Westjet 2011 Annual Report Download - page 4

President’s message
WestJet Annual Report 2011 4
I have been fortunate enough to be part of the airline industry
since 1985 and I can‘t imagine a more exhilarating business. Not
everyone in this world is lucky enough to be doing what they love,
but at WestJet, I know myself and thousands of others feel very
lucky to be doing exactly what we love. I am extremely proud to lead
a team of more than 8,600 WestJetters who share my passion for
the industry and know that their contributions and teamwork are
what makes WestJet successful.
The theme of this year’s annual report is expanding our reach and
if you have not already done so, I invite you to visit the online version
of the 2011 Annual Report at westjet.com/expandingourreach.
The report provides more detail on how we continue to expand our
reach and also profiles some of the friendly WestJetters who, as
owners, know our success story best.
Growth has certainly been the story at WestJet since our inception
in 1996, but more specifically, profitable growth has been our
headline. It was another very successful year for WestJet as we
flew more than 16 million guests, topped the three-billion-dollar
revenue threshold for the first time and reported a 65 per cent
improvement in net earnings year over year. For WestJet,
2011
marks the fifteenth time we have reported an annual profit in our
16-year history and we expect this profitable trend to continue.
In
2011 , we introduced capacity growth of 8.5 per cent into the
market which was absorbed nicely thanks to a healthy demand
environment. We were not immune to inflated fuel costs but were
able to more than offset this impact with revenue momentum. We
achieved improvements in both our
2011 operating and earnings
before tax margins and were once again one of the top-performing
airlines in North America.
Our current scheduled network serves 76 destinations and
through our airline partners we are able to offer guests even more
destinations. We launched 13 new airline partnerships in
2011
and are pleased with the early returns we are seeing. This is also
bringing incremental guest traffic onto our network and we expect
to add even more partnerships in 2012.
We strengthened WestJet’s value to business travellers in
2011
by introducing improved service among the eastern triangle cities
of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, and by securing landing slots at
New York’s LaGuardia airport with service commencing in June 2012.
In May 2012, we’ll also introduce new service to Chicago’s O’Hare
International Airport with flights between Chicago and Vancouver
and between Chicago and Calgary. Our frequent guest program –
WestJet Rewards – continues to mature and now guests can earn
WestJet dollars through our code-share flights with Delta Air Lines
and American Airlines.
One of our ongoing objectives at WestJet is to make it easier for our
guests to do business with us. We expanded the WestJet Rewards
program in
2011 so that every guest can start earning WestJet
dollars with their first flight or vacation package taken. Our guests
can also now redeem their WestJet dollars online. We revamped
our website and also incorporated an upgraded WestJet Vacations
site into westjet.com.
We continually look for ways we can add convenience for our guests.
Self-serve bag tagging was launched at seven more airports across
Canada and we introduced interactive voice response technology in
our call centre. We have had significant growth in our social media
interactions and will continue to use this presence to connect with
guests in a timely and meaningful manner.
As we expand our reach, we will not lose sight of the importance
of our culture, which is built around caring, a simple but powerful
concept. WestJetters care about our guests, they care about each
other and they care about our airline. It is very powerful when an
entire workforce says, “We succeed because I care,” and believes
that each individual contribution is crucial to the collective success
of the company. We have an overwhelming sense of community
and teamwork and we will work tirelessly to maintain this as the
WestJet family grows.
We were honoured to have been awarded a number of recognitions
in
2011 which were only possible thanks to the commitment and
care of WestJetters. We were named J.D. Power
2011 Customer
Service Champion, one of only two Canadian companies to receive
the award. WestJet was voted Canada’s best flight attendants in an
annual poll conducted by the online travel website FlightNetwork.
com. We were also named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers
as measured in Mediacorp’s annual study of the best workplaces
in Canada, received third place recognition in Aon Hewitt’s Best
Employers in Canada study, and named one of Canada’s 10 Most
Admired Corporate Cultures by Waterstone Human Capital.
We talk a lot about our culture at WestJet and that is because we
truly believe it sets us apart from our competitors. WestJetters are
encouraged to provide ideas for how we can continue to improve
our airline and share their thoughts on important business decisions
that impact our culture and brand. This culture of inclusion is
Profitable growth
continues as we
expand our reach.
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