West Jet, City TV, and Disney partner up for a contest to win a trip to Disneyworld

                        A video showing the West Jet vacations package on Walt Disney World


A few days ago on City TV news, it was revealed that City TV would be giving away vacation packages to Walt Disney World to viewers. The vacation package is a partnership between West Jet and Disney parks, and will offer a round trip ticket to Orlando FL, a $600 US Gift card from Disney Parks, passes to the theme parks and a chance to gain access to winner events that will be hosted by City TV. From April 19 to 24, these lucky viewers will be taken on a West Jet plane to the Walt Disney Resort where they will be shown everything that the parks have to offer.

This agreement is going to be great publicity for West Jet and Walt Disney parks, as they will be viewed by City TV viewers all over Canada.

Here is an article about the announcements City TV made:

http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/news/city-and-westjet-team-up-for-broadcast-from-walt-disney-world/1002128113/

West Jet implements new three-tier ticketing system

West Jet has announced that from now on when passengers book flights from their website, they will have an option of three different fares to choose from: Econo, Flex and Plus. Econo tickets will be the cheapest of the three, but will also have the least legroom and also will only be able to carry one bag. The Flex and Plus options allow the passenger to have seat selection, as well as save on other additional costs such as early cancellation. The Plus option is directed more at business class travelers, which West Jet is trying to attract because of it's new plans to add a business class to their 737 flights. These new changes are going to come as a surprise for customers, since most are finding out about them when they book for a new flight or even at the check in desk at the airport. Many passengers are also criticizing West Jet for following Air Canada's ticketing system, who also have a three tiered system. Although it may seem like the Flex and Plus options are too expensive, they are actually intended to save the customer in additional costs. Econo passengers will have to pay those additional costs on top of their ticket price, and could even pay more than a Flex ticket because of the cost of Check in baggage and cancellation.

Here is a Global news article about this new change:

http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/westjet+grounds+two+bag+policy+introduces+three-tier+ticket+pricing/6442821968/story.html

West Jet and Air France agree to code-sharing deal

West Jet and Air France have come to an agreement on a new deal that will allow Air France travelers to be able to fly to 10 more Canadian destinations. This is the 9th Code share agreement that West Jet currently has in place and also has 21 other relationships with other international airlines. Starting March 12, Air France travelers can book flights from the Air France website, and if traveling to a Canadian destination, may have to board a West Jet plane for a connecting flight. Some West Jet flights flying from Toronto, Calgary, and Winnipeg will all use the same code as the Air France airlines as they will connect to Air France flights. This new agreement is going to help both West Jet and Air France, but I think West Jet will be the more beneficial airline. Passengers who travel from France to a Canadian destination will connect to a West Jet flight after landing in Canada, and that is good news for West Jet because it ensures that more flights will be booked, and more importantly will be full.

Here is CBC article about this:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2013/03/07/westjet-air-france-code-share.html

West Jet reduces carry-on limit for passengers

        

         

Starting April 4th, West Jet is going to reduce the amount of carry-on baggage allowed by a passenger from 2 bags to 1. The airline says that these changes are going to take place to make the flights run more efficiently, but I think that its also going to be a headache for all the passengers who want to travel. The allowed baggage has to fit a size requirement and if it does not meet the requirements, it will have to be checked in at the departure gate and then picked up at a carousel after the plane has landed. West Jet also stated that these new changes are in line with the world standards and are currently being used by large airlines like American Airlines.

Although there is an upside to this, there will be more space on flights for baggage to kept in the overhead bins. Also, since there is less time being spent looking for space in the plane, the planes will also be able to board passengers more quickly and efficiently. However, this will also force passengers to pack much more lighter when they travel, and if they can't it will be an additional cost for them on the day of their flight.

Here is a CTV news article about this announcement:

http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/westjet-cuts-carry-on-baggage-limits-for-passengers-from-two-pieces-to-one-1.1182322

Over a Million air travellers flew by West Jet in February

Earlier this week, West Jet announced it's numbers for the month of February which revealed that 1.4 million travels chose West Jet to travel by air. This means that there was a 5 percent increase from last year's numbers or 74000 more travels than February 2012. All this is great news for West Jet who reported profits at the end of last year and are planning to become one of the top airlines in the world.

"We are very pleased with the positive momentum generated in 2012 that culminated with us reporting record annual earnings, record high load factors and, for the second consecutive quarter, we surpassed our return on invested capital target of 12 per cent by achieving 13.7 per cent for the year," commented WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky.

The airline's share rose by 15 cents from $22.55 to 22.70 and it still looking like it will be growing over the next few years. West Jet's current position and future position is also very promising for all the employees because of the company's policy to pay a portion of employees sales in shares of the company.


http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/WestJet+boosts+dividend+cent+record+2012+results+increase/7926162/story.html

West Jet has revealed the first destinations for it's new regional airline

Source: West Jet        A Map Showing all the destinations to which West Jet currently operates

West Jet announced a few weeks ago that it would begin it's West Jet Encore regional airline with flights from Calgary to Vancouver and Calgary to Fort St. John. The airline decided to choose Vancouver as a destination because of the competition from Air Canada, who also purchased a few Bombardier Q400s and also plan to fly the same routes. up to 300 people are going to be hired by the end of this year to operate the 7 new Bombardier Q400s which will be arriving after June. This new regional airline is expected to cut costs of airfare travel by as much as half and will encourage more people to travel by air. West Jet still hasn't announced any destinations in the eastern half of Canada other than Toronto, but plans to do so once the operations in the west are in place. I think this new regional airline as well as the new improvements they are making for their flights are going to be very beneficial for the economy in the west. 1800 people are expected to be hired once all 20 Q400 aircraft arrive and I think that is just fantastic for anyone who is looking for a job. West Jet has not only improved its own company, but it also helping create jobs for people who need them in the west.

Here is a CBC article about the new changes West Jet plans to make:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2013/02/11/business-westjet-encore-regional-airline.html

Calgary is named the home base for West Jet's new regional airline: West Jet Encore

An Aerial view of the Calgary Airport

Calgary, which has been the home base for West Jet for almost 17 years now has been named the base for the regional airline as well. The regional airline will be focused on connecting smaller cities in the west to larger cities and will have multiple flights flying daily to and from the destinations. I think this news is good not just for the Calgary Airport, which will receive much more business due to the increase in arrival of new passengers, but also the economy in the surrounding areas because it will allow business to flow outward from the cities into the smaller towns. West Jet encore is set to begin flights from June 24th.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/WestJet+picks+Calgary+home+base+airline/7478491/story.html#ixzz2B0HrmL72

West Jet announces new fleet of small jets and adds new flights

A Bombardier Q400 with West Jet Colours

West Jet recently announced that it would have more frequent flights from Regina to Toronto and Saskatoon to Regina. It also announced that it would be adding a new fleet of 20 Bombardier Q400s for which some are expected to arrive this June and some next august. These new planes will enable West Jet to fly 3 more flights per week, allowing more passengers to travel and connecting smaller cities to larger ones. I think this is a great announcement from West Jet because it not only makes more flights available for the passengers, but also creates jobs for new pilots and crew members.

Here is a short article about the new improvements:

http://www.newstalk650.com/story/westjet-will-carry-two-new-flights-between-saskatoon-and-calgary/97287

West Jet reduces legroom for economy class seats

 

West Jet has decided to reduce the legroom on some of it's planes and add more space for business class passengers and passengers in coach who pay a little bit extra for more legroom. The airline hopes to make up to $150 million with these adjustments and passengers don't look too happy! I think the legroom offered in some of the planes for a 6 foot 1 inch person like me is very uncomfortable and I think airlines these days already make you pay for so many things from inflight food to headphones to watch the in-flight entertainment, so these adjustments definitely aren't in the consumer's best interest.

Here's a CNN article about the topic:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/22/travel/airline-legroom/index.html?hpt=hp_t1