Westjet Pays Off Media??

[Name]

Who else here does not think that Westjet has a few friends in the media?
Not trying to start a war or anything but it seems like they never have any bad press about them and all other airlines get front page.

Let's look back on Westjet incidents:

Dec 200? 737 hits wing on rwy during poor vis landing in YHZ

Sometime in 2007?... 737 hits turb... gets placed in news but at 1/4 the coverage of AC 319 this yr. They got 'Top Story' and even a story that the A/C malfunctioned?

Winter 2007-08: 737 slides off Rwy in YQT... not even a peep... Then 2mths later another one goes off the end in YOW... There's barely a whisper..

What about the 2 737's lastnight in YYZ which clipped wings? No news at all? Yet there a couple mths ago in YVR a jazz and AC 340 hit eachother and its in the papers and news....

I just dont get it... Why does one company get a free pass?? I guess the media gets free Koolaid? Westjet should get the same bad press as everyone else! Agreed?


What gives?

[just curious]

If you trully believe that anyone in aviation has a friend in the media, you are seriously deluded.

For what it's worth, WestJet is a helluva lot more media savvy than most companies. Doesn't just speak well about them, it speaks badly about the rest.

[Four1oh]

I'm sorry, is this about Westjet? Or poor Air Canada?

[june 1944]

Who really cares?

[ivanhoe]

Mr. Name

You need to take a pill.

WestJet gets its fair share of negative press. Does the name Brent Jang mean anything to you?

I could go on ad infinitum on incidents that AC and other airlines have had and not ended up in the press. So what?

Go find another axe to grind somewhere...

[beast]

Wow! I thought I was the only person in Canada who felt that Westjet is the media's darling

Thanks Mr. Name!

[bmc]

What's not to like about Westjet?

Well run customer focussed airline.

Bent wing tips has as much news value as wild deer spotted in someone's backyard.

Nuthin here folks. Move along.

[bmc]

Who else here does not think that Westjet has a few friends in the media?
Not trying to start a war or anything but it seems like they never have any bad press about them and all other airlines get front page.

Let's look back on Westjet incidents:

Dec 200? 737 hits wing on rwy during poor vis landing in YHZ

Sometime in 2007?... 737 hits turb... gets placed in news but at 1/4 the coverage of AC 319 this yr. They got 'Top Story' and even a story that the A/C malfunctioned?

Winter 2007-08: 737 slides off Rwy in YQT... not even a peep... Then 2mths later another one goes off the end in YOW... There's barely a whisper..

What about the 2 737's lastnight in YYZ which clipped wings? No news at all? Yet there a couple mths ago in YVR a jazz and AC 340 hit eachother and its in the papers and news....

I just dont get it... Why does one company get a free pass?? I guess the media gets free Koolaid? Westjet should get the same bad press as everyone else! Agreed?


What gives?

Write your local news sources and ask them.

[joe to go]

737 in YQT.....in the news (and the plane did not "slide" off the runway)
737 in YOW....In every paper as far as I saw
737 in turbulence. Do you have the facts to back up the 1/4 coverage.

But that is an excellent first post you made. Bravo Zulu No Name!!

[Flying Nutcracker]

So they pay off the media and STILL make a profit..... must be a conspiracy!!! Better get the lawyers involved in this one.

The press loves beating on the wounded horse. They are like sharks, just smelling the blood, looking to taste the blood. Looking for that sensationalistic frenzy that sells copy after copy, because readers and viewers just love to hear that things are worse than they really are...

Come on... I am sure it all comes down to how it is dealt with. Westjet has not been known to cover up any faux pas or the obvious. It kills the story for the media!

So Mr. Name... I think you just want more news stories so that you can complain about how ignorant and incredibly stupid the press is when they blow up an aviation story with all the facts that we all know so well are far from the truth. So in that respect... I think Westjet is doing us all a favor!

FN

[Tim]

Haha welcome to avcanada. This is the standard greeting. It was actually all computer generated. Wait till you say something REALLY dumb.

[k411]

I dont think that they pay off the media, I think it all has to do with customer service... some of these reporters fly around alot, covering different stories around canada and the world, so they get to know each airline pretty good. Air Canada's stereotype is that the flight attendants are bitchy, the ticket agents arent exactly friendly, etcetera, and when you connect them with things like that they seem sub par, and its easy for the media to jump on them over every little thing. Westjet on the other hand is like the polar opposite, westjet is the airline everybody wants to fly because the stereotype is that they are the nicer and more fun airline to fly, so the media looks past their faults when they occur, in the same way that you may call the cops everytime your one neighbor who isnt exactly the greatest neighbor does something, but if your neighbor who you are on good terms with does the exact same thing, you will just turn a blind eye to it. Just my personal view, feel free to critisize it, but imho, it does play a role in things like this...

[flying4dollars]

Interesting point, never really paid much attention to it though.

Your title maybe whats provoking people to shoot you down for an observation, if not, then I dunno...just silly avcanadians

[YOWTXR]

Lol...were you really looking for smart ass answers??

Welcome to Avcanada!!

[CD]

Well, it did make the Winnipeg news this morning:

Planes touch wings on tarmac

By: Staff Writer
Winnipeg Free Press

6:33 AM

Call it a fender bender between jetliners. On Monday evening, a plane that left Winnipeg and landed in Toronto touched wings with another plane on the tarmac at Pearson International Airport, a WestJet spokeswoman confirmed.

There were no injuries, however, the two planes were damaged after the slight collision near one of the gates.

WestJet continues to investigate the incident.

Free Press article here...

[Johnny#5]

Haha welcome to avcanada. This is the standard greeting. It was actually all computer generated. Wait till you say something REALLY dumb.

Hahaha!

[twinpratts]

Yawn... this is news?

[marktheone]

I think it might have something to do with Air Canada as a whole. They deserve every bit of bad press that can come their way. IMHO.

[Rubberbiscuit]

Even if the media attention is lobsided I don't think it matters much in the grand scheme of things. If you did a survey to see how many pax was deterred from flying with an airline over reading about any of these incidents I'd be willing to bet the answer would be very few. The majority of the travelling public is smarter than that.... they realize that no airline is immune to incidents. Whats that saying, "bad publicity is still publicity" or something like that!

[Blastor]

WestJet Airlines WJA-T $8.500
WestJet Airlines WJA.A-T $8.660

As of November 26, 2008

[just curious]

They wouldn't have been able to do so well over the last decade without Blastor handling their media enquiries.

[DonJuan]

As for the post regarding air canada stereotypes..I think i would rather have an experienced professional crew (even if sometimes grumpy) looking after my safety, a cabin crew who is making a livable wage VRS a crew of 20 year olds telling corney jokes or who sing the safety briefings.

But some people eat up that low brow crap and it wouldn't surprise me if most in the media were that type from the stories they call news these days.

[commuter]

As for the post regarding air canada stereotypes..I think i would rather have an experienced professional crew (even if sometimes grumpy) looking after my safety, a cabin crew who is making a livable wage VRS a crew of 20 year olds telling corney jokes or who sing the safety briefings.

But some people eat up that low brow crap and it wouldn't surprise me if most in the media were that type from the stories they call news these days.

While I am not a fan of the light hearted jokes at Westjet the the crews in the front and back end are very safe and professional.

[DA900]

WestJet Airlines WJA-T $8.500
WestJet Airlines WJA.A-T $8.660

As of November 26, 2008

Holy Cow Blastor you are alive. Four1oh, CanadaEH have not had much to do with you being so reserve lately. Now get in there and start stirring the pot!

[RidersRule]

I heard WestJet has former members of the JTF2 that swoop in after a incident and do a mop up of all witness if you know what I mean.