WestJet: When the Price of a Ticket Isn’t Just the Fare
We live in a world that expects everything to happen instantly. But in the real world, meaningful change takes time — time to shift behaviours, to build public support, and to reframe the issues that matter.
As a strategic advisory firm, we don’t just observe what organizations do — we study how they do it. In that spirit, we’ve been following a set of bold moves from #WestJet Airlines, launched over a year ago and still evolving alongside changing political, business, and consumer dynamics.
Reframing the Airline Narrative
Most airline coverage is negative — delays, fees, lost luggage, bad passenger behaviour, or worse. Often, airlines take the heat for things they don’t control. But every once in a while, one of them chooses to lead a conversation.
That’s what WestJet did. In tandem with outlining its growth strategy, the airline launched a campaign challenging Canada’s “broken” air travel pricing model. Their message: third-party fees — government taxes, airport improvement fees, navigation charges, and more — have distorted pricing and weakened demand. Their solution: cut the fees, stimulate travel, and let airlines do what they do best — connect people.
They backed the message with action — testifying before House of Commons committees, engaging media and business audiences, and taking the case directly to consumers.
And they have a strong messenger in CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech. With international experience, insight, and a self-aware, relatable style, he helped turn complex cost structures into a relatable call to action: Why do Canadians tolerate this? Why do governments charge us for infrastructure that’s underdelivering?
Shifting to Consumer Stories
In late 2024, WestJet followed up with a refreshed national campaign: Where your story takes off. Instead of polished destination glamour, it focused on the personal meaning of travel — what each trip represents to the individual.
On their website, WestJet described it this way: “Although every guest on a flight may not be going to the same destination, they’re not going to the same place.” A subtle shift — but smart. In a fragmented world of micro-targeted messages, it brought air travel back to something human: a shared journey, made personal.
Together, these two campaigns — airfare affordability and personal travel stories — have helped WestJet reshape how this particular conversation unfolds.
The Case WestJet is Making (Now Bolstered by the Bureau)
The latest chapter of their affordability campaign, Sky‑High Costs, presents some sharp contrasts:
Base airfares have dropped 49% since 1995.
Government-imposed fees have risen 65% in the same time.
Every ticket in Canada includes around $133 in third-party fees — compared to $49 in the U.S.
WestJet argues this user-pay model treats flying like a luxury, not an essential service. And in remote communities, where flight is often the only link, the model is failing. Von Hoensbroech estimates that reducing these costs could unlock up to 12 million more domestic one-way flights annually — enough to support another airline the size of WestJet.
Their asks to government:
Freeze or reduce mandatory travel fees.
Allow passengers to trade compensation for lower fares.
Rethink Canada’s funding model for aviation infrastructure.
The Competition Bureau Report: "Cleared for Take-Off" (June 19, 2025)
The Competition Bureau released its Cleared for Take-Off report on June 19, 2025, confirming that Canadian airfares are approximately 40% higher due to third-party fees and highlighting high market concentration, with Air Canada and WestJet accounting for 56–78% of domestic passenger traffic.
The Bureau's key findings:
Government and third-party fees contribute significantly to higher airfares.
Market concentration limits competition, with few viable new entrants.
Adding a competitor on a route typically reduces prices by about 9%.
The Bureau’s major recommendations:
Treat air travel as essential economic infrastructure.
Freeze and reduce federal fees to stimulate market growth.
Simplify regulation, including a review of the user-pay model and passenger protection rules.
Loosen foreign-ownership limits, potentially up to 100%, to support new entrants and increase competition, especially at regional and northern airports.
Stakeholder Reactions
WestJet welcomed the report, calling the findings a clear mandate for fee reform and infrastructure policy reset. The National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC) echoed that sentiment, urging both short-term fee freezes and long-term regulatory modernization.
Air Canada offered a counter-narrative focused on disputing the competition concerns but did not contest the core findings on fee-driven affordability challenges.
A Bigger Question About Public Goods
As WestJet points out, this isn’t just about aviation. It’s about how Canada funds national infrastructure — and who pays.
Roads, rails, ferries, and transit often benefit from shared funding models. Aviation doesn’t. Instead, airlines and passengers shoulder full costs — regardless of economic importance or community access.
If air travel is treated as a luxury, not a lifeline, we risk weakening a critical part of the national fabric — especially as regional and interprovincial connectivity becomes more urgent.
Where This Goes Next
The Bureau’s recommendations — including loosening foreign-ownership restrictions, treating air travel as essential infrastructure, and simplifying regulation — have moved the debate from if to how.
Now the spotlight is firmly on the new government: will they act?
To learn more about COREseries and how we help organizations navigate complex public debates, visit core-strategic.com. Or better yet, let’s talk ➞
