WestJet "Passenger Perks" - Westjet is Canada's preferred airline according to new Leger Marketing study

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2009/09/c4440.html

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."

I would like to see the parameters of this survey.

I would like to see the parameters of this survey.

Why? Because you are shcoked by the results? Come on. Nobody likes to fly air canada. People only fly it becuase they have Aeroplan miles they are too attached to. It is kind of like a "Buy 10 sandwiches and we'll give you one free" scam.

The sandwiches are awful and nobody likes to eat them. But the pain of eating 10 horrible sandwiches with the thrill of a free one at the end seems to work for some people. Not me.

I would rather switch sandwich shops. I don't need to eat anymore horrible sandwiches.

People like flying westjet. Point Finale!!!!!!!

This is no surprise. I've never met anyone who prefers Air Canada over WestJet. Yes, more people do fly AC but that's only because of their larger network, if given the opportunity people definitely prefer to fly WestJet over AC.

This is no surprise. I've never met anyone who prefers Air Canada over WestJet.

You must not spend much time east of Moose Jaw.

The survey was probably taken at YYC, YEG and YYZ T3 LOL

The AC brand is deeply wounded and has been for years. That is all this survey reveals without further data on the specific questions and population surveyed. It would be interesting to know whether this was a survey of regular fliers or just random public survey. That would make a difference in interpreting the results.

People like flying westjet. Point Finale!!!!!!!

I just flew WS ex YWG. The chap on the gate desk thought he was a comedian and assaulted my ears with cutsie remarks and feeble attempts at humour.

Not my cup of tea.....I want peace and quiet when I travel. I suspect that other frequent flyers do too.

You must not spend much time east of Moose Jaw.


We're the fortunate ones aren't we!!! :p

I just flew WS ex YWG. The chap on the gate desk thought he was a comedian and assaulted my ears with cutsie remarks and feeble attempts at humour.

Not my cup of tea.....I want peace and quiet when I travel. I suspect that other frequent flyers do too.

Now, now settle down.

Now, now settle down.

The return journey is on AC.... I will be ok ! :)

What a pointless survey, and unfortunately for Durfy and his Koolaid Krew, passenger numbers don't back it up.

I just flew WS ex YWG. The chap on the gate desk thought he was a comedian and assaulted my ears with cutsie remarks and feeble attempts at humour.

Not my cup of tea.....I want peace and quiet when I travel. I suspect that other frequent flyers do too.

Yes, the jokes get to me, too. Fortunately, they rarely tell them anymore on the actual flight.

Not surprising about the survey, although I too would like to see what was asked. AC has such a bad image after years of PR gaffs and IROPS meltdowns that the general public would tend see WS as a better option. Frequent fliers (and there are plenty that do not care about Aeroplan points) might see things differently, especially people who fly out of airports with very limited WS service. For me, schedule trumps everything, and WS's schedule is unimpressive east of YWG.

The Leger survey was probably like all their other surveys, phone 1500 people and get their responses.

The more interesting statistic I would like to see is the number of Canadians it takes to account for 1/2 of all air travel spending around and out of Canada. Anecdotally we seems to be at about 10,000 SE, 70,000 E and 20,000 P for about 100,000. With this number in mind I could talk myself into the number of Canadians that account for 50% of air travel spending to be about 500,000 to 750,000. Taking the larger number we get to about 750,000 out of 33 million Canadians means that probably about 50 frequent travellers we polled in this sample.

With my past history as an AC IFS crew member and my current history as a successful business person, I've given this issue a lot of consideration. The company brand has definitely been tarnished by self inflicted wounds, as well by the "inferiority psche" exhibited by Canadian society?
Historically, the service standards at AC, and CP air have always higher other major North American carriers. AC however, never garnered the same level of domestic recognition, that it got internationally.
Sometimes, as a crew member I got the feeling, that no matter how good the oboard service we offered, we couldn't surmount our customer's preconception that the service would not be good.
Air Canada crews are now comprised of proud crew members from CP, Wardair, Nordair and EPA.
Being an original AC employee, I always felt proud to work with fellow airline professionals.

With my past history as an AC IFS crew member and my current history as a successful business person, I've given this issue a lot of consideration. The company brand has definitely been tarnished by self inflicted wounds, as well by the "inferiority psche" exhibited by Canadian society?
Historically, the service standards at AC, and CP air have always higher other major North American carriers. AC however, never garnered the same level of domestic recognition, that it got internationally.
Sometimes, as a crew member I got the feeling, that no matter how good the oboard service we offered, we couldn't surmount our customer's preconception that the service would not be good.
Air Canada crews are now comprised of proud crew members from CP, Wardair, Nordair and EPA.
Being an original AC employee, I always felt proud to work with fellow airline professionals.

I prefer WJ. But the AC in flight service is not bad. In many ways (and on some routes) it is probably as good or better than WJ. It is just the service every where else. From ticketing agents, to people on the phone, to AP agents (which, I know, are not AC employees now), to baggage agents. Not everyone is bad, but there are enough bad employees and experiences to foster a bad reputation.

For example, come to YVR at Christmas time. You can see all the mishandled AC baggage in the arrivals area, the grumpy AC passengers in the terminal, and the lack of helpful AC agents.

Y'know i've flown both Teal and Red. I havent a problem with either.

And sorry, I'm one of those WestJet Joke Tellers. It comes accross in the delivery, and seriously... How are you going to ENJOY LIFE if you're going to be up tight?

Sorry I told a joke, sir, perhaps you have somethign funnier to say? I have a suggestion, if it really bothers you that much 75% of us at any one time have a spare set (in a sealed bag) of earplugs if you like.

I would say some people choose AC over WS due to the availability of BusinessFirst seating. But really? Who cares, we enjoy our time, and we enjoy our work.

Our lack of being "stuffy in the cabin" doesn't have anything to do with our true professionalism and our ability to pull together as a company to assist our guests in times of need. NOR does it mean we don't put safety first.


MMmmmmm... Kool aid!

Was mostly AC due to more flight choices/times I found but have been using WJ more often and find myself liking WJ more now. Never been bumped by WJ with a cancelled flight for low bookings but have been a few times with AC so thats a factor.