WestJet CEO nervous about 2010 recovery

WestJet CEO, Sean Durfy, stated he is "still nervous" about the general economic outlook for the North American economy (Globe and Mail, 29-Dec-2009.). The CEO expects a recovery as early as 2Q2010. The carrier plans to expand its fleet by five aircraft, to a total of 91, and add three to five destinations, taking the total to up to 72. WestJet hopes to "operationalise" an agreement with Southwest Airlines in 2010, and could sign agreements with "two to four" other partners.

WestJet: "I'm still nervous about 2010. It's tough and it's going to be tough. Average households in the US have been spending more than they earn. The reason that we're in this mess is debt loads - don't give credit to a person who can't afford it. From a macroeconomic standpoint, the mess concerns me. We still see the effects of the recession, but I'd like to think we are going to see a recovery in 2010 in Q2 or Q3… We'll be taking five aircraft and that gets us to 91. We'll probably add three to five destinations, and that would make it a total of 70 to 72 destinations. And how many international partnerships are in store? We hope to operationalize Southwest Airlines in 2010. We already have Air France-KLM. There could be two to four other partners," Sean Durfy, CEO. Source: Globe and Mail, 29-Dec-2009.