When WestJet Belonged to Its People

 The WestJet I Joined

I started working at WestJet in 2014 and trained away from home for three consecutive weeks alongside people from across the country. From the very beginning, we took real pride in our work. We did not just believe in the brand; we believed in ourselves and in how we showed up for guests every single day.

At that time, WestJet was employee-owned, and it truly felt that way. We handled customer service with autonomy and confidence. Leaders trusted us to make decisions and held us to high expectations. We focused on making every guest’s experience remarkable, not because we were told to, but because we cared. Ownership shaped how we worked and guided the values behind every decision we made.

Values That Shaped the Experience

WestJet was known for going above and beyond in ways that felt genuine, not forced. Helping people was not treated as an inconvenience or something that required layers of approval. If something went wrong, we were encouraged to fix it. If someone needed extra care or understanding, we were empowered to give it.

We were treated well as employees. We owned shares in the company, and our investments were matched. There was a real sense that when the company succeeded, we all succeeded. We were people serving people, not employees serving a system.

There were WestJetters who had been with the company since the very beginning in 1996. They carried the history, the stories, and the values that shaped the culture. You could feel that legacy in everyday interactions, in how coworkers supported one another, and in how seriously we took the responsibility of caring for our guests.

Those values were not just words on a wall. First and foremost, we put safety first, for our guests and for each other. We brought positivity and passion into our work, even on the hardest days, because how we treated people mattered. We treated WestJetters and guests as humans, not numbers. The culture stayed fun, friendly, and deeply caring, which helped us carry long days and difficult moments together. When the interests of WestJetters aligned with the interests of the company, trust and accountability followed naturally. We kept our commitments, spoke openly, and shared responsibility for the experience we delivered every day.

Looking back, the connection between ownership and customer service stands out most. When people have a real stake in something, they care more deeply. They show up with intention and guests could feel it.

When Everything Changed

In 2019, the company transitioned to private ownership. The buyout ended employee share ownership, and the company’s relationship with its people began to shift. Even then, many of us stayed. We loved the work, and we loved each other. We had gone through the trenches together, and that bond held real weight.

Then COVID hit, and the airline industry came to a full stop. Work disappeared overnight. Everything paused.

When WestJet slowly began bringing people back, layoffs followed, along with a complete restructuring of the company. Contractors stepped into roles once held by WestJetters. That moment made the shift impossible to ignore. The rehire wage dropped, and the sense of value we once felt disappeared. None of us stayed, not because we stopped caring, but because the place no longer felt like it belonged to us.

The Shift Guests Feel Today

Today, many guests describe a very different customer service experience. They talk about long wait times, difficulty reaching support, and interactions shaped by policy rather than empathy. During delays and cancellations, travellers often feel frustrated by unclear communication and limited flexibility. What guests seem to miss most is not perfection, but care, clarity, and the reassurance that someone has the authority to help. The experience feels increasingly system-driven, where outcomes depend on who you reach rather than on a culture built around service.

What I carry with me from that time is not a brand or a job title, but a lesson. When people are trusted, valued, and given ownership, they show up with care, integrity, and pride. That kind of culture cannot be replicated through policies or contracts. It has to be built, protected, and believed in.