WestJet Airlines: hybrid but profitable. Issue 8 (13th July 2015) - Mark Thomas, Mr
Abstract Purpose – The article looks at a Canadian airline, WestJet, that began as a low-cost carrier and is now adopting a more hybrid strategy. It analyses the difficulty of such a strategy and makes the comparison with Singapore Airlines (SIA) which has attempted to do the same. Design/methodology/approach – The article is a case study primarily of WestJet, but also of SIA. Findings – The airline industry is notorious for its low profits in the good years and appalling losses in the bad ones. The Canadian airline, WestJet, is one of the few companies that has defied this trend over the past decade. Indeed, it has reported positive net incomes for all but one year since it was created in 1996. In doing so, the Alberta-based firm is bucking not just the trend on profitability but also on strategic positioning.