WestJet - Christmas Miracle

WestJet - Christmas Miracle

Since 2012 WestJet has been staging an annual “Christmas Miracle.” The first one was relatively modest compared to subsequent years, when a Christmas themed flash-mob appeared in a Calgary Airpor t boarding lounge .

From there the idea has grown. In 2013, “Santa” appeared on screens at boarding gates to ask passengers what they wanted for Christmas . Those gifts then appeared on luggage carousels much to the surprise and delight of passengers.

The 2014 Christmas Miracle took place in the Dominican Republic , with WestJet bringing Santa Claus and fake snow to the residents of Nuevo Renacer. Meanwhile last year, staff performed 12,000 random acts of kindness (or ‘mini miracles’) in 90 different destinations, which ranged from free cups of coffee to sending a wounded Afghanistan Vet to Hawaii.

The theme of the 2016 Christmas Miracle was the May wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alberta, which resulted in all of the city’s 80,000 inhabitants being evacuated and many losing their homes .

WestJet invited residents of the city to a Christmas party to allow them to “create new family memories”.

Almost 1,000 turned up at the WestJet event, and were entertained by Christmas themed music, dancing and crafts. The high point of the event was when hundreds of tiny parachutes were dropped on guests, each one containing a personalised family ornament and a free flight voucher.

With its Christmas Miracle campaigns, WestJet has created something that has built momentum and success over time. Since 2012, the Christmas Miracle videos have notched up a staggering 54 million views online.

In addition to showing how WestJet is a core part of the communities it serves, WestJet staff are integral to each ‘miracle.’ In 2015, airline personnel were central to making the 12,000 random acts of kindness happen, while in 2016 the Fort McMurray Christmas event came about thanks to 48 WestJet volunteers giving up their time.

CSR industry blog Just Means calls the initiative “CSR done right” , pointing out that “when you’re a company that does right you’ll inspire others to do right in return”, with the 2016 video having trended on YouTube in the Christmas week.

As well as gathering significant attention on social media, the 2016 Christmas miracle was widely covered in national and international media ranging from CBC to Mashable .