Kip Powick Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 CALGARY–WestJet Airlines Ltd. is cutting commissions paid to travel agents for booking flights by more than half as it seeks to slash costs by $25 million in the next six months. Agents will get a 4 per cent commission, as of July 1, down from 9 per cent, Richard Bartrem, WestJet vice-president of culture and communications, said by email yesterday. "This was a difficult decision to make but as part of our overall cost-reduction program and in a very competitive marketplace, WestJet continuously reviews its programs to ensure we are not at a competitive disadvantage. This is even more important to review during an economic downturn such as we are presently experiencing." The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies slammed the move, which it says will further eat into that industry's profitability. "This is a disappointing turn of events from a company that endeared itself to the travel agency community in 2001 when it chastised other airlines for turning their backs on agents once they had majority market share," ACTA stated. ACTA president and chief operating officer David McCaig said the move will have a negative impact on consumers, too. "Access to the primary distribution channel for airline tickets may be reduced. Without an efficient and motivated retail agent distribution network, consumers could face dealing with the airline, with fewer fare options." Responding to the recession-linked drop in demand, WestJet trimmed its capacity growth outlook earlier this month from 8 per cent to between 3 and 5 per cent for the year. It also plans to cut some less-profitable flights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shockwave Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 It also plans to cut some less-profitable flights. Does he mean money losing routes? According to Bean there are dozens if not hundreds of existing markets for WJ to tap into... Kudos on their part though for taking action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebean Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Does he mean money losing routes? According to Bean there are dozens if not hundreds of existing markets for WJ to tap into... Kudos on their part though for taking action. New potential routes as of December 2009. Toronto - Cancun Toronto - Puerto Vallarta Vancouver - Puerto Vallarta Winnipeg - Cancun Montreal - Cancun They are being doled out very slowly by the Federales. WJ won't be 100% happy until they have Mexican route authorities from Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Toronto, London, Hamilton, Ottawa, Montreal, Moncton, Halifax and St. Johns to pretty much each of Cancun, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Cabo, Manzanillo, Cozumel and Ixtapa. There maybe a couple of others. I see Florida being bulked up.....places like West Plam Beach and Sarasota, as well as the Red Neck Riviera, (which is back door to MSY). Bermuda leaps to mind as well. They haven't reallocated Zoom's route authority yet. Still lots of routings in the Caribbean as well, and very few authorities from Toronto so far..... As for domestic, let's start with added capacity on the busiest route in the country....Toronto - Vancouver. There's a huge opportunity to add 2-3 more r/t's a day on that route alone. And lets not forget at least a half dozen secondary markets in Canada that would easily support a nice mid day daily flight into the network from various locations. It makes good business sense to cull the bottom 5% - 10% of routes and reallocate capacity elsewhere. That's been an ongoing program since day one. Unlike other airlines in North America, WJ does not make a habit of chasing market share for the sake of market share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rattler Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 As for domestic, let's start with added capacity on the busiest route in the country....Toronto - Vancouver. There's a huge opportunity to add 2-3 more r/t's a day on that route alone. And lets not forget at least a half dozen secondary markets in Canada that would easily support a nice mid day daily flight into the network from various locations. Unlike other airlines in North America, WJ does not make a habit of chasing market share for the sake of market share. So why haven't they already added that capacity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinnaker Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Mexico product will come back dirt cheap. That will also cause price wars in the more expensive 'non-Spanish' Caribbean to compete for business. The consumer will win overall from H1N1 virus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rattler Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 New potential routes as of December 2009. Toronto - Cancun Toronto - Puerto Vallarta Vancouver - Puerto Vallarta Winnipeg - Cancun Montreal - Cancun They are being doled out very slowly by the Federales. WJ won't be 100% happy until they have Mexican route authorities from Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Toronto, London, Hamilton, Ottawa, Montreal, Moncton, Halifax and St. Johns to pretty much each of Cancun, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Cabo, Manzanillo, Cozumel and Ixtapa. There maybe a couple of others. I see Florida being bulked up.....places like West Plam Beach and Sarasota, as well as the Red Neck Riviera, (which is back door to MSY). Bermuda leaps to mind as well. They haven't reallocated Zoom's route authority yet. Still lots of routings in the Caribbean as well, and very few authorities from Toronto so far..... As for domestic, let's start with added capacity on the busiest route in the country....Toronto - Vancouver. There's a huge opportunity to add 2-3 more r/t's a day on that route alone. And lets not forget at least a half dozen secondary markets in Canada that would easily support a nice mid day daily flight into the network from various locations. It makes good business sense to cull the bottom 5% - 10% of routes and reallocate capacity elsewhere. That's been an ongoing program since day one. Unlike other airlines in North America, WJ does not make a habit of chasing market share for the sake of market share. Regarding Mexico. Will more be dolled out or is the market considered to be saturated? Air Canada's Latest Mexican Approvals http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/decision-ruling/d...=28554〈=eng Air Transat's Latest Mexican Approvals http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/decision-ruling/d...=28552〈=eng Sunwing's http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/decision-ruling/d...=28549〈=eng & Westjet's http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/decision-ruling/d...=28561〈=eng Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebean Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 So why haven't they already added that capacity? ....for the same reason WJ didn't launch with 10x daily between YYC-YVR in 1996. Rome wasn't built in a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rattler Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 ....for the same reason WJ didn't launch with 10x daily between YYC-YVR in 1996. Rome wasn't built in a day. Perhaps but this time around they have excess aircraft capacity just dying to be placed onto a profitable route or did I misunderstand you regarding the profit potential of that route? From your original post. As for domestic, let's start with added capacity on the busiest route in the country....Toronto - Vancouver. There's a huge opportunity to add 2-3 more r/t's a day on that route alone. And lets not forget at least a half dozen secondary markets in Canada that would easily support a nice mid day daily flight into the network from various locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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