million passengers in February, a year-over-year increase of 6.5% or approximately 120,000 additional guests.

WestJet also provided an update to the first quarter RASM (Revenue per Available Seat Miles) and Domestic capacity outlook, which it said is “driven by the compounding effect of significant weather events across the country.”

The airline expects year-over-year RASM growth for the first quarter of 2018 of up 2.5 to 3.5% and Domestic capacity of up 5.5 to 6.5%, this is down from previous guidance of up 4.5 to 5.5% and 7.5 to 8.5% respectively.

In a statement the airline wrote: “WestJet experienced twenty-five days of irregular operations in the first two months of 2018 with January representing the single highest month over the past four years.

“The severity and length of weather events limited options for guest recovery, reduced revenues from providing WestJet guests with atonement, drove higher guest cancellations and impacted the ability to capture revenue from last minute high-yield bookings.”