WestJet Group, the parent company of WestJet (WS, Calgary), announced on February 13, 2024, that it has entered into a new secured term loan facility, extending the maturity of most of its term loan borrowings to 2031.
The new loan is secured against the WestJet Rewards loyalty program and the WestJet brand, the company said in a statement, and has increased the company’s liquidity above CAD2 billion Canadian dollars (USD1.4 billion).
Earlier this year, the Canadian company chose not to issue a previously planned USD500 million loyalty-program backed bond, Fitch Ratings reported on February 1.
WestJet Group Chief Financial Officer Mike Scott said this refinancing transaction enhances the company’s financial flexibility. During the last four years since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, “we focused on keeping our balance sheet clean to capitalise on our ambitious growth plan, fuelled by the largest narrowbody order book of any airline in Canada,” he added.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows the comprehensive WestJet Group fleet comprises 175 aircraft including thirty-nine B737-700s, thirty-two B737-8s, forty-six B737-800s, four B737-800(BCF)s (operated by WestJet Cargo), seven B787-9s, and forty-seven DHC-8-Q400s (operated by WestJet Encore).
The group has an order for 57 aircraft, including forty-eight B737-10s, and nine B737-8s. It also has dry-lease agreements for ten additional B737-8s with SMBC Aviation Capital, CDB Aviation, and Avolon.
Sunwing Airlines, a low-cost carrier which will be integrated into WestJet by the final quarter of this year, operates a fleet of forty aircraft, including seventeen B737-8s, and twenty-three B737-800s (six of each model wet-leased from the parent company). Last year, the Group incorporated Swoop into its mainline.
