In preparation for the holiday travel season, WestJet is sharing a helpful guide for navigating travel and the unpredictability of winter weather during this busy time of year. “This fall, our operational performance has been nothing short of remarkable, with an on-time performance of 84.5 per cent and completion factor of 99.3 per cent throughout the month of October,” said Diederik Pen, President of WestJet Airlines and Chief Operating Officer, WestJet Group. “Throughout this year, WestJet has made several critical investments in our operational resiliency in preparation for the winter travel season, including bolstering our disruption management strategy, investing in additional airport staff in sun destinations and adding a seasonal crew base in Quebec City." Cold weather defense: Investments in winter resiliency To improve reliability during extreme cold, WestJet is making key investments, including: Increasing the amount of aircraft ground time available in our hubs, which will help prevent delays, allowing WestJet to proactively manage its schedule, creating an improved experience for guests; Additional dedicated WestJet leadership in key markets to focus on guest experience and operational performance; Added equipment in our primary global hub to increase resilience and capacity in inclement weather; Introduction of a new seasonal crew base in Quebec City to ensure a more seamless travel experience and reaccommodation process for guests travelling from Quebec. Weather-related disruption preparations In the event of irregular operations or disruption, WestJet is proactively preparing for a more efficient and seamless reaccommodation process to best serve its guests by: Designing a strategic winter schedule to minimize guest impact during unexpected weather events; Implementing a guest recovery playbook to better assist WestJet and Sunwing Vacations guests in the event of a disruption; Positioning multiple spare aircraft across all hub airports throughout the holiday and winter season to support potential flight disruptions. Automatic rebooking for guests Utilizing new software, guests impacted by a flight disruption will receive faster reaccommodation options and communications to ensure they arrive at their chosen destination as seamlessly as possible this winter. WestJet has implemented a new disruption management system that will improve guest communication with automated notifications that provide timely, accurate information and more tailored reaccommodation solutions. This will allow guests to select the best reaccommodation options for them and create more self-serve tools to reduce Contact Centre support call wait times. While travel disruptions can be stressful, especially in the event of inclement weather, this new software will allow WestJet to better serve guests with quick and seamless resolutions to get them to their destinations as soon as possible, while allowing them to select their new itinerary from a list of options, creating more flexibility and choice. WestJet has introduced a new disruption management system to make guest rebooking easier and faster. Guests affected by flight changes will receive: Automated notifications with timely, accurate updates. Self-serve tools to choose from multiple reaccommodation options. Reduced Contact Centre wait times, giving travelers more flexibility and control. “As we head into winter and the busy holiday travel period, WestJet is continuing to invest in operational resiliency by proactively preparing to mitigate the impacts of winter weather with additional investments in our people, technology and equipment,” continued Pen. “I want to thank our outstanding team of WestJetters who work tirelessly to provide our guests with friendly and welcoming service, while also ensuring our operations are as safe and reliable as possible.”