Westjet to operate Dash 8's???!!!

[tincanflyer]

...well sorta...

WestJet to lease aircraft to continue to serve Prince George
Friday August 8, 1:29 pm ET


Airline finds a way to maintain service during month-long runway expansion project
CALGARY, Aug. 8 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced that it will lease smaller aircraft for the period of September 2 to 30, 2008, in order to continue to serve the people of Prince George while the main runway at the Prince George Airport is being extended.


During construction, the main runway will be shortened to the point where WestJet is unable to land its signature fleet of Boeing Next-Generation 737s. Faced with the decision to discontinue service, WestJet chose to lease smaller Dash-8 aircraft from Hawkair Aviation of Terrace, B.C., on a temporary basis in order to maintain service to Prince George.

"This is far from an ideal situation for WestJet and, more importantly, our guests," said Bob Cummings, WestJet Executive Vice-President, Guest Experience and Marketing. "Despite the obstacles, we felt we needed to find a way to continue to serve the people of Prince George. At the end of the day, we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them."

WestJet brought friendly and affordable air service to Prince George in 1999. Today, the area is home to some of the most frequent fliers in the airline's network. "We flew 200,000 guests from this city last year, and we know how lucky we are to have such tremendous support from the region," said Bob Cummings.

WestJet will lease two types of Dash-8 aircraft, seating 37 and 50 guests respectively, along with contract flight crews and attendants. "This will definitely mean some significant adjustments to our Prince George operation," said Bob Cummings. "I want to thank our guests for their patience and understanding while we operate during September with different aircraft and on a modified schedule."

[whiteguy]

...well sorta...

WestJet to lease aircraft to continue to serve Prince George
Friday August 8, 1:29 pm ET


Airline finds a way to maintain service during month-long runway expansion project
CALGARY, Aug. 8 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced that it will lease smaller aircraft for the period of September 2 to 30, 2008, in order to continue to serve the people of Prince George while the main runway at the Prince George Airport is being extended.


During construction, the main runway will be shortened to the point where WestJet is unable to land its signature fleet of Boeing Next-Generation 737s. Faced with the decision to discontinue service, WestJet chose to lease smaller Dash-8 aircraft from Hawkair Aviation of Terrace, B.C., on a temporary basis in order to maintain service to Prince George.

"This is far from an ideal situation for WestJet and, more importantly, our guests," said Bob Cummings, WestJet Executive Vice-President, Guest Experience and Marketing. "Despite the obstacles, we felt we needed to find a way to continue to serve the people of Prince George. At the end of the day, we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them."

WestJet brought friendly and affordable air service to Prince George in 1999. Today, the area is home to some of the most frequent fliers in the airline's network. "We flew 200,000 guests from this city last year, and we know how lucky we are to have such tremendous support from the region," said Bob Cummings.

WestJet will lease two types of Dash-8 aircraft, seating 37 and 50 guests respectively, along with contract flight crews and attendants. "This will definitely mean some significant adjustments to our Prince George operation," said Bob Cummings. "I want to thank our guests for their patience and understanding while we operate during September with different aircraft and on a modified schedule."

What, WS guest will have to fly on props??

[SkyWolfe]

Why do I find this cute?

[Troubleshot]

You gotta hand it to them, they have great customer service in a day and age where it has fallen the wayside of the bottom line.

[Highflyinpilot]

I agree with troubleshot, they could have just said screw it, see you in a month.

[Guido]

Wow... well done WestJet!

[whiteguy]

Wow... well done WestJet!

Yes, WOW! Cross off another "we'll never" from the list.

[WJ700]

It's Hawk Air doing the flying.

[tincanflyer]

It's Hawk Air doing the flying.

ypu thats what the article said....thanks...

[tired of the ground]

I don't think that WJ is doing anybody a favor by having someone else service their route while their jets can't utilize the airport (no matter how good PR it is). They are making sure their revenue stream is not interrupted. It may even be more profitable to run a -8 on that route and still charge 737 fare prices (I don't know the route or load factor, therefore that is purely speculation) If they were going to loose boatloads of money by running the -8, we would be reading a report on how WJ is blaming the airport authority for such poor planning and stranding all their passengers.

Unfortunately in this day and age the almighty dollar dictates how good customer service is (somewhat). WJ does a really good job at stretching that dollar and trying to make sure everyone is happy. At the end of the day however if they aren't making money, they aren't going to bother burning any JetA.

[stopsquawk]

It probably has more to do with the fact Jazz is putting on 7 or 8 flights a day between YVR and YXS using Dash 8's. Prices look the same as on the RJ. I guess WS just wants to preserve their market share. I suspect they're not going to make a lot of money using a sub charter though.

One question: I wonder if the Hawk FA's have to learn how to speak Westjet?

If I hear "for your comfort, but more importantly, for your safety" once more, I'm gonna puke.

[whiteguy]

“The public at large has historically not liked getting on turboprops. You're going to get banged around by turbulence a lot more. And looking out the window, seeing those propellers spinning is not very comforting to the flying public,” Mr. Beddoe said. “We operate at 40,000 feet with a modern jet, so it's a much more comfortable and faster ride.”

But its okay now!

[WJflyer]

“The public at large has historically not liked getting on turboprops. You're going to get banged around by turbulence a lot more. And looking out the window, seeing those propellers spinning is not very comforting to the flying public,” Mr. Beddoe said. “We operate at 40,000 feet with a modern jet, so it's a much more comfortable and faster ride.”

But its okay now!

It may change Westjet's mind if they find the Dash 8 leases to be economical and good money makers. Who knows, Westjet might in the future order turboprops to complement their fleet...

[Troubleshot]

“The public at large has historically not liked getting on turboprops. You're going to get banged around by turbulence a lot more. And looking out the window, seeing those propellers spinning is not very comforting to the flying public,” Mr. Beddoe said. “We operate at 40,000 feet with a modern jet, so it's a much more comfortable and faster ride.”

But its okay now!

It may change Westjet's mind if they find the Dash 8 leases to be economical and good money makers. Who knows, Westjet might in the future order turboprops to complement their fleet...

I don't think so Jack...

[sstaurus]

Who in this 'flying public' is scared of props?

[invertedattitude]

I do find it amusing that Mr.Beddoe said those comments before, and in such a short timeframe Westjet is offering the same service level.

That being said I think it is a good move by Westjet to find a way to continue service.

I wonder what the WJetters would have said a month ago if someone said that WestJet should use Dash-8 service

[Panama Jack]

Who knows, Westjet might in the future order turboprops to complement their fleet...

You mean. . . Westjet Tier 1 and Tier 2?
Scope Clauses?
Common Employer issues?
Flow-through?

Stranger things have happened in the Land of the Midnight Sun.

[EI-EIO]

Hey Clive:

[AuxBatOn]

Who in this 'flying public' is scared of props?

To the aviation enthusiast, turboprops are okay and even very good. However, turboprops tend to be smaller than jets. My parents, when they came down, had to take a Dash 8 to a big airport then a 737 here. Well, they said "We had to stay 1 hour in that little crappy plane with PROPS on it. How scary was that." But they really enjoyed the 737 ride.

Plus, props are for boats. They don,t look so natural on an airplane...

AuxBatOn

[Guido]

Who in this 'flying public' is scared of props?

To the aviation enthusiast, turboprops are okay and even very good. However, turboprops tend to be smaller than jets. My parents, when they came down, had to take a Dash 8 to a big airport then a 737 here. Well, they said "We had to stay 1 hour in that little crappy plane with PROPS on it. How scary was that." But they really enjoyed the 737 ride.

Plus, props are for boats. They don,t look so natural on an airplane...

AuxBatOn

Ugh... bang on. Should hear all the horror stories I get from people after having flown on a B1900... only 18 seats... my goodness, the bravery those pilots show on a daily basis. One time they even flew through a rainstorm... and landed in light fog! My hats off to them!

[WJ700]

It's Hawk Air doing the flying.

ypu thats what the article said....thanks...

The thread is titled "WestJet to operate Dash 8's???!!!". Which is incorrect; thus my reply. So who has the reading comprehension issue here? But thanks for being a forum cop.

[Four1oh]

It's Hawk Air doing the flying.

ypu thats what the article said....thanks...

The thread is titled "WestJet to operate Dash 8's???!!!". Which is incorrect; thus my reply. So who has the reading comprehension issue here? But thanks for being a forum cop.

I will now post the obligatory 'after WJ700' post, to prove we are the same person...

[disengage]

Yes Its a good move by WestJet to continue service to prince george but in the talk about people being scared to fly on the prop jobs well, they sort of have no choice if theyre flying out of that airport...the other airlines that service PG are CMA- b-1900's, Nt air-KA's and Beech 1900's, Horizon Air Dash 8's they may fly there RJ in im not sure and AC- Dash 8's// RJ

[AuxBatOn]

I agree, I was just saying that generally, people FEEL safer in a jet.

[Mostly Harmless]

Horizon Air Dash 8's they may fly there RJ in im not sure and AC- Dash 8's// RJ

An RJ is not a short field airplane by any stretch of the imagination.