Happy anniversary, WestJet.
Assisted by entertainer Todd Butler, the Calgary-based company celebrated its first decade in the area last week.
Butler, who performed a special song marking the occasion, is a great example of how WestJetting can change lives.
A passenger on the first WestJet flight from Calgary to Comox, Butler is an Alberta boy who came to call the Comox Valley home. Home, in fact, is the title of his most popular song, an enduring tale of a Prairie boy who learned where he really belongs.
He’s hardly the only Prairie person who has discovered the many charms of the Comox Valley, not will he will be the last – not as long as WestJet flies here anyway.
The airline has been instrumental in putting us and the entire Island on a larger map, exposing this endearing and magnificent part of the world to a larger audience.
That, and the worldwide exposure of the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics should keep curious people coming for some time.
It’s a double-edged sword, of course, because some folks like the Comox Valley quiet and house prices low. It’s safe to say the genie is out of the bottle.
Passengers at our airport have quadrupled in the WestJet decade. Home prices have almost tripled.
Those are market forces, not WestJet’s fault.
In fact, to praise WestJetters, their service remains remarkably focused on their customers.
You don’t really realize until you or your companion has mobility restrictions how amazingly helpful WestJet employees are. From the anonymous booking agents on the phone to their “airport ambassadors,” they are unfailingly polite and eager to assist.
By now a fairly large company, WestJet and its employees remain focused on customer service.
As Comox Valley retail grows, remember the people who treat you well.
If a smiling face and personal service appeal to you, you can still find it.
editor@comoxvalleyrecord.com