News Releases

Innovation to change aviation inflight service forever

CALGARY, April 1, 2016 /CNW/ - In its never-ending quest to deliver the most caring and personalized service to its guests, WestJet announced today the replacement of all standard-issue food and beverage carts with the Robotic Automated Light Food Handler (RALFH). RALFH provides incredible guest service utilizing a powerful memory, a facial-recognition camera and an audio conveyance system that allows it to interact with guests to deliver food and beverage orders in an efficient, personalized and technologically awe-inspiring manner.

"With RALFH, the only thing we've changed is everything. As not only a Canadian-airline first, but a global-aviation first, RALFH is a demonstration of WestJet's innovative thinking and dedication to guest experience," said Richard Bartrem, WestJet Vice-President, Marketing Communications. "By using RALFH to order and distribute food and beverages, we have eliminated the need for our flight attendants to push a heavy cart up and down the aisle. We can't wait for RALFH to start providing an entirely new and fun way to wine and dine our guests."

The installation of RALFH means that WestJet's flight attendants now have the ability to provide even more of the caring guest experience that makes WestJet the proud Canadian airline it is today.

Said Bartrem, "The idea behind RALFH started with WestJet's beloved flight attendants, who always provide remarkable experiences. We have simply evolved and reinvented the flight attendant, resulting in the most beautiful and powerful hi-tech food dispenser in the world. Anyone who wants to order a coke, a sandwich or even just a bottle of water is going to love RALFH."

RALFH also makes it easy for guests to get up and down the aisles of the plane, which was noted in consumer testing as awesome.

To celebrate the launch of RALFH, WestJet is having a No Foolin' Just Savin' Sale: Seriously great savings on flights and vacation packages to select destinations in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe.  One-way fares starting from $99 CAD* total price on select routes within Canada, or save up to $1,300 on select vacation packages. Take advantage of these great savings by booking before April 5, 2016 (11:59 p.m. MDT) for travel from April 1 to July 13 and September 7 to October 31, 2016. Lowest fares can be found on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Blackout dates from May 19 to 24, June 29 to July 15 and October 6 to 11, 2016. Advance purchase of 14 days required for travel within Canada and seven days for travel to the U.S. Other restrictions apply. Visit westjet.com/sale for complete details.

About WestJet
We are proud to be Canada's highest-rated airline for customer service, powered by an award-winning culture of care and recognized as one of the country's top employers. We offer scheduled service to 100 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. Through our regional airline, WestJet Encore, and with partnerships with airlines representing every major region of the world, we offer our guests more than 150 destinations in more than 20 countries. Leveraging WestJet's extensive network, flight schedule and remarkable guest experience, WestJet Vacations delivers affordable, flexible travel experiences with a variety of accommodation options for every guest. Members of our WestJet Rewards program earn WestJet dollars on flights, vacation packages and more. Our members use WestJet dollars towards the purchase of WestJet flights and vacations packages on any day, at any time, to any WestJet destination with no blackout periods  ̶  even on seat sales. For more information about everything WestJet, please visit westjet.com.  

Recent recognition includes:
2015/2011/2010/2008/2007/2006/2005 Canada's Most Admired Corporate Culture (Waterstone Human Capital)
2015 Best Employers in Canada (Aon Hewitt)
2015/2014/2013 WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard ranked #1 in Canada (MoneySense magazine)
2014/2013 WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard ranked #1 in the Canada's Choice ranking (RewardsCanada.ca)
2014 Interbrand Canada's Best Canadian Brands (Rank #20)
2014 Brands of the Year (Strategy magazine)
2014 Canada's Most Preferred Airline (Ipsos)
2014 Value Airline of the Year (Air Transport World magazine)
2014/2013/2012 Canada's Most Attractive Employer (Randstad)
2014/2013/2012/2011 Highest equity score: airline, vacation package supplier brands (Harris/Decima EquiTrend Study)

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SOURCE WestJet