Calgary-based WestJet Airlines says lower oil prices are having an impact on flight bookings in the province and that it is seeing a softening in the Alberta market.
WestJet says there were no signs of a slowdown in the first quarter but the situation worsened in the slower second quarter and that fewer Albertans are booking flights.
"We are seeing some softening in the Alberta market as you would expect with what's gone on with the prolonged oil prices," said Bob Cummings, executive vice-president commercial, from a Cowen and Company transportation conference in Boston.
About 25 percent of WestJet's capacity originates from Alberta and Cummings says a switch in some traffic from charter carriers to scheduled service has helped to mitigate the situation.
He says demand in British Columbia and Ontario remains healthy.
"So far, the financial performance is sound; bookings going forward, they are softening, but we certainly are flexible to adapt," he said.
Last week, WestJet announced that its August traffic was up just 1.7 percent from the year before on a 7.3 percent increase in capacity and that resulted in fewer full planes as the load factor slipped 4.7 percentage points to 84.6 percent.
Officials say demand was also partially impacted by the late Labour Day weekend.
(With files from The Canadian Press)
