Yes, his delivery and context were amateur... ok, outright condescending. But consider for a moment this video as a symptom of the larger issue. This man put his thoughts in the context of a small rebel airline that started in the 90’s. No company, airline or otherwise, can expect to be successful and grow at a rate commensurate with its inception nor can it continue to always operate as it did on “day one.” At a certain point you are simply no longer able to call yourself a small company bucking the trend of an industry - a realization that the Starbucks, Apples and Googles of the world have all had to come to terms with.
Pushing through to the next level, one that bestows the “success” label beyond a Canadian context (his words, not mine), is going to require a sea change in everything that Westjet does. This man shouldn’t be asking how the company can survive by paying the market rate for pilots. He should be asking how they can expect to continue to grow while providing an exceptional level of service without a serious long term strategy populated with the best talent possible. This moment, above all, is when management gets to demonstrate why they are worthy of their compensation and, more importantly, why they are worthy leaders to follow.