Category Archives: WestJet

Video: The complete WestJet 787 Dreamliner review

A new video from Sam Chui.

In this video, I take a trip to Calgary, Canada, at the invitation of the Canadian airline WestJet’s guest experience team, to enjoy a flight from Calgary to London aboard their brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aeroplane. This video will feature not only WestJet Business Class, but also look into Premium and Economy cabin. Moreover, I share some behind the scenes product development story on the WestJet 787.

I fly in to Calgary on one of WestJet’s Boeing 737’s and before I go on my voyage on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with Westjet, I take the opportunity to visit the stunningly beautiful Banff national park in Alberta. Banff national park is located within the Canadian Rocky mountains and is a UNESCO world heritage site and also Canada’s first, and flagship, national park, established in 1885. It is west of Calgary and covers an area of more than 6000 square kilometres. I see the beautiful, bright turquoise blue lakes of the park, fed by rushing streams and rivers which are in turn fed by glacial melt water. Banff national park is a real jewel in the crown of Canada and I highly recommend a visit!

After my visit to the park, I get back to the aviation side of things and start my journey from Calgary to London at the international terminal of Calgary airport, making use of the Aspire lounge for international departures.

I take my flight in business class, which consists of sixteen individual private pods with lie-flat seats which can convert in to a bed. There are also 28 premium economy seats on the WestJet Boeing 787 Dreamliner and a further 276 economy seats spread across two cabins within the aircraft.

I am given a warm welcome in to the WestJet Boeing 787 Dreamliner with a personalised introduction to the facilities afforded by my business class pod by a member of the flight attendant team. I am shown the large, touchscreen 4K entertainment screen, which offers a variety of in-flight games, television programs, films and music and am given complimentary, noise cancelling headphones. I am also shown the adjustable arm-rests of the seat and the storage bins where I can tuck away my belongings. My welcome is capped off with the WestJet signature drink – a lovely refreshing mix of green tea and cranberry juice – and also the provision of a complimentary Matt & Nat amenity kit.

My flight from Calgary to London on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with WestJet is over eight hours long and takes me to a maximum altitude of 36,000 feet, but before I can get in to the air, the cold, snowy weather in Canada means that the wings of the aircraft have to be de-iced but to WestJet’s credit, their staff work very well in the adverse weather conditions to keep everything running on time.

Up in the air, I enjoy some exceptional, restaurant quality WestJet cuisine. The service in premium economy and business class is as in a restaurant, with each dish being taken to the customer individually, rather than being given from a trolley, and on special non-slip trays to reduce accidents. WestJet have paid great attention to detail by integrating reminders of Canada’s fabulous nature in to their food service – the food trays of economy are bright, turquoise blue just like the lakes of the Banff national park and the salt and pepper pots in business class are made in the shape of the Rocky mountains.

In premium economy, customers enjoy a rice and curry dish, refreshing and authentic draft Canadian beer and a salad complete with goat’s cheese. The vegetarian option is extraordinary – a vegetarian shepherd’s pie, the signature dish of Canadian chef Bill Alexander. In business class, I am able to choose from lots of smaller dishes rather than having just one, big main meal. I enjoy Italian antipasto, smoked salmon mille-feuille, alberta beef short ribs and sour cherry pie. There are also Ravioli dishes – each one unlike the other with irregular pasta cuts, representing the nature of Canada. I think that high praise is due to WestJet for the phenomenal quality of their airline food, which I think has really put them on the map as a major international airline and shows their considerable development from their start as a low cost, budget airline.

The meal is rounded off nicely with the serving of some special, Canadian Ice wine – one frozen grape yields only one drop of the very sweet wine – before I get some quality sleep and land at London Gatwick.

All in all, I highly enjoyed my trip with WestJet on their Boeing 787 Dreamliner aeroplane and my hat is off to them for their food. What did you think of the beauty of the Banff national park and the flight itself? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section down below and, as always, thanks for watching!

WestJet operates its inaugural flight from Calgary to Paris

WestJet made this announcement:

With the departure of flight 10, WestJet on May 17 became the only airline to operate a nonstop route between Paris and Calgary.

The airline’s newest route, along with its codeshare partnership with Air France, provides historic new access between Western Canada and Europe. Canadian business and leisure travellers now can fly to and from 11 cities in greater Europe including Rome, Venice, Athens and Lisbon through WestJet’s Air France codeshare partnership from Paris. This flight is the second of three 787 Dreamliner inaugurals that are central to WestJet’s global strategy and selection of Calgary as its initial Dreamliner hub.

All flights between Calgary and Paris are operated on WestJet’s newest aircraft, the 320-seat, 787-9 Dreamliner.

Details of WestJet’s new non-stop Dreamliner service:

Route	Frequency	Departing	Arriving	Effective
Calgary – Paris	Four times weekly	7:35 p.m.	12:20 p.m. + 1	May 17, 2019
Paris – Calgary	Four times weekly	2:20 p.m.	3:45 p.m.	May 18, 2019

By June 2019, WestJet will offer flights to 67 non-stop destinations with an average of 975 flights per week from YYC. More Calgarians choose WestJet for their air travel than any other airline.

WestJet is be sold to the Onex Corporation becoming a privately-held airline

WestJet has made this big announcement:

WestJet Airlines Ltd. announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement that provides for its acquisition in an all-cash transaction. Under the terms of the agreement, Onex Corporation and its affiliated funds will acquire all outstanding shares of WestJet for $31.00 per share, after which WestJet will operate as a privately-held company. The purchase price represents a 67% premium to Friday’s closing share price and a 63% premium to WestJet’s 20-day volume-weighted average trading price. The transaction value is approximately $5 billion including assumed debt.

“Since our first flight in 1996, WestJet has been singularly focused on providing better options for the Canadian travelling public and this transaction retains that commitment,” said Clive Beddoe, WestJet’s Founder and Chairman. “I am particularly pleased that WestJet will remain headquartered in Calgary and will continue to build on the success that our 14,000 WestJetters have created. Onex’ aerospace experience, history of positive employee relations and long-term orientation makes it an ideal partner for WestJetters, and I am excited about our future.”

“WestJet is one of Canada’s strongest brands and we have tremendous respect for the business that Clive Beddoe and all WestJetters have built over the years. WestJet is renowned internationally for its unparalleled guest experience and employee culture. We’re thrilled to be partnering with WestJetters and continuing this remarkable Canadian success story,” said Tawfiq Popatia, a Managing Director at Onex.

Ed Sims, WestJet’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are delighted to continue the journey of building an airline based on a growing network, providing competitive airfares and more choice to, from and within Canada, for communities large and small. Integral to this relationship is a commitment to our employees, and our unique ownership-driven culture.”

The investment will be led by Onex Partners, Onex’ private equity platform focused on larger investment opportunities.

Recommendation of the WestJet Board of Directors

Following an approach by Onex in March 2019, the WestJet board of directors formed a special committee of independent directors to provide the Board with its advice and recommendations with respect to the proposal from Onex and the transaction, and to supervise the negotiation of the terms and conditions of the transaction. After an extensive review of the proposed transaction, the special committee provided its unanimous recommendation of the transaction to the WestJet board of directors. The WestJet board of directors, having received and considered the recommendation of the special committee, determined that the transaction is in the best interests of WestJet and unanimously recommends that WestJet shareholders vote in favour of the transaction at the special meeting of shareholders to be held to approve the transaction.

Each of CIBC Capital Markets and BofA Merrill Lynch has provided the WestJet board of directors with an opinion to the effect that, as of May 12, 2019, the consideration to be received by holders of WestJet shares in the transaction was fair, from a financial point of view, to such holders, in each case subject to the respective limitations, qualifications, assumptions and other matters set forth in such opinions.

Each of the directors and executive officers of WestJet has entered into a voting support agreement pursuant to which each has committed to vote in favour of the transaction.

Additional Transaction Details

Equity financing will be led by Onex Partners.

The transaction is to be completed by way of an arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta). Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including court and shareholder approval and receipt of certain regulatory approvals, including approval under the Canada Transportation Act. The approval under the Canada Transportation Act involves a determination by the Minister of Transport which entails an assessment of the public interest as it relates to national transportation. Assuming the timely receipt of regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close in the latter part of 2019 or early 2020.

WestJet expects to mail an information circular in late June 2019 for a special meeting of its shareholders expected to be held in July 2019 to approve the transaction.

The arrangement agreement for the transaction includes customary provisions relating to non-solicitation, subject to customary “fiduciary out” provisions that entitle WestJet to consider and accept a superior proposal if the purchaser does not match the superior proposal. WestJet has agreed to pay a fee to the purchaser upon the termination of the agreement in certain circumstances. The purchaser has agreed to pay a fee to WestJet if, after all other conditions to the closing of the transaction have been satisfied or waived, the purchaser is not in a position to fund the closing of the transaction.

WestJet is permitted to continue paying its regular quarterly cash dividend consistent with its dividend policy and past practice until closing.

Further details regarding the terms of the transaction are set out in the arrangement agreement, which will be publicly filed by WestJet under its profile at www.sedar.com. Additional information regarding the terms of the arrangement agreement and the background of the transaction will be provided in the information circular for the special meeting of shareholders.

Advisors

CIBC Capital Markets is acting as financial advisor to WestJet. BofA Merrill Lynch has provided financial advisory services to the WestJet board of directors. Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP is serving as legal advisor to WestJet and Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP is serving as independent legal advisor to the special committee of WestJet’s board.

Goodmans LLP is acting as Canadian legal advisor to Onex and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP is serving as U.S. legal advisor to Onex. DLA Piper (Canada) LLP is serving as Onex’ aviation regulatory counsel. Barclays is acting as lead financial advisor and lending bank to Onex with additional advisory and financing provided by Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital Markets.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): WestJet Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner C-GUDO (msn 64976) YYZ (TMK Photography). Image: 946160.

WestJet aircraft slide show:

WestJet to become official airline partner of the Calgary Stampeders

WestJet and the Calgary Stampeders have set into a motion a proposed three-year partnership between the two Calgary-based companies.

WestJet and the Calgary Stampeders celebrate new partnership in Calgary (CNW Group/WESTJET, an Alberta Partnership)

As part of the proposed agreement, WestJet will become the official airline partner for the Stampeders and will charter the defending 2018 Grey Cup Champions to all away games through the 2021 season across Canada.

“The Calgary Stampeders have a deep history within our local community and as Calgary’s hometown airline we’re extremely proud to kick-off our partnership with this championship organization,” said Richard Bartrem, WestJet Vice-President Marketing Communications. “As new teammates, we look forward to supporting the Stampeders in their title defense and sharing in each other’s successes in the air and on the playing field across Canada for the next three seasons.”

“The Calgary Stampeder Football Club is very excited about this partnership between two proud Calgary institutions and we’re very much looking forward to teaming up with WestJet for the next three years,” said Stampeders Senior Director of Business Operations Mike Franco. “It’s an ideal union and we’re extremely pleased that a major international brand with strong local roots is meeting our team travel needs.”

The three-year deal is expected to include a WestJet branded on-field logo at McMahon Stadium and advertising, along with in-game promotional opportunities and co-branded content features of the team throughout the season.

The Calgary Stampeders are set to open the 2019 season on Saturday, June 15 at McMahon Stadium against Ottawa in a Grey Cup rematch. Fans hoping to catch pre-season action are encouraged to attend the team’s only pre-season contest on Friday, May 31 against Saskatchewan in Calgary.

WestJet is Calgary’s largest airline, and by June 2019, will offer flights to 68 non-stop destinations with over 1,000 flights per week from YYC. More Calgarians choose WestJet for their air travel than any other airline.

Logo jet coming?

WestJet reports a 33.4% increase in first quarter net earnings

WestJet today announced its first quarter results for 2019, with net earnings of $45.6 million, or $0.40 per fully diluted share compared with net earnings of $34.2 million, or $0.30 per fully diluted share reported in the first quarter of 2018.

“We remain confident in our strategic direction and continue to see positive trends as a result of our prudent growth and the strategic initiatives we are undertaking.” said Ed Sims, WestJet President and CEO. “I want to thank all of our guests for their continued loyalty and all WestJetters for their on-going commitment to providing an award-winning service through a busy first quarter.”

Operating highlights (stated in Canadian dollars)

	Q1 2019	Q1 2018	Change
Net earnings (millions)	$45.6	$34.2	33.4%
Diluted earnings per share	$0.40	$0.30	33.3%
Total revenue (millions)	$1,257.7	$1,191.7	5.5%
Operating margin	4.8%	5.1%	(0.3 pts)
ASMs (available seat miles) (billions)	8.456	8.029	5.3%
RPMs (revenue passenger miles) (billions)	7.168	6.810	5.3%
Load factor	84.8%	84.8%	0.0 pts
Segment guests	6,282,781	6,088,954	3.2%
Yield (revenue per revenue passenger mile) (cents)	17.55	17.50	0.3%
RASM (revenue per available seat mile) (cents)	14.87	14.84	0.2%
CASM (cost per available seat mile) (cents)	14.16	14.08	0.6%
Fuel costs per litre (cents)	77	73	5.5%
CASM, excluding fuel and employee profit share (cents)*	10.59	10.50	0.9%

*Refer to reconciliations in the accompanying tables for further information regarding calculations.

Top Copyright Photo: WestJet Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner C-GUDO (msn 64976) YYZ (TMK Photography). Image: 946441.

WestJet aircraft slide show:

WestJet ratifies five-year agreement with WestJet Encore pilots

WestJet has announced that 92 percent of WestJet Encore pilots represented by the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) voted in favor of a five-year agreement. The vote represents 90 percent of the 505 WestJet Encore pilots.

The agreement starts January 1, 2019 and expires on January 1, 2024.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): WestJet Encore Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) C-GWEU (msn 4493) YYZ (Jay Selman). Image: 403935.

WestJet Encore aircraft slide show:

WestJet inaugurates Halifax and Dublin nonstop

WestJet made this announcement:

As the carrier with the most transatlantic flights from Halifax, WestJet on April 29 began its new nonstop service between Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) and Dublin Airport (DUB).

WestJet has served the city of Halifax since 2003 and has seen 160 per cent growth in flights to and from Halifax Stanfield. This summer the airline will operate non-stop service to 15 cities with an average of 28 departures per day from Halifax.

Photo: Halifax Stansfield Airport.

WestJet has operated to Dublin, Ireland since 2014 and on June 1 will bring one of its first three Dreamliner aircraft to the city with nonstop service from Calgary.

Details of WestJet’s new non-stop service:

Route	Frequency	Departing	Arriving	Effective
Halifax-Dublin	6x weekly	10:20 p.m.	7:32 a.m. +1	April 29, 2019
Dublin-Halifax	6x weekly	9:00 a.m.	11:02 a.m.	April 30, 2019

WestJet touches down in Portland, Oregon

WestJet has made this announcement:

Building on WestJet’s position as Calgary’s largest air carrier, the airline began its new nonstop flight between Portland International Airport (PDX) and Calgary nInternational Airport (YYC) today. The new flight is the first-ever WestJet-scheduled service to and from Portland.

WestJet’s nonstop flight to Calgary allows for convenient access to its western Canadian network where the airline will operate 145 daily flights from Calgary to 54 destinations including Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Saskatoon, Regina, Atlanta, Nashville, New York, London, Paris and Dublin. WestJet operates more flights to more destinations from Calgary than any other airline. WestJet’s codeshare partner, Delta, also offers travellers from Calgary the opportunity to connect to Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, Seattle/Tacoma and Salt Lake City International Airport out of Portland.

Route	Frequency	Departing	Arriving	Effective
Calgary – Portland	Daily	10:30 a.m.	11:17 a.m.	April 29, 2019
Portland – Calgary	Daily	12:10 p.m.	2:57 p.m.	April. 29, 2019

This summer, WestJet will operate over 740 daily flights in peak summer to 92 destinations including 42 in Canada, 23 in the United States, 28 in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America, and five in Europe.

WestJet’s Dreamliner takes its first transatlantic flight

WestJet officially launched its new Dreamliner featuring its new long-haul Business cabin seats between Calgary and London, Gatwick with the departure of WS1. The sold-out flight, expected to land in Gatwick at 11:00 a.m. local time, was a first for WestJet’s new 787-9 Dreamliner. The return flight, WS2 departs London at 1 p.m. local time on Monday.

“The three years since WestJet’s inaugural flight from Gatwick have been a real success story, with thousands of business and leisure passengers enjoying the vital low-cost connections between the UK and Canada that these services have provided,” said Guy Stephenson, Gatwick Airport Chief Commercial Officer. “WestJet’s presence at Gatwick continues to grow, and it’s very exciting for us to be supporting the airline as it moves into this important new era. The launch of the 787 Dreamliner will offer around 24,000 more Gatwick–Calgary seats per year on the same number of aircraft, and its highly fuel-efficient engines will also help us in our ongoing mission to become the UK’s most sustainable airport.”

Photo: The first WestJet 787 at LGW.

Tail 901, WestJet’s first Dreamliner, named Clive Beddoe, also carried the founder and chairman himself.

On May 17, WestJet will launch its inaugural direct Dreamliner flight between Calgary to Paris with its final transatlantic flight between Calgary and Dublin on June 1.

WestJet’s Dreamliners carry 320 guests in a three-class cabin configuration including the airline’s newly revealed Business cabin featuring 16 private pods with lie-flat seats, an upscale Premium cabin and an updated Economy cabin.

WestJet is Calgary’s largest airline, and by June 2019, will offer flights to 68 nonstop destinations with over 1,000 flights per week from YYC. More Calgarians choose WestJet for their air travel than any other airline.

Details of WestJet’s new nonstop service:

Route	Frequency	Departing	Arriving	Effective
Calgary – London (Gatwick)	Daily	7:20 p.m	11 a.m. +1	April 28, 2019
London (Gatwick) – Calgary	Daily	1:30 p.m	3:40 p.m	April 29, 2018

In other news, WestJet Encore will drop the Halifax – Boston route on June 2, 2019.

All photos by WestJet.

WestJet adjusts its flight schedule due to ongoing MAX groundings

WestJet has made this announcement:

WestJet is committed to providing our guests with an experience that is safe, reliable and caring. The continued grounding of the MAX aircraft has led us to take further steps to adjust our schedule. We are dedicated to ensuring our guests have timely information to book and travel with confidence during this time.

As the timeline of the MAX grounding remains unknown, pre-emptive updates to our flight schedule have been made to reduce the number of last-minute cancellations and disruption.

Our schedules have now been adjusted through July 3, 2019. Regardless of when the aircraft are approved to return to service, we will provide nothing less than 100 per cent assurance to our guests and WestJetters that all processes, procedures and decisions will to be made with safety at the forefront.

We thank all our guests, airport partners and crews for their understanding and patience since the grounding of our MAX aircraft on March 13.

Photo: bayarea.aviation via WestJet.

Temporary Route Suspensions

In addition to a number of changes, to either flight times or substituting larger aircraft with fewer frequencies, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspended a small number of routes where no alternative aircraft were available.

We remain committed to the following routes and will resume these flights when we can.

• Flights between Halifax and Paris have been suspended from June 3 through August 2, 2019. We are in the process of contacting affected guests who will be rebooked through either Calgary, nonstop on our Dreamliner to Paris, or with one of our partner airlines through Toronto, Montreal or New York.

• Flights between Edmonton and Ottawa have been suspended from June 3 through July 3, 2019. We are in the process of contacting affected guests who will be rebooked through either Calgary or Toronto on WestJet-operated flights.

• Flights between Edmonton and Montreal have been suspended from June 3 through July 3, 2019. We are in the process of contacting affected guests who will be rebooked through either Calgary or Toronto on WestJet-operated flights.

• Flights between Toronto and Kelowna have been suspended from June 3 through June 27, 2019. We are in the process of contacting affected guests who will be rebooked through either Calgary, Toronto or Edmonton on WestJet-operated flights.

• Flights between Vancouver and Regina have been suspended from June 3 through July 3, 2019. We are in the process of contacting affected guests who will be rebooked through either Calgary or Edmonton on WestJet-operated flights.

The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority. Since the MAX aircraft were grounded five weeks ago, our pilots have maintained their flying status on the 737-fleet, continuing to safely operate approximately 400 daily 737 departures.

Although the MAX comprised over 1,000 monthly departures in our June schedules, by adjusting our aircraft lease returns and the planned installations of our premium seats, we have been able to cover more than 700 of the flights where the MAX was originally scheduled, with other aircraft.

I thank our WestJet teams for their dedication as they continue to work hard to get our guests to their destinations.