STAR loyalty relaunch & instant group quotes: Inside the WestJet Group’s YYZ Agency Summit

Teal and orange, together as one.

It was an information-packed day at the Vue Clubhouse in Etobicoke, ON on Thursday (May 28) as nearly 70 travel advisors gathered for the YYZ edition of The WestJet Group’s first-ever Agency Summit.

One of two events held in celebration of Travel Advisor Month (a Calgary edition was held on May 14), the breakfast-and-lunch meeting, accented by WestJet-coloured balloons, showcased the latest from WestJet Airlines, WestJet Vacations and Sunwing Vacations, with presentations by bold-faced names from each brand.

From product updates and new tools to Q&A sessions, the event – held in the wake of WestJet’s 30th anniversary – provided advisors with exclusive insights into the company’s strategy, priorities, and plans for the future.

A one-team message

At heart, the day reinforced a “one team” message across the WestJet and Sunwing brands, highlighting progress made in aligning operations and cultures since the WestJet Group completed its acquisition of Sunwing in 2023.

Sunwing Travel Group’s Deanna Murphy, vice president of trade sales and business development for Sunwing and WestJet Vacations, stressed this point from the top.

“I know many of you are used to seeing myself and my team either representing Sunwing Vacations or WestJet Vacations, but more and more, you're going to see us representing both and working together,” Murphy told the room.

There’s been internal changes – for one, at Sunwing Vacations Group (the WestJet Group’s leisure division, inclusive of Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations, WestJet Vacations Québec, U.S. operator Vacation Express, SellOffVacations.com and Luxe Destination Weddings), which welcomed Marek Andryszak as its new president, in March, replacing Andrew Dawson, who’s now CFO of Royalton International.

Murphy lauded Andryszak’s vision, saying he is “absolutely dedicated to the trade business” and making improvements to areas like technology.

“The common denominator with WestJet Vacations and Sunwing Vacations is that we have this fabulous airline. We are going to really benefit from the scale of the operation,” said Murphy.

One thing she made very clear? “We are completely, 100 per cent committed to keeping and growing both brands,” she said.

Especially around brand differentiation.

While both Sunwing Vacations and WestJet Vacations offer packages to many of the same destinations, the products differ in some ways.

Sunwing Vacations is known for traditional all-inclusive beach holidays, featuring resort brands such as Royalton and Riu.

Whereas WestJet Vacations presents a broader range, including different destinations such as Las Vegas, and other hotel brands, such as Bahia Principe, Hilton All-Inclusive, and Hyatt Inclusive Collection (to name a few).

“We're really, really optimistic about the future,” said Murphy.

WestJet Vacations launches instant group quotes

The summit covered tons of topics, spanning air and tour operations, groups, marketing, and the evolution of WestJet Rewards, which revamped last year, introducing new spend thresholds and an expanded roster of partnerships with brands, including Skip, RBC, Petro-Canada and, most recently, Canadian Tire, through the integration of Triangle Rewards.

The dual-rewards program also incorporates Canadian Tire’s private-label brand, FRANK, which now serves as WestJet’s complimentary onboard snack provider.

Attendees at the summit were able to sample the snack mix and granola bar offering, with products placed on tables throughout the venue.

The big news, however, was WestJet Vacations announcing a self-serve instant group quote tool.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Deborah Delgado, manager of group sales at WestJet Vacations, speaking over a chorus of cheers and applause.

A process that was previously done manually, the new feature will automate roughly 80 per cent of group quotes, Delgado explained. 

Automated quotes, however, are not available for trips that are 321 days (or more) from departure.

“If the schedules are not published in Sabre, we can't automatically quote them, but we can do it manually,” Delgado clarified.  

Another thing that can’t be automatically quoted (for now) are multi-gateways/origin trips, but that’s expected to change in six to eight weeks, she said.

Travel advisors can access the Instant Group Quotes via the WestJet Vacations Agent Portal here.

A contest has been activated to celebrate the new feature: agents who book a WestJet Vacations group, from now until July 31, have a chance to win a $500 WestJet Vacations gift card.

WestJet Vacations also has a Customizable Quote tool (which travel advisors might recognize from Sunwing).

“You can take your quote, add your own logo and mark up, adjust the terms and conditions, and send a copy of the quote directly to your client,” Delgado said. “It's quick and easy.”

Sunwing to relaunch STAR program

The summit provided agents with opportunities to engage directly with the team, raising candid questions on everything from group booking policies, route changes, pricing, as well as customer service and operational challenges.

Among many topics addressed was Sunwing’s STAR loyalty program, which has faced technical issues over the past year, impacting advisors’ ability to access or withdraw their points.

Deanna Murphy took this question from an audience member, confirming that Sunwing will be relaunching its STAR loyalty program “very, very, very soon.”

“As we have communicated over the last several months, you're still earning those STAR points and will have access to those STAR points,” Murphy said.

“We profusely apologize that it has taken this long. It was an extremely, extremely complicated situation.”

Murphy admitted that it would have been easier to decommission the program entirely and start over, “but we did not want to do that.”

“We’re essentially doing a ‘lift and shift’ of the program," she explained.

When the new program launches, “there will be no action required of you,” Murphy added.

“You do not have to do anything,” she said, noting that the team is just waiting on legal to give the official green light.

Murphy said her team is also looking at ways to enhance the program. 

“It has been an award-winning loyalty program for many, many years. We're just as anxious to have it back as you are,” she said, noting that “seven-figure” amount will be delivered to agents in due time.

“Rest assured, your earnings are secure,” she said.

Update on densified seating

The WestJet Group is investing in several initiatives aimed at improving the overall guest experience and strengthening customer trust.

One major focus is operational reliability and efforts to improve on-time performance and build greater resilience across its network.

Melissa Baffa, WestJet’s director of guest experience, dialed in via video link to review some of the updates – the airline’s cabin reconfiguration efforts, for one.

As previously reported, WestJet is abandoning a densified seating layout that added an extra row to many aircraft, significantly reducing legroom for passengers.

The fixed, non-reclining seats, which were installed on nearly two dozen of WestJet’s Boeing 737s, provided the tightest legroom of any major Canadian airline, with a seat pitch of just 28 inches.

The layout was slated for at least 20 additional planes — 43 in total, representing more than a quarter of the fleet — but attracted nationwide scrutiny after a TikTok video highlighting the cramped seating prompted national backlash.

“It’s no secret that the densification of our aircraft did not go over well,” said Baffa. “That is an understatement, I think.”

Baffa said the decision to densify seating was made long ago, in “a very different world.”

“We expected there to be a very significant ULCC presence in the market, and that's not quite how it's transformed,” she said, sharing that WestJet’s strategy has now shifted to investments in premium flying.

“We’re doing the right thing, which is re-reconfiguring our aircraft so that it meets the expectations and standards of our team and guests.”

Baffa shared that the reversal process is more than 30 per cent complete, and that a standard fleet of 174 seats on 737 aircraft will be ready by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, WestJet’s high-speed Wi-Fi (presented by Telus, powered by satellite) is making gains.

“About 59 per cent of our aircraft have been equipped with WestJet Wi-Fi,” said Baffa, noting that the project should be completed in 2027.

Service improvements in Cancun & P.V.  

Cliff Galang, destination manager for WestJet and WestJet Vacations, also dialed in via video link to share updates on improving services, in destinations, this winter.

This past winter, WestJet Vacations welcomed more than 400,000 guests across its sun destinations in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean.

While the majority of guests travelled without significant issues, the company acknowledged operational challenges that affected a smaller (but mighty) segment of travellers (some 1,500 guests).

"Over 99 per cent of our guests" experienced no major issues with in-destination services vacation, Galang said.

Overwhelmingly, the majority of issues that did occur in destination were related to customers not receiving an upgraded transfer type that they paid for, he said.

Cancun and Puerto Vallarta “see the bulk” of these challenges, he said, mainly due to fleet and vehicle availability and use of third-party suppliers.

An action plan has been initiated for next season.

In Cancun, 90 additional vehicles will be dedicated to the company’s integrated destination partner, Nexus, instead of third-party companies, allowing for greater flexibility, Galang said.

In Puerta Vallarta, Airport Transfer Guides will be hired to ensure departure transfer are properly coordinated and managed, he said.

Technology upgrades continue to be rolled out as well – one recent update allows guests to access their Nexus transfer passes/QR codes directly through the WestJet app.

New destinations, upgraded hub

Melissa Peterson, account representative, travel agency sales at WestJet, shared an overview of WestJet Airlines’ newest destinations and enhanced resources for travel pros.

There’s a major milestone, for one: Sao Paulo, WestJet’s 100th destination from Calgary (YYC), a service that starts Nov. 8, operating three times a week.

“The good thing is that it will allow for additional connections to South and Central America through our partner LATAM,” Peterson explained.

Europe remains a significant focus for WestJet, which crosses the pond from Calgary, Toronto and Halifax.

From Toronto, specifically, WestJet flies to Edinburgh, Dublin and Glasgow, but there’s also new destinations, such as Cardiff (Wales) and Ponta Delgada (The Azores).

Halifax, meanwhile, “has a lot of Europe,” Peterson emphasized, listing off Barcelona, Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh, London (Gatwick), Paris, Copenhagen, Lisbon and Madrid.

“The flight to Lisbon, from Halifax, is five-and-a-half hours. You can do the connection over, it's a long weekend,” Peterson noted.

Calgary, too, with Dreamliner service, offers many of the destinations listed above, with one special extra: Reykjavik, Iceland.

Then there’s Asia. WestJet, from Calgary, flies year-round to Tokyo, Japan, as well as Seoul, South Korea, seasonally, from March to November.

“I never would have thought, in a million years, that WestJet would fly to Tokyo and Seoul, but here we are,” said Peterson, noting that Tokyo “is one of our most profitable routes.”

Peterson also touched on new summer routes in WestJet’s domestic network: Winnipeg - London, ON; Vancouver – Penticton; Calgary – Sault Ste, Marie; Calgary – North Bay; Calgary - Campbell River; and Edmonton – Terrace.

For the latest updates on WestJet’s schedule, agents can refer to the schedule updates page on the airline’s new-and-improved Advisor Hub (same link as before, just different name and look).

Praise for trade

As Travel Advisor Month draws to a close, others from across the WestJet Group took time to recognize travel advisors for their steadfast support throughout the company’s evolution.

“It's really important for you all to know how much we appreciate you – our travel agency community,” said Andrei Losinski, a key account manager at WestJet. “We wouldn't be where we are today without you.”

Amanda Ierfino, vice president of sales and cargo, echoed that sentiment.

“It is not lost on us that we would not be where we are today without the support from all of you in the room and your colleagues,” Ierfino said. “Thank you so much for all that you do to support WestJet and our mutual guests.”

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