WestJet CEO Clive Beddoe said some staff betrayed the company.
Jason Kirby, Financial Post
Published: Saturday, December 17, 2005
VANCOUVER - Clive Beddoe, CEO of WestJet Airline Ltd., spoke out yesterday about the corporate espionage lawsuit filed against the airline by rival Air Canada, calling it "malicious," while at the same time indicating the actions of some WestJet employees were "inappropriate."
Air Canada filed documents last week as part of its $220-million lawsuit that contained e-mails sent to senior WestJet executives, including Mr. Beddoe. The lawsuit claims the e-mails, which discuss a "007 project," are part of an alleged effort by WestJet to steal Air Canada's confidential information.
Mr. Beddoe, in Vancouver as part of a charity event to deliver a planeload of toys to sick children at a local hospital, initially declined to comment on the revelation of the e-mails or the allegations.
"All I can say is judge us by the integrity of the organization that we are, and not by the malicious ways in which we've been depicted by our competitors," he said.
Mr. Beddoe said the lawsuit, which has not been proven in court, has not hurt WestJet's public image, judging by the company's strong performance.
But he did say some employees betrayed the company's trust by taking things "too far."
"We're a company that believes in trusting people and I would always rather trust people than not trust people," he said. "Sometimes when you trust people, you get burned, and sometimes people make mistakes. That's just life, but it's not our corporate style."
He acknowledged the company is paying for those mistakes.
"When the odd person does something that is inappropriate, we're going to get slapped for it," he said.
WestJet has argued it did not break any laws by gathering data on its rivals.
Mr. Beddoe arrived from WestJet's Calgary head office on one of the last remaining planes from the company's original fleet of aircraft. Westjet has retired virtually all of its 737-200 series jets to replace them with newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft.
Mr. Beddoe said WestJet plans to grow the airline at a rate of six or seven new planes a year.
It is a popular belief among some analysts that WestJet will have a hard time repeating its past growth rates because there is less room to grow in Canada.
But Mr. Beddoe said the airline sees opportunity in both domestic and cross-border routes.
"The other guys have 20-odd flights a day from Vancouver to Toronto and we've got four or five," he said. "There's plenty of opportunity to add additional flights as we get new aircraft."
He said the company has a list of cross-border destinations it intends to fly to, but would not provide details, citing competitive reasons.