Passenger loads rise at big Canadian carriers

Passenger loads improved last month at Canada's two largest airlines as travellers returned to the skies amid an economic upswing. Air Canada's March load factor, or the proportion of seats filled by paying customers, increased to 82.1 per cent from 80.7 per cent. The statistics, which include Air Canada's Jazz affiliate, also showed that traffic climbed 9.6 per cent to 4.23 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs). WestJet Airlines Ltd. reported that its traffic rose 10 per cent last month to 1.37 billion RPMs, while its load factor rose to 83.8 per cent from 81.9 per cent. Air Canada said yesterday it's pleased with its international routes while WestJet praised the expansion of its vacations division. AC.B (TSX) rose 3 cents to $2.55. WJA (TSX) fell 3 cents to $13.51.