WestJet this week offered a masterclass in enhancing the passenger experience by surprising travellers with their dream Christmas gifts upon arrival in Calgary.
Passengers flying from Toronto and Hamilton International airports had the opportunity to tell a virtual Santa Claus what their dream Christmas present is. Then when they arrived in Calgary, gift-wrapped boxes bearing the passengers’ names arrived on the baggage reclaim carousel with the dream present inside.
The real-time gift-giving was made possible by WestJet’s Digital Command Centre and a team of more than 150 members of staff who shopped for the gifts, wrapped them up and had loaded them onto the belt in time for the passengers’ arrival. Among the gifts were a Samsung Galaxy, a snowboard, flights home for the holiday season, a camera, a widescreen television and…socks and underwear!
Richard Bartrem, Vice President, Communications and Community Relations, said: “This year, we wanted to turn our holiday campaign into a tradition by doing something that’s never been done before. Inspired by the notion of real-time giving, we wanted to surprise guests with meaningful, personalised gifts when they least expected them.”
WestJet said that once the Christmas Miracle video reaches 200,000 views, its WestJet Cares for Kids programme will donate flights to a family in need through Ronald McDonald House Charities. The video has already received more than 12 million views!
