Westjet 2008 Annual Report Download - page 26

22 WestJet 2008 Annual Report
current assets over current liabilities, improved to 1.25 as
compared to 1.22 as at December 31, 2007, and our adjusted
debt-to-equity ratio decreased to 1.78 from 2.07 as at
December 31, 2007. Please refer to page 50 of this MD&A
for a reconciliation of our adjusted debt-to-equity ratio,
a non-GAAP measure, to the nearest measure under
Canadian GAAP. Our strong fi nancial results have allowed
us to generate positive cash fl ow from operations to fund
our working capital requirements, make our debt payments
and fund the construction of our Campus during the year
without requiring external fi nancing.
During the year, we assumed delivery of two leased
737-700s, three owned 737-700s and one leased 737-800,
increasing our total registered fl eet to 76 aircraft. We
originally expected to take delivery of seven aircraft during
2008; however, the aircraft previously scheduled for delivery
in November 2008 was delayed as a result of a Boeing
labour strike. In 2008, we signed an agreement with Boeing
to purchase four new aircraft, bringing our total committed
fl eet to 120 by 2013. The additional capacity is aligned
with the continued commercialization of our domestic
schedule, an increase in scheduled service to the U.S. and
the introduction of new destinations into the Caribbean and
Mexican markets. We continue to operate one of the youngest
fl eets of any large North American commercial airline, with
an average age of 4.0 years.
Recently, we announced the addition of four new seasonal
destinations as part of our enhanced 2009 summer
schedule: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; Sydney,
Nova Scotia; and San Francisco and San Diego, California.
During 2008, we began service to the following destinations:
Kamloops; Quebec City; Kona; New York City (via Newark);
Bridgetown, Barbados; La Romana, Dominican Republic;
as well as the Mexican destinations of Cancun and Puerto
Vallarta. The four new destinations announced in the fourth
quarter of 2008 will expand our network to 55 cities across
Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Our focus on strong cost control remained a core strategy
during 2008 and is critical to our success, especially in light
of unpredictable fuel prices. For 2008, our CASM increased
by 6.7 per cent to 13.17 cents from 12.34 cents in 2007,
attributable primarily to signifi cantly higher fuel costs year
over year. Excluding fuel and employee profi t share, our
CASM decreased to 8.28 cents from 8.55 cents in 2007, an
improvement of 3.2 per cent. This decrease was achieved
mainly through a longer average stage length, increased
aircraft utilization and cost dilution over a greater number
of available seat miles.
We maintained a strong balance sheet during 2008, as
evidenced by our signifi cant cash balance of $820.2 million
as at December 31, 2008, an increase of 25.5 per cent from
December 31, 2007. Similarly, our current ratio, defi ned as
Quarterly load factor
85%
80%
75%
70%
2007 Q1 2007 Q2 2007 Q3 2007 Q4 2008 Q1 2008 Q2 2008 Q3 2008 Q4