WESTJET CASE ANALYSIS
Harpreet Kaur and Nigina Rasul
Mary Louise O’Hara
TMS200TA
Executive Summary
WestJet is a culture and customer based airline which holds a unique sense of humor and
friendliness that every passenger wants to experience. However, it’s also an airline which is high
in demand and is widely growing in the market today. Their growth could contribute to many
changes as it would attract different markets and regards to which, the culture which the airline
practices might get affected. The two biggest threats the airline could face are as follow:
 Their emphasis on the culture might create issues as they grow in the market
 The threats imposed by terrorism are unavoidable
These issues and both internal and external and could cause a stressed situation for the airlines.
Internal issues can be solved through customer feedbacks and employee suggestions however,
external issues might be a problem as they are usually a force of nature or an unexpected event.
Following are the points which WestJet can focus on to avoid the issues:
 Focus on their strengths and opportunities
 Avoid their weakness and understand the threats imposed
 Focus on the changing trends and expectations of the customers
 Realize that not every customer accepts the humor
 Provide customer with assurance that they are safe
WestJet has set out to be one of the most desired airline in Canada while many others failed. It got
through terrorist attack of 9 September 2001 which shows their culture is a steady strength towards
them however, in the emerging market today it might not be able to stay as strong as it was. WestJet
should avoid the culture based attitude towards every situation and understand their markets.
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Identification of the Problem
The airline business is highly influenced by its customers MNE’s where safety is usually
considered the highest priority. A passenger is more likely to travel with an airline which assures
their safety and security however, this concept was highly affected by the threat imposed not only
on WestJet but every other airline around the world due to the terrorist attack in 2001.
WestJet however, pulled through and have been one of the best carrier for Canada until
this day. This is due to them being very customer oriented and sticking to their “culture” which
makes every employer an owner. The culture however has its ups and downs whereas it helped
WestJet survive through the tough September 11 attack, It currently also impose a threat towards
the company as WestJet grows. This is strictly due to the rising change in trends and customer’s
MNEs as WestJet has a culture which is affective towards many open minded individuals however
the growth can certainly put the company at risk. Although it’s an ongoing progress to growth,
WestJet certainly has many more positive strengths and opportunities to contribute towards as well
as many weaknesses and threats to be able to face.
Strengths
WestJet was founded in 1996 and was the “first true low-cost, low-fare, short-haul scheduled
carrier” which has gradually become one of the first choices for Canadians to travel on. This is
highly influenced by the “culture” WestJet practices, making it their most powerful strength and
separating them from every other airline in the industry. The culture is customer oriented and their
main focus is on entertaining their passengers and making sure they leave the fleet with a smile on
their faces.
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One of their strongest service is their sense of humor. For example, the way they board
passengers judging on their “sock color” and “zodiac signs” or their names on Valentine’s Day
such as “Heart” or “Love”. This is an opportunity to make the passenger feel special and WestJet
does that very well. They foster a caring culture and go out of their comfort zone to make the trip
enjoyable. The humor does not only take place during the flight, passengers are made aware of
their sense of humor during the “hold” procedure on a call to WestJet where jokes are played to
entertain the caller.
Furthermore, it follows a simple philosophy to imitate the well-known Southwest Airlines
who are famous for their sense of humor and unique customer service. WestJet took that
philosophy and “Canadianize” it to provoke the Canadian public. Imitation usually take a lot of
effort however, WestJet afforded to slowly succeed by becoming a “hybrid model within the airline
industry”. This strengthen WestJet as it got noticed and became unique, moving away from their
typical “no frills, discount airlines reputation”. In addition to that, they added extra amenities for
its passengers including “a live seat-back satellite television at every seat”, “pay-per-view movies”
and “buy-on-board movie service”. This feature further insured the passenger’s entertainment and
made WestJet stand out for its services.
These strengths modernize WestJet and help make it one of the most customer oriented
aircrafts in Canada. Their small rewards towards their customers and workers gains loyalty and
help generate an outstanding image.
Weaknesses
WestJet is one of those companies who has a distinctive culture yet they are tremendously
growing in today’s market. Therefore, one of the internal weakness is the threat it imposes upon
itself as they could risk their growth while staying focused on a particular culture. This is generally
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noted amongst their “happy go lucky” appearance which attract a certain type of passenger who
prefer the humor and appreciate the unique culture WestJet has to offer. However, as it expands
towards a larger market, passengers might not be as thrilled by this attitude as WestJet expects
them to be as most markets are much more sophisticated.
The fact that the put a lot of “emphasis” on their culture can be very rewarding yet very
harmful in some way too. This is because the tourism industry can change any minute and it is
important to focus upon the internal attitude and culture, WestJet should also focus upon the
external issues which can affect the customers attitude towards their culture for example, a
passenger who has travel mostly on Air Canada might not appreciate the humor or maybe the
passenger have difficulty in taking the crew seriously with their jokes and their safety might be
threatened. All this is an inner weakness of WestJet which needs more focus as it can harm the
company externally as well. Although it’s a customer oriented aircraft, they should realize that not
every customer has the same perspective towards an A plus service.
Opportunities
Regardless their weakness, WestJet is still emerging and their culture is attracting people
globally. WestJet celebrate their employees and provide them with various rewards. This act has
admired people to be a part of the team which is why WestJet receives “more than 1000 unsolicited
resumes each week.” This shows their high demand in the market and their opportunity to expand.
This shows their demand throughout the work force and gives them more options to pick the best
employees. Canada is an industry where the airline business has gradually fallen and many airlines
fail to make it through. WestJet however grew and has been capable in attracting the public to not
only travel along with them but to work as well which is a huge opportunity.
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WestJet operates in a very non-traditional way which makes it stand out and help it gain
success as it gives the passengers and the crew an opportunity to provide/receive the type of service
which is not very common. People usually appreciate uniqueness and WestJet offers it to their
customers due to which they receive tremendous success and gain an opportunity to provide
something different.
Threats
Airline industry is a very fragile business. It’s among those businesses which are affected
by a lot of external issues going on around the world for example, the weather, political unrest,
disease or terrorist threats. These threats are not avoidable and can cause a tremendous effect. In
WestJet’s case, the biggest challenge for them was the September 11 attack in 2001. It was terrorist
attack on the twin towers with hijacked aircrafts. This event caused fear in people around the world
and suddenly, the air traffic fell to almost “50 percent” causing most airlines to shut down
completely.
Unemployment was then followed with almost “100,000 people losing their jobs”
due to all the businesses that shut down including airlines such as “Swissair” “Sabena of Belgium”
and “Canada 3000”. WestJet however, managed to get through as the as the former president and
CEO, Mr. Beddoe expressed, “It was WestJet’s culture that brought the airline through tough times
after September 11.” WestJet was the first airline to fully operate after the attack in North America
however, the threat of an attack did not surpass. Passengers became more and more afraid of their
safety and the fear of another attack rose leaving airlines with scared passengers.
September 11’s fear still sticks around and passengers and airlines worry about
“additional terrorist attacks or increased hostilities” which further threatens WestJet as the travel
would decrease and the Insurance and travel costs would tremendously increase. This would
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further cause a decline in the tourism industry as people fear for their safety. This external threat
cannot be solved as terrorism is an ongoing issue in today’s political world therefore, it is always
imposing it’s negativity on the passengers who are willing to travel but fear the safety at the same
time.
Case Study Questions
1. The most important reason for their success in my opinion is their “humor” and how it’s a part
of their culture which allows customers to feel extraordinary and exceeds their expectations,
almost like it’s an A plus service. It’s the way the allow passengers to board according to their
“sock color / zodiac sign “or their names such as “love / heart.” Also, the foster “a caring culture”
which is not something every airline focuses on. Most airlines are most focused upon their image
while WestJet goes a step further and loosen up with their passengers and make sure they have a
good time.
2.
For WestJet, culture is very important because that’s what separates them from other
airlines. It’s the attitude of the whole WestJet‘s management which holds the culture together.
Their believes are what drives them to do something different every day. Culture is what gives
them the “strong sense of ownership” and also, as they mention “the way we interact with our
guests is really what sets us apart.” Every airline or company in general has a certain culture that
they follow and that’s what makes them unique from their competitions in the market.
3.
The threat is very serious because an airline’s culture is its identity and another airline
imitating is a serious threat as it’s the culture that sets an airline apart since they all have pretty
much the same service to provide. It takes a lot of effort to imitate an organizational culture as the
targeted market should be willing to accept the change. For example, WestJet can’t imitate Air
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Canada as their target market is mainly the long journey travelers and businessmen. These
passengers would not be that willing to accept the humor presented as they a long flight or have
work to do on board as well.
4. WestJet’s growth will certainly impose a threat towards its culture because the growth would
demand a higher quality and quantity of market which may or may not appreciate the culture they
run on. As they grow, they would need to change certain services to reach the potential client’s
needs. For instance, a business class passenger would not appreciate the song singing while
boarding and may not be impressed with the way things are handled whereas, a leisure travelers
would more likely to be easy going and love the humor. It’s these attitudes which set markets apart
and for a company to grow, it has to adapt to their customer’s needs.
5. WestJet’s culture affect the customer service as it sets a brilliant example on how to give an
exceptional service to its passengers inside the plane or during any other duty. This shows how
going out of the way and being different can make a customer feel extra special. Customer service
is all about putting the customer first and WestJet sets a brilliant example on that. Therefore, its
culture to focus on their customers and employees affect the customer service in a very positive
way.
Conclusion
In conclusion, WestJet is an emerging company which so much more to offer. Their culture
and light hearted humor sets the passenger’s mood and make their journey special. This attitude
will certainly generate good revenue as customers expect to be treated in a friendly manner rather
than a sophisticated approach with lack of cheerful faces. WestJet has its customers and employees
appreciate a different working and travelling environment which makes it one of the most unique
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airlines today. They definitely go out of their way to make sure that everyone related to their
company is happy. For example, the Santa “ask a present” event they did for Christmas in 2013
exploded on YouTube and people all around the world were talking about WestJet and its amazing
services.
Threats are a part of every ongoing business and not much can be done to avoid them
however, one can certainly assure their passengers a happy and delightful time and keep their
market flowing. WestJet cannot promise that another attack on an airline would not take place or
the prices would not go high or low however, they can assure the customers that their way of
service will not change and their culture will always be their number one priority.
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MLA CITATION
Hudson, Simon. "The Airline with a Sense of Humor: WestJet Airlines." Marketing for Tourism and
Hospitality: A Canadian Perspective. Toronto: Nelson, 2004. 389-91. Print.
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