WestJet Encore

Prior to the formation of WestJet Encore, WestJet Airlines, Inc. internal studies concluded in 2005, when the company had 50 Boeing 737 aircraft, that WestJet would saturate the Canadian commercial airline market when it reached a 90–100 Boeing 737 aircraft fleet. WestJet Airlines became the second-largest airline in Canada in 2002.[5] Solutions included slowing expansion of the airline or adding smaller aircraft models to serve routes with less traffic. The absence of turboprop aircraft in the WestJet fleet was seen as a disadvantage compared to competitor Air Canada. In some cases where Air Canada had smaller aircraft, WestJet either avoided the market or had only one daily flight using a Boeing 737, an aircraft much larger than the ones Air Canada used.[6] Having more flights on a route than a competitor is a competitive advantage.[7][8]

WestJet Encore Bombardier Q400 NextGen displaying 2013–2015 livery

WestJet made an initial order of 20 Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft through a letter of intent on May 1, 2012, which resulted in a conditional order on June 28, 2012. A firm order of 20 Q400 NextGen and 25 options was announced on August 1, 2012.[9][10] The ATR-72-600 had been considered,[11] having a lower initial acquisition price and better fuel economy on short flights but slower speed, worse fuel economy on longer flights and slightly less passenger capacity.[12][13]

The parent company, WestJet Airlines, Ltd., formed WestJet Encore, which is a wholly owned but legally separate airline from WestJet.[14][15][16] Prior to the selection of the Encore name, other names were considered, including Chinook, Echo, and Reach.[17] Calgary was selected for the WestJet Encore corporate headquarters but Toronto Pearson International Airport was also considered.[18] WestJet Encore received an Air Operator Certificate separate from WestJet Airlines on June 12, 2013.[19][20]

On June 24, 2013, with two Q400s in its fleet, it began flights.[21] That day, the airline flew between Calgary International Airport and Saskatoon, Nanaimo (British Columbia), and Fort St. John (British Columbia) as well as between Fort. St. John and Vancouver.[22] The IATA assigned WestJet Encore an airline code of "WR",[23] which had previously been used by Royal Tongan Airlines.[24]

Some WestJet Encore flights were new routes not served by the WestJet mainline carrier because there was insufficient traffic to support Boeing 737 flights. Other WestJet Encore flights increased frequencies on existing WestJet routes.[6] WestJet Encore's service was initially limited to Western Canada, but it opened service in the eastern part of the country in June 2014 with a route from Toronto to Thunder Bay, Ontario.[25] It later began service on eastern routes centred on Toronto and Halifax.[25] WestJet Encore moved into the international market in 2016, with flights serving Boston Logan Airport;[26][27] Nashville International Airport was added the following year.[28]

A WestJet Encore Bombardier Q400 displaying the 2015 revised livery

WestJet Encore flies Q400 NextGen on regional flights up to 700 nautical miles.[29] 50% of WestJet Encore passengers are travelling on connecting flights with WestJet.[25][30] The WestJet Encore fleet of Q400s expanded to 18 aircraft by March 2015, and later to 34 aircraft by December 2016 and to 43 aircraft by December 2017.[6][31] In 2015, WestJet Encore was the fastest-growing operator of Q400 aircraft.[22] By 2017, it was the fourth largest operator of Q400 aircraft in the world.[32]

In August 2015, WestJet Encore adopted a revised livery. The tail and type style used with the word "WestJet" remained the same, but the teal-and-blue geometric widget ahead of the WestJet titles was replaced with a teal-and-blue stylized maple leaf with a similar pattern.[33][34]

WestJet Encore Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 at Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport.

Westjet Encore has a partially unionized workforce. Initially having an entirely non-union staff, the airline became a target for union drives starting in 2014.[35] Starting January 1, 2016, the airline management initiated WestJet Pilots Association, a subgroup of the WestJet Proactive Management Team, to ratify pilot contracts between with WestJet Encore.[36] The pilots union which represents many pilots that fly for U.S. carriers,[37] the Air Line Pilots Association, was successful in unionizing the 500-pilot workforce in November 2017.[38] A pilot base is located in Calgary. WestJet pilots are required to be Canadian citizens or Canadian permanent residents.[39] Pilot shortages in the airline industry have affected WestJet Encore, resulting in requirements that newly hired pilots need only 1,000 flight hours of experience prior to hiring, [40] which has been lowered to 250.[41] Pilots are guaranteed an eventual higher paying position flying larger jets at WestJet, unlike competitor airline Jazz, which does not offer guarantees of an eventual job at Air Canada.[16] WestJet Encore and its flight attendants reached an agreement regarding compensation and work rules beginning January 1, 2018, for a one-year period. However, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which was not a party to the agreement, announced that it would continue efforts to unionize the flight attendant ranks.[42]

On October 31, 2016, a $2 billion, two million square foot international terminal for U.S. cross border and international flights opened at Calgary International Airport, the largest hub of WestJet Encore and its affiliate WestJet.[43][44] Despite consultation with the airlines, the terminal design proved problematic.[45] The Calgary Airport Authority CEO characterized the new terminal as being "long on aesthetics and short on functionality."[46] There is reduced aircraft efficiency due to the need to tow aircraft to another concourse if an aircraft is used for both domestic and either U.S. cross border or international flights[30] as well as the need to hire additional staff because they cannot be deployed to more than one concourse due to long walking distances.[47] The baggage system of the new terminal is inoperable with the rest of the airport from 2016 to 2019.[43] Passenger problems include WestJet trans-border and international gates being up to a two-kilometre walk to the domestic WestJet gates as well as lack of enough seating at the gate so passengers sit on the floor.[43][46][47] These problems are seen as a threat to passenger traffic, which might be driven to other connecting airports, such as Seattle or Vancouver, cities that WestJet Encore has fewer or no flights serving.[30]

WestJet Encore is a wholly owned company of WestJet Airlines, Ltd. Sales and marketing of WestJet Encore flights are conducted by WestJet, An Alberta Partnership, which is jointly owned by two corporate entities owned by WestJet Airlines, Ltd.[48]

The first president of WestJet Encore was Ferio Pugliese, who retained his title of Executive Vice President at WestJet Airlines, Ltd. He was hired in November 2012 coming from WestJet, where he began work in 2007.[49] He left[50] in 2016 to become an Executive Vice President at Hydro One Ltd., an electricity company and in 2018 subsequently he is now a Senior Vice-President for Air Canada. [51] He was replaced in September 2016 by Charles Duncan, an American who previously worked as Senior Vice President of Technical Operations at United Airlines and, earlier in his career, was Chief Operating Officer at Continental Micronesia.[52]

Financial statistics are not released separately for WestJet Encore but reported for WestJet Airlines, Ltd., which comprises several units and the larger WestJet Airlines.[53] WestJet Encore has increased traffic in markets that it served as well as lowered airfares 30–40% than was previously available.[54]