CALGARY — WestJet is reporting January 2014 traffic results with a load factor of 80.9%.

Revenue passenger miles (RPMs), or traffic, increased 8.4% year over year, and capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew 8.3% over the same period. The airline flew 1.6 million guests in January, a year-over-year increase of 8.8% or approximately 129,000 additional guests.

“We have had a great start to the year by tying our load factor record for January, as we saw strong traffic growth and welcomed more guests into our growing network,” said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. “I want to thank WestJetters for the phenomenal level of caring and commitment they demonstrated as we ensured our guests got to their destinations safely, especially given the challenging winter weather conditions in the early part of January.”