After “three long years” WestJet is out on the road again this week, hosting agents at in-person expo events in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver. “I’m excited to see people in 3D again,” laughed Chuck Crowder VP, Sales & Distribution for WestJet Vacations (WJV) and Contact Centres at the first of the galas in Toronto on Monday, as he introduced the events’ theme: “We love travel agents.”

Much has happened at WestJet during the course of the pandemic, but one thing that hasn’t, Crowder enthused to a crowd of about 300, was the company’s appreciation and reliance on travel advisors.

“(Agents) are a natural extension of the WestJet sales family,” he said. “We couldn’t do what we do without you.”

A former travel agent himself, Crowder said WestJet is sympathetic to the plight of retailers during and after the pandemic. “We understand the complexities (and) we know how difficult that was,” he added.

Clearly, it was a difficult time for airlines too, but Crowder told Travel Industry Today that WestJet/WJV are back on track and posting comparable sales to the pre-pandemic period.

WJV director Dave Cecco noted the return of 17 sun and leisure routes that were suspended for more than two years to highlight WestJet’s winter schedule, with destinations ranging across the Caribbean, Mexico, and US.

In addition to the return of routes from 2019, WestJet’s collective operations will feature:

• 45% increase to sun and leisure flights from winter 2021
• 60% increase in transborder flights from winter 2021
• 25% increase in transatlantic flights from winter 2021

The airline also notes that its investments in sun, transborder and leisure flying are growing across the country with:

• A 50% increase in flights from Central/Eastern Canada from winter 2021
• A 55% increase in flights from Western Canada from winter 2021

Cecco said Mexico, led by Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, followed by Punta Cana, remain perennial top sellers, but warned that this year Canadians should seriously consider booking early, especially over the holidays, as the massive demand of American travellers is quickly filling rooms.

Many hotels are already sold right out, he said.

Crowder was quick to note that Cuba still has plenty of inventory and offers good value for travellers.

But beyond product and capacities, WestJet’s VP was eager to give agents a sense of where WestJet stands in the post-pandemic world, especially following announcements suggesting that the company will be re-focusing its efforts in Western Canada.

But while “growing West,” is one of the company’s three pillars for growth – along with expanding leisure and an “unrelenting commitment to cost” – it doesn’t signify that WestJet is abandoning the east, he said.

In fact, strengthening the leisure market in eastern Canada is a paramount part of the company’s plans, he said, adding, “Don’t think we’re shrinking in this market, we’re going to grow.”

What agents and Canadians will see is an overall retrenchment to core strengths for WestJet and doing what the company does best, while stopping what doesn’t work, such as serving unprofitable routes and markets and trying to “be everything to everybody.”

And while that means intra-provincial routes and flying transatlantic from the east will suffer, it also means more east-west routes in Canada, plus the introduction of additional leisure destinations and point-to-point flying.

“It’s not taking away products and services, it’s being more efficient,” Crowder stated.

And that includes significantly enhancing digital and technological solutions rather than simply “throwing people at problems,” as in the past.

Efficiencies – “removing bad costs” – will also be attained through fleet redeployment (heling reduce maintenance costs, for example), focusing on its strengths in the leisure market (as opposed to business), and other areas where WestJet excels.

Simply put, that means “preserving what’s good” and also “embracing what sets us apart,” said Crowder, which includes doubling down on the iconic “culture of entrepreneurship and ownership” of WestJetters (staff).

In other matters, Crowder called for everyone to help entice people to rejoin the travel industry – “a fun industry” whose reputation has suffered in the media during the pandemic.

He said WestJet will continue to look to expand its partnership with Delta Air Lines, a process that was limited by US regulatory limitations.

Meanwhile, he said WestJet is expecting its bid to buy Sunwing to gain Canadian regulatory and government approval by the end of the year.

The potential merger, he maintained, would be a perfect marriage of WestJet’s airline expertise with Sunwing’s tour operator talents (he called Sunwing the largest tour operator in Canada), plus the company’s respective regional strengths in the western and eastern halves of the country. If approved he said he expects the separate brands to be maintained under joint leadership, noting, “there’s lots to do.”

Altogether, Crowder says WestJet’s strategy is strong and is one that “will allow us to win where we deserve to win.”

And returning to the theme of the event, he emphasized to agents, “And when we win, you win!”