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Written by Citizen staff
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Monday, 05 January 2009 |
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This classic work by management expert Jim Collins continues to be one of the most popular business books in print.
In his book, Collins seeks to answer the critical question of why some companies become “great” companies while others are satisfied with merely being good.
Collins concluded that above all, a company needs a set of core values in order to achieve greatness, including a belief that the company has a higher purpose than just making money. The company must be driven to be the best at what it does and committed to excellence.
Calgary-based Westjet is the embodiment of that Good to Great philosophy. During the recent travel woes experienced by many over the holidays, Westjet kept its commitment to its “guests,” front and centre. It spent more than $2 million in an effort to look after air travellers inconvenienced by flight delays and cancellations, including paying for 6,000 hotel rooms, 25,000 meal vouchers, $250,000 on buses and taxis, $325,000 on hiring other companies' airplanes from as far away as Miami, and adding 60 additional flights.
In 2009 Westjet plans to add more cities to its flight plan, including San Francisco, San Diego, Yellowknife and Sydney, N.S., as well as introducing a frequent flyer rewards program.
Contrast this with the meltdown experienced by Air Canada, with thousands of angry customers left stranded, many without luggage after Air Canada cancelled all short- and medium-haul flights into Vancouver. (Which begs the question, how does your luggage get on a plane if you aren’t with it? We thought that rule was implemented after the Air India bombing?)
One flight from Toronto sat on the tarmac for 12 hours, taking 24 hours to arrive gate to gate.
Small wonder the Consumers Association of Canada is demanding a meeting with Transportation Minister John Baird to discuss the dismal performance of Air Canada.
At the same time, Air Canada CEO Montie Brewer was grousing in a Globe and Mail article on Dec. 30 about “how his airline is in good shape to weather the recession after a series of cost-cutting measures.” This guy just doesn’t get it.
In any case, kudos to Westjet, and keep showing the rest of the industry what it takes to be a great airline.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 05 January 2009 )
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