Westjet Airlines
52 • CASES IN ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
revisited the vision statement. The upcoming weeks would be crucial because Matthew wondered if the still-nascent state of OP4.com 's culture at its Vancouver head office would survive this restructuring.
NOTE
1. Source: Jupiter Communications, 2000.
WESTjET AIRLINES (A): THE CULTURE
THAT BREEDS A PASSION To SuccEED
Prepared by Ken Mark under the supervision of Professor Gerard Seijts
Copyright© 2001, lvey Management Services
INTRODUCTION
It was April 17, 2001, and WestJet 's market capitalization had just surpassed that of Air
Canada 's, the country 's leading airline. "We 're in the hospitality business and our culture is everything to us," stated Don Bell, co-founder and senior vice-president of customer service of Calgary-based WestJet Airlines. Bell was adamant on maintaining WestJet 's culture in the face of increased company growth and competition. All of WestJet 's founders believed that culture was the key to their airline 's continued success and that they could not afford to mismanage it. However, Bell knew that the tremendous growth at WestJet would put pressures on its unique culture. He wondered how WestJet could grow and maintain its vibrant culture.
THE HISTORY OF WESTJET AIRLINES 1
The roots of WestJet Airlines go back to 1994, when entrepreneur Clive Beddoe (president of the Hanover Group of Companies) discovered that it was cost-effective to purchase an aircraft for his weekly business travels between Calgary and Vancouver. During the time his company
Version: (A) 2004-07-09
was not using this aircraft, Beddoe made it available for charter to other cost-conscious business people through Morgan Air, owned and operated by Tim Morgan. The response to this venture caused Morgan-along with Calgary businessmen Don Bell and Mark Hill-to realize that there was an opportunity to satisfy the need in
Western Canada for affordable air travel coupled with good service by starting an airline.
Beddoe, Bell, Hill
revisited the vision statement. The upcoming weeks would be crucial because Matthew wondered if the still-nascent state of OP4.com 's culture at its Vancouver head office would survive this restructuring.
NOTE
1. Source: Jupiter Communications, 2000.
WESTjET AIRLINES (A): THE CULTURE
THAT BREEDS A PASSION To SuccEED
Prepared by Ken Mark under the supervision of Professor Gerard Seijts
Copyright© 2001, lvey Management Services
INTRODUCTION
It was April 17, 2001, and WestJet 's market capitalization had just surpassed that of Air
Canada 's, the country 's leading airline. "We 're in the hospitality business and our culture is everything to us," stated Don Bell, co-founder and senior vice-president of customer service of Calgary-based WestJet Airlines. Bell was adamant on maintaining WestJet 's culture in the face of increased company growth and competition. All of WestJet 's founders believed that culture was the key to their airline 's continued success and that they could not afford to mismanage it. However, Bell knew that the tremendous growth at WestJet would put pressures on its unique culture. He wondered how WestJet could grow and maintain its vibrant culture.
THE HISTORY OF WESTJET AIRLINES 1
The roots of WestJet Airlines go back to 1994, when entrepreneur Clive Beddoe (president of the Hanover Group of Companies) discovered that it was cost-effective to purchase an aircraft for his weekly business travels between Calgary and Vancouver. During the time his company
Version: (A) 2004-07-09
was not using this aircraft, Beddoe made it available for charter to other cost-conscious business people through Morgan Air, owned and operated by Tim Morgan. The response to this venture caused Morgan-along with Calgary businessmen Don Bell and Mark Hill-to realize that there was an opportunity to satisfy the need in
Western Canada for affordable air travel coupled with good service by starting an airline.
Beddoe, Bell, Hill