Everyone loves a success story - especially one that explains in an entertaining fashion how and why that success was won. The author had superb access to the company's senior executives and decision-makers in his wholly successful attempt at reconstructing how WestJet grew from a three-plane western Canadian mom & pop operation to the second most profitable airline in North America. From the "hijacking" of one of its jets out from under an unscrupulous US refitter to its costly self-imposed 1996 shutdown as a strategy to combat the crazed red-tape antics of federal regulators, WestJet is depicted as a daring and visionary company very much out of place within the staid and generally dispirited airline industry. (In 2003, for example, Air Canada posted a miserable $263-million third-quarter loss to WestJet's high-flying $32.3 million in earnings.)
Still, this book is not a one-sided lovefest. With just as much enthusiasm, the author describes the low-cost, low-fare airline's numerous missteps, failures, internal boardroom strife and the occasional breakdown of its vaunted corporate culture of employee inclusion.
Much of the focus is on WestJet's maverick co-founders and their dream of creating a viable alternative to the big carriers while, at the same time, creating a folksy in-house and customer ("guest") atmosphere. The story of how they cope with the extraordinary expansion of the company (it launched in 1996 with three planes, 220 employees and five destinations, and now services 26 destinations with 3,600 employees and 42 planes) and the miscues and successes that ensue makes for a thoroughly enjoyable read.
– Rob Colapinto
