Westjet 2004 Annual Report Download - page 20

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WESTJET ANNUAL REPORT 2004
20
requires minimal investment and downtime, and the
benefits of this technology do not deteriorate over the
life of the aircraft.
In the summer of 2004, our first 737-700 aircraft
equipped with live satellite television took to the skies
offering our guests 24 channels of real time
entertainment in each seatback. By the end of the
year, 14 of our aircraft were outfitted with this
technology and we expect to complete installations
on another 29 Next-Generation 737 aircraft by the
spring of 2005.
The process of obtaining the necessary approvals to
fly our aircraft equipped with live satellite television
took longer than we had anticipated and impeded
our ability to deploy the first two aircraft furnished
with live satellite television into revenue-generating
service. Upon obtaining Supplemental Type Certificate
(“STC”) approval from the Federal Aviation
Administration in the United States as well as STC
approval from Transport Canada, each of the
remaining 12 737-700 aircraft were taken out of
service for seven days on average on a rotating basis
to complete the live satellite television installation.
Upon receiving revised STC approval, live satellite
television will be installed on our Next-Generation
737-600 and 737-800 aircraft.
Live satellite television is a low-cost and low-risk
solution for us to offer a compelling inflight
entertainment alternative to enhance our product. By
offering our guests this entertainment feature, we are
able to provide a value-added service to improve our
guests' flight experience. We anticipate an increase to
our load factor as a result of this added inflight feature
and an ability to attract additional charter business.
In September 2004, we celebrated a major milestone
in our operational history with the commencement of
our low-fare non-stop transborder service. Our first
two destinations were Los Angeles and New York, with
the cities of San Francisco, Phoenix, Tampa, Orlando
and Fort Lauderdale quickly following. Service to Palm
Springs began in January 2005.
Transborder service provides a great opportunity for us
to bring price stimulation to the scheduled transborder
markets and for us to offer flights to sun destinations
in the winter. The Canadian market is highly seasonal
due to the severe winter conditions that dissuade
consumers from travelling domestically during Canada’s
coldest months. By adding non-stop service to warm
destinations in the United States, we will be able to
alleviate some of the impact of seasonality on our
operations. However, as one-third of our transborder
capacity was dedicated to Florida, initially our revenues
from this state were severely impacted by the four
hurricanes that hit this popular vacation destination in
the late fall of 2004.
Since inception, we have offered free snacks and non-
alcoholic beverages onboard our flights. As our average
stage length continues to grow and guests are spending
more time in the air, we began to sell food onboard
flights lasting over two hours and 30 minutes on July
1, 2004. Buy on Board (B.O.B.) food items range in price
Top: Jenn Christiaens, Coordinator, Charter Operations; Lisa Davis, Regional Manager, Charter Flights
Bottom: Carrie Brown, Coordinator, Charter Operations; Kerri Toovey, Workforce Planner
WestJet Next-Generation 737-700