WESTJET - LOVE WHERE YOU’RE GOING

With the launch of an ad called “Love where you’re going”, WestJet has unveiled a new brand image that seeks to build the airline’s reputation as more of a global brand. This coincides with the planned introduction of its first three international Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner routes from Calgary.

To make the announcement and unveil the ad and new brand direction, Ed Sims, WestJet President and CEO, was joined in Calgary at an event by Canadian community and business leaders.

Quoted in Strategy magazine, Rob Daintree, director of marketing communications says that the new positioning is intended to reflect WestJet’s evolution “from a point-to-point carrier into a full-network, global airline. A lot of the transformations are around destinations, aircraft, but also product – we’re premiumizing our product offering.”

According to Daintree, WestJet’s new agency ‘Rethink’ is developing a new brand platform, while as more globally focused company, WestJet will start marketing in other countries for the first time (however, WestJet did run a tube poster campaign in London in 2017 with the launch of its Gatwick services).

WestJet is launching non-stop service on board its Dreamliners from Calgary to London (Gatwick), Paris and Dublin on April 28, May 17 and June 1, 2019.

The airline says that the services will support 650 full-time jobs and $100 million in total economic output. This is in addition to WestJet’s yearly economic output of more than $5 billion, that supports more than 32,000 direct and indirect jobs in Alberta.

The three new flights from the UK and Western Europe are expected to eventually bring up to 185,000 visitors to Calgary on a yearly basis, helping also increase local tourism.

At the same time, the airline announced that WestJet Rewards will introduce a new Platinum tier, as the airline heads global. The tier is targeted for launch later this year.

In September, WestJet received a number of accolades at the annual SimpliFlying Awards.

The award for Best Overall Airline 2018 was given to WestJet as it “continues to raise the bar in every category,” according to judge Max KingsleyJones, executive director of content for FlightGlobal.

WestJet enjoyed further success by winning major awards for the Best Use of Influencers and the Best Airline in Driving Revenue.

WestJet also received the special honour of being inducted in the Hall of Fame for sustained excellence in social media marketing. This was the third time at the SimpliFlying Awards an airline has been inducted into the Hall of Fame, following American Airlines in 2017 and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in 2015.