WestJet is Canada's Preferred Airline

[balfour]

Study conducted by Leger Marketing indicates WestJet is tops.

CALGARY, June 9 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced the results of a study
conducted by Leger Marketing indicating that WestJet is Canada's preferred
airline.
The study, conducted quarterly on behalf of WestJet by Leger Marketing,
one of Canada's most well-known and reputable research firms, shows that 49
per cent of Canadians chose WestJet as their preferred airline in Canada. Air
Canada was preferred by 35 per cent.
"We are thrilled by this news," said WestJet President and Chief
Executive Officer Sean Durfy. "Clearly, this demonstrates that our culture and
our people are making a difference in the lives of Canadians. I congratulate
the more than 7,500 WestJetters who have earned these results and who work
very hard to provide a caring guest experience.
"Becoming Canada's preferred airline is a significant milestone as we
continue to deliver on our objectives and move towards our vision of becoming
a top five international airline by 2016," continued Sean Durfy. "Our brand
and financial strengths are big contributors to these results as the
travelling public recognizes that our business model is sustainable and that
our guests can book with confidence."
Dave Scholz, Leger Marketing Vice-President, Toronto Office said,
"WestJet has consistently performed well when we have asked Canadians which
airline they prefer. WestJet provides its customers with the travel experience
that people are looking for these days and the survey shows that this is
appreciated."
In addition, WestJet ranked 21st in Leger/Marketing Magazine's annual
Corporate Reputation Survey and was the only airline to be ranked in the top
100.
Bob Cummings, WestJet's Executive Vice-President, Guest Experience and
Marketing added, "We are truly humbled to be number 21 in this study ahead of
such great brands as Fed Ex, IBM, Apple, Microsoft, Pepsi, Coke, Starbucks and
McDonald's. These results demonstrate the current and future potential of the
WestJet brand. We are one of the leading service industry brands in Canada -
period. In particular, WestJet is poised to leverage its position to further
grow in the business and vacations markets. Our brand will continue to
flourish as we introduce new products, deliver on our Care-antee and increase
the strength of our company culture."

About WestJet

WestJet is Canada's preferred airline, providing high-value low-cost
service throughout its 55-city North American and Caribbean network. Named one
of Canada's most admired corporate cultures in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008,
WestJet pioneered low-cost flying in Canada. WestJet offers increased legroom,
leather seats and live seatback television provided by Bell TV on its modern
fleet of 79 Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft. With future confirmed
deliveries for an additional 42 aircraft, bringing its fleet to 121 by 2013,
WestJet strives to be the number one choice for travellers.

[upduck]

[Black Cat]

Who was the preferred airline last year?

[square]

I heart WJ. Everything's just right.

Oh, except a small thing, the contracting of ground crews. They should just employ their own dudes where they can. Swissport in Vancouver? Why bother, when there's tons of dudes who've been there years who would love to ramp lead in Van.

[bcflyer]

So you're going to brag about a study that is paid for by Westjet that shows Westjet is the publics choice? Any link to that study? I'd be curious to see how many people they polled and where those people lived.

[fortis risk]

I worked for a "highly respected" market research firm. There are absolute biases built into the surveys, they're subtle but they are definitely there. This is a study that westjet pays for every quarter. How much do you think that contract would be worth?

[bmc]

If posters believe that the results are flawed and reflect what Westjet want to hear, perhaps you can share with us who you think is Canada's preferred airline?

What benefit does Westjet get to have a research company tell them what they want to hear as opposed to what they should hear? I think some posters are getting their airlines confused. I doubt Westjet grew from 3 aircraft to 80 because they're crap. I could be wrong.

[upduck]

Hmm, I don't suppose being the "media darlings" helped in any way.

[tonysoprano]

What benefit does Westjet get to have a research company tell them what they want to hear as opposed to what they should hear?

b.
Are you kidding me? I can only hope you were sipping some bold red when you wrote this.

[Pratt X 3]

Almost as bad as this scam:

[bmc]

What benefit does Westjet get to have a research company tell them what they want to hear as opposed to what they should hear?

b.
Are you kidding me? I can only hope you were sipping some bold red when you wrote this.

Quit pulling my pin and get back to the "government owned airline" forum, will ya.

[tonysoprano]

[disco]

I doubt Westjet grew from 3 aircraft to 80 because they're crap. I could be wrong.

How about incredibly lucky timing/positioning during the collapse of C3000 and the biased leveling maneuver called the Air Canada Act?

Don't get me wrong, I don't for a moment think that WestJet is crap. Quite the contrary, they are a great airline with good attention to their customers, employees and morale. I just like to call it like it is.

It hasn't by any stretch of the imagination been pure wizardry or skill.

[3Green]

I saw this poll set up in the Walmart greeter's area one day...
Coincidentally, I heard there was a huge blowout sale on tear-away pants, tank tops for men, and leather hats! "Perfect for airline travel" the sign said

[fortis risk]

Suggests they were targeting white trash for their survey.

[bmc]

Suggests they were targeting white trash for their survey.

Not to suggest that 3-Green is white trash, of course.


Been turned down for a job maybe?

[fortis risk]

Not what I was inferring at all. Westjet is a good airline. Would I work there? No. Couldn't drink the Kool aid. Plus, while one ac type may be good for business it is damn boring.
I'm refering to the demographic that the survey targeted. Business travelers tend to prefer AC, price sensitive pax tend to prefer wj. Therefore if you want a positive result in your survey, go to wal mart.

[sepia]

SkyTrax which does impartial airline reviews puts both AC and WJ at 3 star. AC in the past has won best North American Airline where WJ never has to my knowledge.

Here's a brief run down of what 3 star means from their site.

3 STAR RANKING : The 3 Star ranking signifies a "satisfactory" standard of core Product across most travel categories - but reflects poor or less consistent standards of Staff Service / Product quality in selected Onboard or Airport features. This Ranking is assessed by SKYTRAX after detailed Product and Service standards analysis for each featured airline, and is NOT connected in any way to customer ratings across the Forum pages on this site.

[bmc]

Not what I was inferring at all. Westjet is a good airline. Would I work there? No. Couldn't drink the Kool aid. Plus, while one ac type may be good for business it is damn boring.
I'm refering to the demographic that the survey targeted. Business travelers tend to prefer AC, price sensitive pax tend to prefer wj. Therefore if you want a positive result in your survey, go to wal mart.

Where is it stated that the survey was targeted at a certain demographic? One post by one guy and the whole survey was done at Walmart? Isn't that a bit of a leap?

On a lot of high density routes, you can make more money flying an airplane in full economy class than in a J/Y configuration. I think your assumption about business travelers prefering AC may not hold water in western Canada. I could be wrong.

There are two ways AC can respond to this survey. Ignore it. Or, spend some time understanding it. Which do you AC will do? I have my hunch.

[fortis risk]

I agree that Western Canada(aka Alberta) is in westjets corner. No doubt. The way the media in Calgary/Edmonton fawn over them is laughable.

Can you think of a place better than a walmart to do your survey, like an airport perhaps? Where air travelers have been known to frequent. I've met alot of people in Calgary who say they much prefer Westjet. When pressed for reasons, some have confessed they have never been on an airplane before, or they have only ever flown on westjet.

Westjet has created a myth around itself, and done it very well I might add. Why do WJetters have to be so defensive, you all have such an inferiority complex. Its very unbecoming and makes you look desperate.

I don't work for AC or any other Heavy airline, its not my style. If I were to have to work for a larger operation, I would definitely aim for Porter. I flew on them last year, it was the best traveling experience I have ever had. I am definitly a cheerleader for them now. I want them to stay around to set the bar.

[bmc]

I don't work for Westjet. Never flew on them either. As a Canadian and a guy that's been in the airline business for 28 years, I have to say I am proud of the fact that there is a strong healthy, growing airline in Canada. Not unlike PWA, I guess.

No sour grapes toward any Canadian carrier. A healthy industry promotes growth and opportunities for pilots.

[tonysoprano]

Might be a bit simplistic but would market share not be an indicator of what people prefer? At this point in time, AC still has that edge. To that end, I highly doubt that a person would be sitting on an AC flight while "preferring" the other airline. I don't think it has anything to do with smiles or jokes. I think what it comes down to most of the time is price. I hear it many times where "WJ was cheaper by $50 so that's what we chose"... Having said that, AC still has the advantages of more frequency, Star Alliance and a more comprehensive network. Aeroplan also helps. I would think that aside from smiles and jokes by the crew, these factors are just as important. As for service itself, I've said many times before that the demographics of the two airline's customers are quite different. I've sat next to people on AC flights who have told me many times they were not impressed with the crummy jokes on WJ and would not fly them again. Then again, it's quite obvious that there are many people that don't mind that at all. Two types of airline customers. Let's just hope they keep flying no matter who they prefer.

[365TAS]

SkyTrax which does impartial airline reviews puts both AC and WJ at 3 star. AC in the past has won best North American Airline where WJ never has to my knowledge.

How right you are! ..and a little airline called Porter is a 4 Star airline...not quite big enough..yet..to get the NA title.

Cheers!

[bmc]

Might be a bit simplistic but would market share not be an indicator of what people prefer? At this point in time, AC still has that edge.

Market share
Capacity share
Frequency share

Having dominant market share is impressive if all carriers on a market have the same frequency and seats in the market. Time of day, wide body/narrow body, affinity program, alliance, loyalty, price, etc, all influence market share. A lot of airlines fall into the trap of chasing market share instead of profitability. Some airlines are too quick to match prices when a carrier drops, when they may not have to drop them at all.....let the other guy fill up with the cheap stuff, and carry the last minute stuff at a premium. But that takes discipline and guts.

The gap between LCC and network carrier narrows with time. Where I live, people fly Ryanair all the time. I prefer BA. Same distinction.

Nice to AC B767 on the ramp this week, Tony. You gonna bid for some of that?

[tonysoprano]

The difference is that AC is not chasing market share. We have had the same routes for decades and have been the dominant carrier for decades. Some routes we can't give up because most times they are profitable. Also, we can't shrink ourselves to profitability. When the economy is good we make hay. When it's bad we suffer. Just the nature of what it is. The problem has become PRICE. I'm sure BA has the same problems with Ryan that AC has with WJ. Price, price, price. Deregulation has turned the industry into a price war.
Geneva. Ah yes. Looking forward to it. I'll let you know.