Since the company’s first flight in 1996, Westjet had been adhered to the single fleet strategy, using only Boeing 737s for their flights. For a long time, this was considered the most cost efficient way to run the company, as it saved on maintenance and staff training. Since the planes were the same, mechanical parts were easy to have on hand, and mechanics pilots were very familiar with the aircraft. However, problems began to arise when Westjet expanded their flight plans out of western Canada. The 737 was usually overbooked on routes such as Calgary-Hawaii and underbooked on routes like Toronto-Ottawa. Prices had to be raised on underbooked flights to make up for lack of passengers, and other customers looked to different companies when they could not get a Westjet flight to popular tourist destinations. In 2012, the company moved away from the single fleet strategy and launched a fleet of smaller Bombardier turbo prop planes for short domestic flights. This way, they could optimize flight capacity, as well as cut down on prices as the smaller planes can land in different airports and sacrifice less landing fees. Westjet is also looking to launch a fleet of larger planes like the Boeing 767 in the near future for long range flights, which means Westjet can expand further into Asia and Europe.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/westjet-plan-a-new-threat-to-air-canada/article1358800/

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/08/29/westjet-airlines-ltd-pens-deal-to-buy-65-of-boeings-new-737-max-planes/

Over the years, many companies have fallen victim to a new trend: compromising ethics in order to remain profitable. In the 2011 National Business Ethics Survey conducted by the Ethics Resource Center, it was found that “ethics cultures are eroding and employees’ perceptions of their leaders’ ethics are slipping. Additionally, pressure from employers to compromise standards is at an all-time high and retaliation has reached an alarming rate.” This means that while the employees may have a desire to stick with their moral code, the employers are trying to cut corners, and it is being noticed. In an attempt to curb this trend, an entire industry has developed; there are now companies that exist solely for helping other companies write and maintain a “code of ethics.”

The fact that these support companies exist are indicative of this alarming movement towards bad business practices. As corporations move forward, are they also moving down? Are these support companies merely slowing the trend down, but not stopping it? Of course, there are examples of companies paying billions of dollars more to do the right thing: Starbucks fair trade coffee, Ben and Jerry’s paying premium for fair trade ingredients, and American Apparel selling clothing only made in fair trade factories around the world. These companies are well known and profitable; why can’t other businesses take the clue?

Links:

http://josephsoninstitute.org/business/blog/2012/02/the-state-of-business-ethics-in-america-good-news-and-bad-news/

http://fairtrade.ca/en/business-centre/registered-companies