CALGARY- WestJet’s longtime stance on not charging baggage fees could be coming to an end.
In a conference call on Tuesday, airline executives said they are trying to find ways to combat the costs of the falling Canadian dollar. They have already implemented a system-wide price hike of two per cent on all airfares, as other carriers like Air Canada add ‘currency surcharges.’
The Calgary-based airline is now looking at whether to bring in the unpopular baggage fees that other North American carriers have had in place for years.
“It’s a place where we expect to be able to generate some incremental revenue,” explained president and CEO Gregg Saretsky. “We haven’t made a decision on a first bag fee, we continue to look at that.”
Saretsky said that WestJet has been in talks with IT company Sabre for months, but there is still lots of work to be done before they can “pull the trigger on first bag fees.”
“There’s a lot of infrastructure on the technology side that needs to come together,” he said, adding that airport kiosks and internet booking engines will also need to be set up.
So far, they do not have a date in mind that the fees could go into effect.
The move comes on the heels of an announcement that WestJet’s profits jumped 11 per cent last year, to $268.7 million.
READ MORE: WestJet to raise quarterly dividend
-With files from Jamie Sturgeon
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