WestJet soars to new heights with Magic Plane

Custom-painted aircraft features Sorcerer Mickey

CALGARY, Dec. 2, 2013 /CNW/ - WestJet, WestJet Vacations and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts (Canada) today pulled back the curtain on their most exciting adventure yet -- a custom-painted Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 series aircraft featuring Mickey Mouse in his most famous role, Sorcerer Mickey.

WestJet, WestJet Vacations and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts (Canada) first forged a relationship in 2004 based on a shared vision of creating memorable experiences for their guests. Known in the social media world as the #MagicPlane, the aircraft will perform its inaugural flight on December 3, 2013, from Calgary to Orlando, Florida, home of Walt Disney World Resort. Following the flight, the Magic Plane will fly throughout WestJet's domestic, trans-border and international network.

"We are very proud of our work with Disney and everything we've done together over the years to enrich the lives of our guests," said Gregg Saretsky, WestJet President and CEO. "With the Magic Plane, we are soaring to new heights, offering guests of all ages the chance to share the skies with one of the world's most beloved and iconic figures. We also look forward to having fun with our guests on the ground as they see the Magic Plane flying over their communities and at airports across our expanding network."

"Bringing this vision to life has been a true collaboration between our companies and it's so exciting to see the final result -- the aircraft is absolutely beautiful," said Marlie Morrison, Managing Director, Marketing & Sales, The Walt Disney Company (Canada) Ltd. "WestJetters are the first point of contact for many of our Walt Disney World guests embarking on their memorable family vacation.  We have a great appreciation for WestJet, which shares a similar culture in bringing guests an exceptional experience from beginning to end."

Fun facts about the Magic Plane:

• The two sides of the aircraft are mirror images of each other in all aspects but one. We'll leave it to our guests to decide what that is!
• There are a total of 36 different paint colours on the aircraft.
• It took a team of 26 people 24 days working around the clock to paint the Magic Plane.
• The painting crew consumed more than 150 doughnuts over the 24 days.
• The painting crew consisted of people from four countries, five states, two provinces and 12 cities.
• The cookies that will be served on board are a special treat in the shape of Disney characters.
• Over the next five years, the Magic Plane will fly more than 400,000 guests a total of nearly eight million kilometres.

On board the Magic Plane's inaugural flight on December 3 will be 16 members of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada from various cities across the country. Along with club chaperones and WestJet volunteers, the group will travel to Orlando for three days of fun at Walt Disney World Resort, "pay-it-forward" charity activities, teambuilding and leadership training.

WestJet serves Orlando, home of Walt Disney World Resort, with a total of 39 flights per week during peak winter months from Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton, London, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Moncton and St. John's, Nfld.

WestJet Vacations offers a variety of vacation packages to the Walt Disney World Resort. Play, stay, dine and save when you book a five- to 15-night vacation package at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels that includes Magic Your Way tickets and a Disney dining plan. Offer is valid for bookings made by February 22, 2014, for travel between January 5 and April 12, 2014.

About WestJet
WestJet is Canada's most preferred airline, offering scheduled service to 88 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. Powered by an award-winning culture of care, WestJet pioneered low-cost flying in Canada. Recognized nationally as a top employer, WestJet now has more than 9,600 WestJetters across Canada. Operating a fleet of more than 100 Boeing Next-Generation 737 and Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft, WestJet strives to be one of the five most successful international airlines in the world. This year, WestJet launched its new regional airline, WestJet Encore.

About WestJet Vacations
WestJet Vacations provides guests with affordable, reliable and easy-to-book travel experiences to 55 destinations in 18 countries, including the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Leveraging WestJet's fun and friendly image, extensive network and remarkable guest experience, WestJet Vacations offers guests a great flight schedule and a wide variety of hotel and resort options to create fun and affordable vacation experiences.  For more information visit www.westjetvacations.com.

About WestJet Rewards
WestJet Rewards members earn WestJet dollars on WestJet flights, vacation packages and more. WestJet dollars can be used like cash towards the purchase of WestJet flights and WestJet Vacations packages on any date to any WestJet or WestJet Encore destination with no blackout periods, even on seat sales. More flights equal more benefits, including bonus WestJet dollars and Jet-Aways. Guests who use their WestJet RBC MasterCard will earn WestJet dollars even faster.

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Image with caption: "WestJet, WestJet Vacations and Disney Parks & Resorts (Canada) today unveiled a custom-painted Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 series aircraft featuring Sorcerer Mickey. Called the Magic Plane, it will fly throughout WestJet's 88-city, 18-country domestic, transborder and international network. (CNW Group/WestJet)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20131202_C6150_PHOTO_EN_34194.jpg

Image with caption: "WestJet, WestJet Vacations and Disney Parks & Resorts (Canada) today unveiled a custom-painted Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 series aircraft featuring Sorcerer Mickey. Called the Magic Plane, it will fly throughout WestJet's 88-city, 18-country domestic, transborder and international network. (CNW Group/WestJet)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20131202_C6150_PHOTO_EN_34195.jpg

Image with caption: "WestJet, WestJet Vacations and Disney Parks & Resorts (Canada) today unveiled a custom-painted Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 series aircraft featuring Sorcerer Mickey. Called the Magic Plane, it will fly throughout WestJet's 88-city, 18-country domestic, transborder and international network. (CNW Group/WestJet)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20131202_C6150_PHOTO_EN_34197.jpg

Image with caption: "The interior of WestJet's Disney-themed Magic Plane features head rest covers with stars on them. WestJet, WestJet Vacations and Disney Parks & Resorts (Canada) today unveiled a custom-painted Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 series aircraft featuring Sorcerer Mickey on the exterior of the aircraft. (CNW Group/WestJet)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20131202_C6150_PHOTO_EN_34196.jpg

SOURCE: WestJet

Media contact:
Media Relations, 1-888-WJ-4-NEWS (1-888-954-6397), [email protected].