Westjet 2001 Annual Report Download - page 17

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15
Despite the many negative events that affected our
industry this past year, at WestJet, 2001 will be
remembered more for our accomplishments in the face of
many challenges. In February of 2001, we moved into our
new hangar in Calgary, and completed the acquisition of
our two 737 flight simulators with their installation at this
facility. The excitement of our people was evident across
our entire network as we accepted delivery of our first
new Boeing 737-700 aircraft in May.
We are proud of our growth this year with new cities
added to our route network, and many new WestJetters
added to our team. We are particularly proud of how all
WestJetters pulled together in September and October to
ensure that our airline remained profitable in very
challenging times for our industry. It is the ability of our
excellent team to move this airline through adversity with
a consistent quality product for our guests, profitability for
our shareholders and our company, and to continue
fostering the growth of a culture that is as strong as ever.
In 2001, WestJet was recognized as one of the top 100
employers in Canada, and our founders were honoured as
finalists in Monaco for the International Entrepreneur of
the Year Award. In Monaco, they accepted the highest
award in the Teamwork category on behalf of all
WestJetters. These distinctions are a source of pride for
all of our people as objective onlookers have recognized
those qualities that make our company unique and
contribute to our success.
We started 2001 with 22 Boeing 737-200 jets, and we
acquired our 23rd and final 200-series aircraft in the first
quarter of the year. In May, our first state-of-the-art Next-
Generation 737-700 rolled out of Boeing’s production
facility in Seattle, followed by three more during the year.
We ended 2001 with 27 jets with an average age of 20
years. As well, five new communities were welcomed
into our network: Fort McMurray, Alberta; Comox, British
Columbia; Thompson, Manitoba; and in Ontario, Sudbury
and Sault Ste. Marie. We provided our unique ‘Limited
Addition’ service again into Brandon, Manitoba from
March to June, and announced our 21st destination,
London, Ontario, to which we commenced service in
February 2002. With this growth came many new
WestJetters, and our reputation as a great place to work
brought 40,000 to 50,000 employment applications to our
company in 2001. We welcomed 552 additional full time
equivalent employees (FTE's), and now have 1,844 FTE’s
working together to deliver our great product and low
fares, bringing our total number of employees to 2,327.
Overview
WestJet’s sixth year of providing Canadians with low fares brought
continued growth and increased profitability through a very turbulent and
changing business environment.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The excitement of our people was evident
across our entire network...