CALGARY — WestJet is flying high with the news that it flew 6.5 million guests in the third quarter of 2017, an all-time record high for the airline and a year-over-year increase of 10.7%.

September 2017 traffic results also revealed a load factor of 80.4%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points year over year. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs), or traffic, increased 5.9% year over year, and capacity (measured in available seat miles, or ASMs), grew 5.3% over the same period.

“We are very pleased with our strong traffic growth, as we reported record load factors each month this quarter, which translated into achieving both our highest ever quarterly load factor of 85.7%, and flying an all-time quarterly record number of guests in our 21-year history,” said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. “I want to sincerely thank our over 13,000 WestJetters for continuing to deliver our award-winning brand of friendly caring service as we transition through our shoulder period into the busy winter season.”

These record numbers come on the heels of WestJet breaking ground on its new $50 million hangar project at YYC Calgary International Airport in September. The hangar, once complete, will occupy 125,000 square feet, accommodate its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft and stand eight stories tall.

Also in September, WestJet announced the name and logo for its ultra-low-cost airline in Canada. Named Swoop, the ULCC will begin selling flights in early 2018.