Meet 2021 President’s Award winner, Hannah Fairweather
A President’s Award winner, is someone who lives and breathes WestJet’s values, going above and beyond in all they do, demonstrating true resilience and perseverance throughout unprecedented times. Hannah Fairweather, Manager, Loyalty Partnerships, Commercial is one of 16 President’s Award winners.
Hannah is a six-year WestJetter who joined WestJet’s Loyalty team in 2019 as the business lead on the development and launch of WestJet’s flagship Elevation Lounge at Calgary International Airport (YYC). Despite the many curveballs the pandemic threw her way, Hannah maintained grace and composure and a positive attitude to see the project through and as a result, WestJet’s flagship lounge has lived up to its name, ensuring every touchpoint within the lounge is focused on creating an elevated guest experience.
This month, WestJet’s Elevation Lounge is celebrating its one-year anniversary.
We sat down with Hannah to ask her a few questions about WestJet and what being a President’s Award winner means to her:
What’s your favorite WestJet destination?
London, UK. It’s where I am from and grew up and while Canada is now home, I love it that WestJet offers me a non-stop connection between my two homes. It has meant so many wonderful experiences for my family both here and in London. Although, if we’re looking for sun to replace the drizzle, we usually head to one of our Mexico destinations, I love Cabo in particular.
Describe WestJet in three words.
Human, Resilient, Innovative
Best travel tip?
For long haul, I love to have an eye mask and warm socks on hand, for short hops – just don’t pack more than you need, if you can travel with only carry-on luggage, it is liberating!
What are you most looking forward to in the next year?
I work with a team who love to foster our culture of being ‘a challenger’. It’s something I look forward to each week – the idea exchange, the thought partnership, challenging each-other and the status quo to build meaningful programs and products. I am also looking forward to travelling even more in 2022 – Edinburgh is on my list as I haven’t been in several years!
What does winning a WestJet Group Award mean to you?
Winning an award at WestJet really gave me a catalyst to reflect on the experience of developing the Elevation Lounge. We were inspired throughout the development journey, by the talented partners and WestJetters working collaboratively on the project, and I think that’s why we were able to deliver a meaningful lounge design. What I mean by that, is it really reflects the design starting points – our guest’s diverse needs during travel, the WestJet core values such as care and approachability, the Canadian land and culture within which its’ situated. So, the award has provided important reflection time on a long development experience. One of the key lessons I will take with me and share, is to keep working on what inspires you. I hope that our guests will continue to enjoy the space for many years to come.
What Hannah’s leader had to say:
“It will come as no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic threw significant curveballs during the development of the Elevation Lounge, however with incredible grace and composure, Hannah dodged every one of them and never failed to find a path forward all while maintaining a positive attitude,” said d’Arcy Monaghan, WestJet Vice-President, Loyalty Programs. “Throughout this project, Hannah consistently demonstrated, every day, what it means to care from the heart by ensuring that our guests’ needs were at the forefront of every single detail and decision that went into our flagship lounge.”
