SWOOP AND WESTJET: Appointments and Changes

05 MAR 2018: Swoop has announced that Steven Greenway will take over as president of WestJet’s ultra-low-cost-carrier starting today. WestJet also announced that Bob Cummings, who was in charge of the Swoop launch, will move into the role of WestJet executive vice-president, strategy and guest services. Both men will report directly to WestJet Group president and CEO, Gregg Saretsky.

Steven Greenaway

Greenway will have end-to-end accountability for all strategic aspects of Swoop, including short and long-term planning, branding, pricing, product development, and operationalization of the ULCC in 2018 and beyond.

“Steven brings extensive expertise in ULCC operations including sales, distribution, planning, revenue management, as well as loyalty and commercial strategy; all expertise that we welcome to the table,” said Gregg Saretsky. “Swoop’s brand and booking launch, successfully led by Bob Cummings, has provided an excellent foundation and we look forward to having Steven’s vast experience and drive to take Swoop from here.

“I’m incredibly humbled to be joining the Swoop team,” said Greenway. “It’s thrilling to be part of the Swoop story and to have the chance to drive Swoop to change the Canadian travel market in the same way that WestJet did two decades ago. Being part of an airline start-up is a magical experience as our team looks to make their mark on an airline that will last well into the future of Canadian aviation.”

Greenway joins Swoop with more than 20 years of airline, loyalty and advisory experience with an emphasis on low-cost carriers. His most recent roles were as CEO of reward-U, the pioneering LCC loyalty programme of HK Express and as the Board Director of Zuji, one of Asia’s leading online travel agencies where he was responsible for helping drive operational excellence, strategic planning and accelerating revenue growth for both organizations.

Greenway has also worked in a variety of executive and leadership roles at airlines including Japanese LCC Peach Aviation, Virgin Blue, Virgin Atlantic and Qantas. More recently he was a founding member and chief commercial officer for Scoot, Singapore Airlines’ successful mid-to-long-haul LCC.

Bob Cummings

With the hiring of Steven Greenway as President of Scoop, Cummings moves to Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Guest Services for WestJet.

He will assume responsibility for business development, strategy execution, including oversight of key in-year strategic initiatives, and guest services, including WestJet’s contact centre, and the critical guest-listening functions of guest relations and consumer research.

“I would like to thank Bob for the excellent foundation he and the Swoop team have built over the past number of months,” said Gregg Saretsky.

“I look forward to Bob continuing to leverage his vast experience and deep understanding of WestJet as we continue to grow the company and improve service to our guests.”

Cummings joined WestJet in 2005, and has almost 12 years at the EVP level in a variety of commercial roles.