WestJet - an F/A's perspective
I flew for WestJet as a F/A for almost a year, until leaving late last year.
There is no doubt that WJ offers a unique product in the Canadian air industry, and their blend of fun and low fares is a hit with the flying public.
That said, it was not always all roses for the employees.
While the Pilot group is generally well looked after (financially and otherwise), the picture for F/a's, CSA's and Res Staff is quite different.
There is no doubt that some of the 'day oner' f/a's, csa's etc have done well out of the employee stock purchase scheme, the reality is that for F/A's who started in the last couple of years, it's been a tough slog financially. Out of my training class of some 60 Flight Attendants, about 80% of us had to have a second job to make ends meet. We had to work part time for 6 months before getting full time status - I wasn't able to live off $800 - $900 CDN a month, so I racked up a hefty credit card debt. Even on Full time status, the finances were tight.
Res Agents fare even worse. 'Super Sales Agents' are hired initially with a minimum guarantee of just a few hours of work a week. It can be several months before 'part time' status, let alone 'full time' status, which makes it hard for employees who are entering the profession and viewing this as a career.
While Profit Share and Employee Stock Purchase plans are important part of the overall compensation package, the reality for me was thus:
I couldn't buy groceries and pay my monthly bills with a (variable) bi annual profit share check.
The Employee Share Purchase plan DID allow me to work towards some longer term savings, but the Share prices have (finally) levelled out. F/A's starting in the last few years, or today, are NOT going to be making the kind of money to buy 1/2 million dollar homes. It's also pertinent to note that when finances are so tight to begin with, a lot of employees found it tough to take a 10 or 20% deduction from pay to pay into the ESP in the first place.
I am not 'WestJet Bashing' here. Many close friends continue to fly there, and enjoy their jobs. But I did want to try and present a more 'balanced' picture as to the situation for the non-pilot and non-management employee groups.