The Virtual WestJet News Bin

Hey, what's happening at Virtual WestJet? Oh nothing much. Just a bunch of things. You know the usual. Well what's the usual? Everything below—that's the usual. What can I say, we're a dynamic group, so keep checking up on us.

Virtual WestJet Launches Checklists

Vancouver, BC (March 16, 2009) – Today Virtual WestJet is launching B737NG checklists exclusively for its members. The checklists can be found in the Flight ops section at www.virtualwestjet.org and are immediately downloadable. The normal and supplemental checklists are modeled after WestJet documents. An expanded checklist has also been developed to assist pilots in using the WestJet checklists.

Darwin Treichel, Virtual WestJet's director of technical standards-flight ops, developed the expanded checklist to assist in the understanding of the normal checklist. Details of each line item are discussed and explained to provide Virtual WestJet pilots with an inside look at specific B737 operations as performed by WestJet Airlines.

"We continue to bring realism into Virtual WestJet and these authentic checklists allow us to achieve a new level of simulation at our virtual airline," commented Darcy Broda, Virtual WestJet President and CVO.

Darcy added, "Our thanks to WestJet for allowing our virtual airline unprecedented realism. We look forward to expanding our unique relationship with its amazing WestJetters in the future."

WestJet Suspends Web Affiliate Program as Virtual WestJetters spend over $10,000 at westjet.com

Vancouver, BC (January 24, 2009) – Virtual WestJet announced today that its web affiliate status with WestJet Airlines has ceased effective January 15, 2009. WestJet Airlines has suspended the program pending further evaluation.

Virtual WestJet is thrilled that it has been able to contribute in excess of $10,000 in sales at westjet.com during its status as a web affiliate. Members of the virtual airline have supported both our organization and WestJet through this program.

"We have been delighted to be a part of this program for the last couple of years. Our members have collectively driven more than $10,000 in sales to WestJet Airlines. Unfortunately, WestJet has decided to shut down the program without indicating if it will be re-launched in the future," noted Darcy Broda, President and Chief Virtual Officer of Virtual WestJet.

"I wish to thank all those who booked tickets through our website during the web affiliation with WestJet. It has gone a long way in ensuring the future at Virtual WestJet. We'd also like to thank WestJet for not only allowing us to take part in this program but also internally recommending we became web affiliates in the first place."

Virtual WestJet Becomes an Amazon Associate

Vancouver, BC (September 28, 2007) – Virtual WestJet is pleased to announce today that it has become an affiliate of Amazon Books, and is now an official Amazon Associate.

Virtual WestJet will provide links about interesting books including FlightPath: How WestJet is Flying High in Canada's most Turbulent Industry, and other flight simulation related products.

Interested Virtual WestJetters can learn a lot by reading this book. It comes highly recommended by other Virtual WestJetters; you can search for comments about the book in our forums—try Flightpath as your keyword! The book will be display in the Pilot Logbook, pilots can click the book to purchase a copy.

"Virtual WestJet is proudly an affiliate of WestJet Airlines, Google, and now, Amazon Books," said Darcy Broda, president and CVO of Virtual WestJet. "We hope Virtual WestJetters can find relevant products and services offerings through these affiliate programs including WestJet tickets and books, and other fun and fascinating stuff. Most of all, we hope Virtual WestJetters continue to support us as they have done over the last few years—all of these programs help to offset the costs of running our community and allow for future growth—because the future of Virtual WestJet is going to be exciting."

Virtual WestJet Integrates New Promotion System

Vancouver, BC (August 31, 2007) – Today the Virtual WestJet Group ("VWJ") announced a long-awaited upgrade and overhaul to the promotion system at the virtual airline. The following changes will be made:

• Old System
• (Currently Inactive)
• All pilots begin as F/O (no exceptions)
• 100 hours — automatic promotion to Captain

• New System
• All Pilots begin as F/O (no exceptions)
• 30 hours — 737–600/736
• 100 hours — 737–700WL/73W
• 20 hours — 737–800WL/73H
• 100 hours — General (can be any of the 3 types)
  
  
• 250 total hours required for promotion
• 737–200 hours are credited towards general type hours
• 737–700/73G hours are credited towards 700 type hours
• 737–800/738 hours are credited towards 800 type hours
  
  
• Minimum of 6–month waiting period from time of joining VWJ as a F/O until Captain Promotion request availability.
  
  
• Applications to become a Captain will be reviewed prior to promotion. Pilots will be able to submit a request upon completion of necessary requirements. Pilots in good standing with the virtual airline, which includes the ability to show consistent pirep submission without errors or irregularities, will be promoted.
  
  
• Captains required to fly 100 hours on yearly basis (approx. 8.5 hour average each month)
  
  
• * Current Captains will have 6 months (Feb 27, 2008) to obtain their missing requirements. Pilots who are unable to obtain these requirements will be left with a highest rank achieved of Captain.
  
  
• * Notices of absences are not required. Captains with requirements but failing to fly 100 hours on a yearly basis will be removed from the Captains Roster and into an inactive state. Highest Promotion received will indicate achieving the requirements, but Pilots will be moved back to F/O for 2 months (minimum) until meeting half of the yearly requirement.

WestJet currently requires at least 2500 hours in Total Time to be considered for hire as a pilot. WestJet pilots currently work 85 hours a month and fly over 1000 hours per year. First Officers stay in the right seat for approximately 5 years.

VWJ choose to reflect a hybrid approach whereby pilots are required an equivalent of 10% or 250 hours, not for hiring but for promotion. At an average of 40 hours per month, a promotion to Captain would be available in just over 6 months. Six months also is 10% of 5 years, or the time it takes an F/O to become a Captain at WestJet (as noted above). The 100 hours per year on-going requirement for Captaincy is roughly 8.5 hours per month, which is 10% of 85 hours (a work-month) or the 1000 hours per year WestJet pilots work.

"We want to recognize our pilots achievements, and at the same time make these achievements challenging," said Darcy Broda, President and CVO. "250 Hours creates a challenge that is in line with realistic WestJet hours/policies using a consistent 10% theme. This is an exciting new system that rewards the dedicated and hard working pilots."

"It is our intent to make the journey for our pilots at Virtual WestJet something memorable, filled with a sense of pride and belonging to a special team. The six month waiting period is also something we feel is appropriate and represents further realism at our virtual airline, as the transition from First Officer to Captain shouldn't be completed in a month or two, rather it should be accomplished through time and proficiency."

Virtual WestJet Rolls Out Onto a New Server

Vancouver, BC (June 12, 2007) – The virtual airline is pleased to announce a successful rollover onto a new server located in downtown Vancouver at the Harbour Centre. This new server brings an incredible upgrade of speed to the site as well as more freedom to implement future applications for VWJ pilots. Furthermore, Virtual WestJet has secured a lower cost solution for its web hosting needs.

"We are thrilled at the lightning fast speed of our new servers and we hope most of our pilots, particularly the majority of Canadians, benefit from this upgrade," said Darcy Broda, President and CVO. "Our new host provides us with many new features that we will be taking advantage of over the months ahead of us. From a cost perspective, even though the Canadian Dollar continues to rise, we were still able to secure a cheaper hosting solution. So we are certainly very excited about all of this."

Schedule Arrives Just-In-Time for the New Year

Calgary, AB (December 31, 2006) - Virtual WestJet is proud to release its new schedule. This major milestone for the virtual airline will allow members to search quickly for specific WestJet flights.

The schedule will contain not only all domestic, transborder, and international flights, but also the entire charter schedule for 2007. And it does not stop there. These schedules will contain the equipment type for all flights in WestJet's system which is pivotal in real-time simulation. Virtual WestJetters will now have access to a highly accurate schedule to enhance their VWJ Experience.

"We wanted to go above and beyond what our members would expect from the WestJet Schedule, and we accomplished that today. Specifically, the ability to know what aircraft to fly is a huge leap for our pilots and real-time simulation of WestJet Airlines," said Darcy Broda, President and CVO of Virtual WestJet.

"Special thanks go out to one of our members, Jonathan Primeau. He initially pointed us in the right direction and let us build a foundation on which our schedule can function properly."

Virtual WestJet Pilots Smash ASM Records For June, July and August.

Vancouver, BC (November 8, 2006) - The many hundreds of pilots that take an active part in Virtual WestJet have continued to set new records at the virtual airline for the months of June, July and August.

Virtual WestJet's available seat miles (ASMs) saw impressive gains from each of the year ago periods. Despite the seasonality in flight simulation over the summer, pilots of the virtual airline were able to fly further than they've ever flown before. ASMs for June were up 66.5% to 32.8 million, up from 19.7 million in 2005; July saw a 41.9% increase to 26.3 million, up from 18.5 million during the same period a year ago; and August increased its ASMs up 42.2% to 24.7 million, well over the 17.4 million produced in 2005.

The virtual airline's pilots continued to submit more and more Pireps or RPMs (Real Pireps Manifested). Our pilots increased their activity by 38.6%, 31.0%, and 17.4% in June, July, and August, respectively.

In June, Virtual WestJet's Online Load Factor increased to 55.7% up 7.2 points from last year. As summer continued, fewer flights were flown online but our pilots increased the July OLF to 41.6%, up 0.1 points from last July. August was a different story altogether with the OLF dropping by 6.7 points to 50.9%.

"We continue to see great results in our numbers, especially year-over-year, as we added new features to our website including the flightboard specifically for our on-going events," commented President and CVO, Darcy Broda.

Darcy also mentioned the following, "The system we use for collecting Pireps is something we would like to improve for the future. Our goal is to find the right solution for our virtual airline-not the quick solution. We are also currently working on bringing up a new schedule/flightboard while hopefully launching it towards the end of this year."

Virtual WestJet Upgrades to a New Server

Vancouver, BC (September 30, 2006) - Early this morning Virtual WestJet's staff went ahead with a major server upgrade. With this upgrade now in place, the virtualwestjet.org site will hopefully see an immediate performance increase as well as significant performance increases down the road.

"By upgrading our server, we see many benefits ahead for the website and our virtual airline in general. All of our members should see the benefits in the weeks and months ahead. We are committed to improving Virtual WestJet and this upgrade is another example of our commitment for the long-term success of our VA" said Darcy, Executive Vice-President of Info-Technology

The New RTE: "YVR Rain or Shine All Night Long"

Vancouver, BC (September 3, 2006) - Virtual WestJet is happy to announce its second Real-Time Event. "YVR Rain or Shine: All Night Long" is an event similar to the Lunch Crunch. Naturally, the event is focused at Vancouver's International Airport. It will rotate along with the Lunch Crunch every other Friday, which is a bi-weekly basis. Virtual WestJet will now have an event each week.

September 8, is the opening night for the YVR Real-Time Event and it will coincide with TGIF, which generally brings a large amount of traffic to the airport. There will be 10 planes in operation around YVR that originate from B.C. as well as across Canada. Included in this real-time event is a special split leg that requires a crew change in YVR.

"The feedback from the Lunch Crunch has been absolutely amazing. We believe YVR Rain or Shine will be another great event for Virtual WestJet pilots. This event features a wide variety of flights including single legs, short legs, late night legs, and even a trip to Honolulu. There is something for everyone."

Real-Time Event Flightboard Released

Vancouver, BC (August 31, 2006) - Chief Virtual Officer, Darcy Broda, was proud to release the Real-Time Event flightboard today to all Virtual WestJet members. The web application had been previously undergoing three weeks of private beta testing and development.

Virtual WestJet pilots can immediately start using the new flightboard. Pilots who are logged in are able to sign up and remove themselves from Real-Time Events as they please. The flightboard also has a pre-filing system that gives pilots even more realism in their online flying. Pre-filing allows pilots to get in the air sooner while alleviating some unnecessary administrative duties.

"This is the first of many web applications to come. You ain't seen nothing yet," said Darcy Broda. "There are still improvements to be made, but our next step is focusing on having the flightboards run continuously. Also, there are a few bugs in the pre-filing system, which won't affect any members at the moment, but we hope to have it working by Saturday. Regardless, pilots cannot pre-file until Sunday morning."

Record OLF, Continued Growth at Virtual WestJet

Vancouver, BC (June 6, 2006) - Virtual WestJet is pleased to announce today the traffic figures for the month of May. The virtual airline broke an online load factor record which was set in February earlier this year. Due to a combination of the Lunch Crunch sponsored by Just Planes Video, and a strong online presence this month, Virtual WestJet pilots helped set the bar in online flying for a virtual airline even higher.

The online load factor achieved in May 2006 was 67.6%; a new record for Virtual WestJet. This compares to 48.1% in May 2005. Total Online flights grew by 87.5% on a year-over-year basis.

"Another incredibly strong month at our virtual airline and we have only our dedicated pilots to thank," said Darcy Broda, President and Chief Virtual Officer of Virtual WestJet. "I am very happy to see so much wonderful support for the Lunch Crunch, and thrilled that many have taken the time to believe in this event."

Total Available seat miles (ASMs) for May 2006 were 36.0 million up from 24.8 million in May 2005 representing an increase of 45.2%. Virtual WestJet flew 3.5% of the scheduled and charter flights at WestJet Airlines flights this month versus 2.9% last year.

May Screenshot Competition Sponsored by Just Planes Videos

Vancouver, BC (May 12, 2006) – The Virtual WestJet Group and Just Planes Videos is thrilled to announce a sponsorship agreement. Just Planes Videos will sponsor the two Lunch Crunches in May as well as the Screenshot Competition this month. The winner of the May Screenshot Competition will receive the newly released WestJet – World Air Routes DVD from JustPlanes.com. Our winner this month will be chosen at random from those who participate in the Lunch Crunch. (For more information, visit www.virtualwestjetforums.org under screenshot competition)

“We are delighted with this sponsorship agreement. Just Planes Videos gives a unique opportunity to watch how it all unfolds on the flight deck of many airlines around the world. This WestJet DVD will be a wonderful video to watch and I encourage all of our members to grab a copy. We hope the lucky winner enjoys their prize as well,” said Darcy Broda, President and CEO of Virtual WestJet.

“JustPlanes.com is happy to be sponsoring a fun and exciting event such as the Lunch Crunch, and look forward to seeing screenshots. It is also our pleasure to be giving our latest DVD, WestJet - World Air Routes to the winner of the competition,” stated Michel from JustPlanes.com.

Just Planes Videos and its World Air Routes DVD’s are sold in more than 100 stores around the world. The collection of videos now spans 176 airlines, 680 destinations, while visiting 146 countries around the world. The worldwide release of the WestJet – World Air Routes DVD was announced today adding one more video to their exciting collection.

Lunch Crunch Adds Huge Traffic for April

Vancouver, BC (May 5, 2006) - The Virtual WestJet Group is pleased to announce another recording breaking month in real pireps manifested or "RPMs". Members of the virtual airline increased RPMs by 21.4% in the month on a year-over-year basis while setting a new record for the organization.

"I am absolutely overjoyed and thankful to all the Virtual WestJet pilots who were able to attend our first two Lunch Crunches. We are delighted to see so many people flying online and offline in what is our peak season," said Darcy Broda, President and CEO of Virtual WestJet.

The Online Load Factor was up 57.9% in the month compared with only 38.0% in 2005. The 19.9% increase in percentage points highlights the magnitude of the Lunch Crunch. There was also an 84% increase in RPMs filed online in April 2006 versus the 2005 period. This impressively endorses the Lunch Crunch with the high amount of online flying.

Available Seats Miles or "ASMs" flown by Virtual WestJet were up 44.6% year-over-year and amounted to an all-time high of 48.3 million ASMs. Virtual WestJet flew 5.0% of WestJet Airline flights on an ASM basis versus 3.9% last year. The virtual airline continues to grow slightly faster than WestJet Airlines.

Inaugural Lunch Crunch Proves Successful

Vancouver, BC (April 17, 2006) - Yesterday was a busy day in Calgary for virtual air traffic and VATSIM alike, after Virtual WestJet held its first successful RTE or "Real-Time Event." Over 30 aircraft movements were recorded at the airport in less than 4 hours, providing a "Real" challenge to air traffic control in the vicinity.

Darcy Broda, President and CEO, commented publicly following the event saying, "We are extremely proud of those individuals who signed up for this unique event; who patiently prepared over the last two weeks; and, who fulfilled their commitment to their peers by showing up while diligently keeping to an on-time schedule." He went on to say, "We also appreciate our friends at CZEG and the surrounding FIRs for being an important part of our RTE. Without their time and effort in coordinating our pilots online, we would not have the realistic environment that we are striving to achieve. It is with that in mind we say thanks to all the controllers, and our own pilots, in making our first RTE a great success."

The event highlights, more than most normal events due to the amount of teamwork that needs to take place among all members participating in the event, a unique environment in flight simulation . Each member has a certain responsibility to ensure his role is filled by preparing and executing two separate flights. The amount of traffic creates a realistic atmosphere at the Calgary airport. It is then compounded by the realization of knowing a similar situation is taking place at the very same time on the "D" ramp in Calgary.

Virtual WestJet hopes to improve upon the success of the first Lunch Crunch, and hopes its members look forward to another one on April 30, 2006.

April Screenshot Competition: Game On!

Vancouver, BC (April 12, 2006) - Today Virtual WestJet is announcing the re-introduction of the screenshot competition for April. The most significant change will be the selection of the winner, which will be chosen in a random draw. The winner will receive a small 737-700NG model with winglets (yes, winglets!).

This month's theme will be exclusive to those who participate in the Virtual WestJet Lunch Crunch. Members who are signed up for the event will be eligible to submit a screenshot for the contest and the possible prize given to the winner of the random draw.

The screenshot will need to be taken during the Lunch Crunch at the YYC airport. An additional requirement is to make sure other WestJet planes are visible in the snapshot; potentially making for an exciting collection of creative screenshots from the participants of the Lunch Crunch. There will be two chances in the month of April to participate in the Lunch Crunch and the screenshot competition.

"This combination of the Lunch Crunch and screenshot competition is a great way to integrate these exciting new ideas from Virtual WestJet," said Mike Adamo, vice-president of Marketing. He continued by saying, "By participating in the Lunch Crunch, our members will also get a great chance at obtaining a great little prize from The WestJet Store (www.thewestjetstore.com), provided by the staff at Virtual WestJet."

RPMs record set at Virtual WestJet

Calgary, Alberta (April 7, 2006) - Virtual WestJet is happy to announce a new record for real pireps manifested (RPMs). On top of the new record set in March, the growing virtual airline witnessed an increase of 27.8% in RPMS year-over-year surpassing the record set in January earlier this year. The end of March also marks the end of the first quarter for Virtual WestJet. In total, the RPMs increased 31.1% during the same period last year.

“We are extremely pleased with our member's involvement this March. Much like our friends at WestJet, we have been able to break a record this month. Virtual WestJet pilots managed to achieve the highest amount of RPMs that was previously set this past January,” said President and CEO Darcy Broda. He went on to say, “I think this sets the stage for a busy April, and our first Real-Time Event, The Virtual WestJet Lunch Crunch.”

Members of Virtual WestJet we also out in strong numbers once again connecting themselves to VATSIM while achieving an online load factor (OLF) of 56.2% compared to 30.6% in March 2005. Year to date the OLF sits at 57.3% up from 37.0% last year.

Available seat miles (ASMs) also increased 55.6% to 43.1 million from 27.7 million last year. The virtual airline's year-to-date results saw an increase of 63.2% to 118.8 million ASMs from 72.8 million ASMs a year earlier.

First Virtual WestJet Lunch Crunch

Vancouver, BC (April 4, 2006) – Today Virtual WestJet is proud to announce its first Real-Time Event (RTE, “Route”); the Virtual WestJet Lunch Crunch. On Sunday, April 16, Virtual WestJet will simulate WestJet Airlines operations at the Calgary International Airport on the VATSIM network. Ten flights will depart on a scheduled basis from 11:15am until 1:00pm while eight of these flights, prior to their departure, will arrive and turn in Calgary between 11:15am and 12:45pm.

This is the first step for Virtual WestJet to create realistic, online flights for its member pilots on a bi-weekly basis. We also have an over allotment option, if we choose to exercise, allowing as many as 18 pilots to interactively simulate realistic operations at WestJet’s hub at the Calgary Airport.

Sign up for the ten different flight pairings, which ultimately turn in Calgary, will be available on the events section of the web site shortly. Pilots are encouraged to fly both legs on their flight while considering that no crew changes will be made during the turn in Calgary. There is a variety of flight lengths available for the Lunch Crunch and it is highly recommended that pilots understand the time commitment. If you would like to do one leg of the journey, it is encouraged to pre-arrange through both the forums and via the lunch.crunch at virtualwestjet.org email address to coordinate a crew change. This will help create an even more exciting environment for our members.

Scenery will also be available for the event. Our Director of Airports has put together a package for members to test out prior to the event. It will be available to everyone shortly. This will allow everyone to pull up to the same terminal at the real gates in Calgary thus allowing a more realistic feeling to the event. Gate assignments will be released on Saturday prior to the day of the event. It is recommended that individual testing be performed on the scenery

Virtual WestJet is proud to actually host a realistic event and deliver on its promise to create an atmosphere that is similar to WestJet operations. We plan on having many more online activities for the members of Virtual WestJet using a similar format. Over eight months of planning for the Lunch Crunch has gone into the event and it is our hope that it is well received by our community of pilots.

Virtual WestJet records highest online load factor in its history

Vancouver, BC (March 7, 2006) – Today the Virtual WestJet Group was excited to announce its highest online load factor (OLF) in its history. Members of Virtual WestJet achieved an OLF of 63.8% for this February compared with 43.5% last February. The OLF is up a staggering 20.3% points year-over-year.

The virtual airline increased its real pireps manifested (RPMs) by 15.8% compared with traffic from February 2005. Year to date, RPM traffic is up 33.1% and OLF is 58.0%.

This month our pilots managed to record 31.6 million available seat miles (ASMs). Comparatively, last February the virtual airline generated 21.9 million. Our ASMs represented approximately 3.5% and 2.7% of WestJet's ASMs respectively. The 44.3% in year-over-year ASM growth closed the size gap by 0.8% this month indicating that Virtual WestJet grew faster than WestJet.

“We are delighted to see such an improved presence online by our growing number of Virtual WestJet members, and we certainly hope this trend continues,” said an impressed Darcy Broda, Executive Vice President of Info-Technology. “The outlook going forward remains to be optimistic and we anticipate to improve both RPMs and ASMs, as well as our OLF in the months ahead.  It was another great month for all of us here.”

Traffic Announced for January 2006

Vancouver, BC (February 25, 2006) – The Virtual WestJet Group is pleased to announce its traffic figures for January 2006. Compared with last January’s traffic, Virtual WestJet grew its real pireps manifested (RPMs) by 48.9%.

The traffic our members produced in January 2006, accomplished an online load factor of 53.7% compared with an online load factor of  38.4%, producing a year-over-year increase of 15.3% in online flights.

Our pilots also recorded 44.1 million available seat miles (ASMs) in January, compared with 23.3 million in January 2005. Our ASMs represented approximately 4.5% and 2.6% of WestJet's ASMs respectively. Subsequently, this increase of 89.3% in year-over-year ASM growth closed the size gap by 1.9%.

Darcy Broda, President and CEO of Virtual WestJet commented today by saying, “This impressive growth came primarily from the successful launch of our web site. Our members have responded in force to our initiative of value-added features. We are glad to inform our pilots in a quantitative way about how passionately they fly within our organization. It is our hope that this goes a long way in motivating our pilots to fly even more while not just meeting, but exceeding their own expectations.”

January Screenshot Contest Winner Announced

Calgary, Alberta (February 5, 2006) – January saw the creation of the first formal screenshot contest at Virtual WestJet. The new style of contests bring a new “theme” every month. January’s theme was sunny destinations, and we were fortunate to have some great shots. Although all of the screenshots were excellent, creative and a joy to look at, there could only be one winner, Robert Kluge. Another new edition to the screenshot contest is that the winner is awarded with a prize, January’s prize was a snazzy WestJet 737-700 wingletted scale model. 

Darcy Broda, CEO of Virtual WestJet was asked what he thought of Robert’s picture and commented with the following:

“I thought Robert's screenshot was genuinely creative, with clever lighting and an interesting backdrop. He managed to capture a stunning picture, and is now the proud owner of a small WestJet model. My congratulations to him, and to everyone else that participated in this months screenshot contest.”

This contest was one of many new event contests which Virtual WestJet will continue to host for its members. However, improvements will be made during February, postponing the contest for a month.

Virtual WestJet Staff Meeting Held at WestJet Hangar in YYC

Calgary, Alberta (December 17, 2005) - Today marked another special day for Virtual WestJet as the organization held its first semi-annual meeting. The meeting was held in the WestJet Hangar at the Calgary International Airport on Saturday afternoon. Virtual WestJet's staff meeting was hosted by one of its very own members, Darwin Treichel. The room used at the WestJet Hangar was ironically Clive's boardroom (President and CEO, WestJet Airlines Ltd.)

On the agenda for the three and a half hour meeting was the plan and outlook for 2006. Most of these ideas involved the future expansion of our virtual airline, and strengthening ties with WestJet Airlines. Many different project ideas, future events, web site features, policies, and guidelines were brought to the table by the staff of Virtual WestJet. There we no less then 24 major issues discussed in lengthy detail.

The staff felt it was necessary to meet in person to put forth creative ideas that would help the virtual airline grow. More then half of the staff at Virtual WestJet was able to show up thanks to a well coordinated effort that was planned a month in advance. The out-of-town staff even flew in for the meeting.

"It was fantastic to finally get together in one room, go over strategies, and to start building a foundation for the VA. I left feeling excited about what the future holds...," said Mike Adamo, Executive Vice President, Finance and Marketing. Darwin added, "It was a very good meeting today."

Darcy Broda, Virtual WestJet's President and CEO commented that the objectives of the meeting were completely fulfilled and even exceeded expectations. "There are many goals we want to achieve in 2006, and after this meeting, I know we have the team to execute the plan accordingly. The ideas that came from the meeting are overwhelmingly brilliant, and every active member of Virtual WestJet should get excited, because we certainly are."

Early Holiday Gift from Virtual WestJet: Unwrapping the new site.

Calgary, Alberta; and Vancouver, B.C. (December 15, 2005) - Virtual WestJet and it's staff is proud to announce and officially launch the new web site. "The Virtual WestJet Group is a dynamic organization, and we are reflecting that in our new web site. We feel that is important to show off the creativity of our virtual airline through an exciting web site, one that keeps you frequently visiting the site," said Darcy Broda, president and CEO of the Virtual WestJet Group.

Darcy Broda was a critical element in the successful launch and opening of the web site. He was also an important part of creating the foundation for the web site. It is his understanding of back end scripting that pulled the site together, and in the process, added many dynamic features to the web site.

"We believe that keeping our web site up-to-date, and more importantly dynamic, will keep our members returning to the web site more frequently," said Darcy, Executive Vice President of Information Technology. He added, "We are not just stopping with the creation of this web site. In fact, we have many more features in the pipeline in the process of being developed."

The virtual airline is also excited to announce a real-time event that mimics the real-life operations at WestJet's D Pier in Calgary, Alberta. The event, to be named "The Lunch Crunch," will simulate as many as 16 flights every Saturday afternoon. Most likely, the event will be launched after the holiday season.

"This is a different event from what we are used to seeing in the flight simming community," said Darcy Broda. "We are accustomed to events being held by large airlines, also known as fly-ins, that are not usually not realistic or representative of normal operations in the skies above us. Real-time events give us a chance to really stand out among our peers."

"The web site has taken us many many months to build, but we think it has paid off. The decision to delay the opening on a couple of occasions was disappointing for the most part, however, the web site is more much brilliant because of the delays," said Darcy Broda.

Matt Seager Becomes Virtual WestJet's Newest Addition

Vancouver, B.C. (December 10, 2005) - Today Virtual WestJet hired its seventh staff member, Matt Seager. He will assume the position Director of Media and Public Relations at the organization. The jobs will focus on both internal press releases from Virtual WestJet as well as boosting the awareness of Virtual WestJet outside of the organization. Matt will also keep Virtual WestJet's members up-to-date with WestJet Airlines press releases.

"Our organization is rapidly growing, and we felt the need to add a member on our team that could handle both media and public relations for Virtual WestJet," mentioned Darcy Broda. "It will be great to rely on Matt for creating a unique image and identity for Virtual WestJet, and he is most definitely a welcomed addition to our team."

Virtual WestJet Chooses New Host To Accommodate Growth

Calgary, Alberta (November 29, 2005) - As the Virtual WestJet Group continues to grow, a decision was made to switch hosts to accommodate the expected growth in the next few weeks. The move was made to increase available bandwidth for the anticipated spike for the opening of the new web site Virtual WestJet will unveil in December.

With this move, the Virtual WestJet organization hopes to alleviates some of the downtime that was previously experienced with the old host.

Martin Provost Steps Down as CEO; Darcy Broda to Succeed

Vancouver, B.C. (September 19, 2005) - A change at the top of Virtual WestJet was made today. President and CEO, Martin Provost, is stepping down and Executive Vice President, Darcy Broda, will take his position.

Mr. Provost has been leading Virtual WestJet since early 2004 and has taken the organization through many changes. One of the highlights of his duration at Virtual WestJet was the successful negotiation of a license agreement with WestJet Airlines Ltd. after transitioning the organization through the re-launch of a new web site. Martin has undeniably built the virtual airline from a small group of pilots to a dedicated and growing group of members, which now exceeds three hundred.

The change at the top of Virtual WestJet reflects the devotion that Darcy has put into the virtual airline since he started developing the original web site for Virtual WestJet.

"This is a very special day for me at Virtual WestJet," said Darcy Broda. "The hours I have put into the virtual airline are many and they now feel justified and recognized. Martin guided the group along craftily, and I am thrilled to be in the position to succeed in the wonderful work has has done for us."

Darwin Treichel Joins the Virtual WestJet team

Vancouver, B.C. (September 14, 2005) - Today Virtual WestJet is very thrilled to announce that Mr. Darwin Treichel is joining the team as Standards / Technical Director. Mr. Treichel currently works for WestJet Airlines as the Flight and Safety Advisor, Corporate Safety. He will become the second staff member at Virtual WestJet to hold both a job in both organizations.

Darcy Broda, the Executive Vice President for Virtual WestJet said, "We are very happy that Darwin will join our team effective immediately. He brings an incredible amount of information and experience to our staff. His hiring at Virtual WestJet allows our organization to open more doors for the improvement, and expansion of our virtual airline. Furthermore, all of the staff at Virtual WestJet is excited with the newest addition to our team."

Darwin's role will have significant impact on the realism level Virtual WestJet strives to achieve.

Virtual Westjet PMDG -600 Paint To Begin Shortly

Calgary, Alberta (July 9, 2005) - Fleet Management is happy to announce that our newest aircraft, the PMDG Boeing 737-600 will be painted by Alex Siu. Alex comes to us with an extensive background in flight sim, virtual airlines and of course, painting aircraft. We are extremely thrilled that he volunteered to help us out and we look forward to his contribution and are certain that his work will exceed our expectations.

Westjet is scheduled to receive 10 737-600 deliveries and one 737-700 delivery starting in August 2006. The airline has deferred purchase options with Boeing for four additional 737 aircraft originally scheduled for delivery in 2006 until 2007. Westjet has one remaining Next-Generation 737 purchase option available through Boeing for delivery in 2006.

There is no release date yet on the 600 series aircraft; however, both the 800 and 600 series should be released very soon pending delivery of reference material.

Virtual Westjet is a community of flight simulator pilots that want more realism added to their flights. We try to simulate reality as close as possible to the real Westjet Airlines who is a low cost carrier that links Canada from coast to coast. Virtual Westjet is proud to operate a fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft, the best-selling commercial jetliner in history. Boeing 737 aircraft have carried the equivalent of the world's population (about 6.1 billion guests), and to date, more that 3,900 737 have been delivered to more than 200 airlines around the world. The 737 family of aircraft are among the industry's quietest and most fuel-efficient airplanes.

Painting of the PMDG 737-600/800 Begins!

Vancouver, British Columbia (June 12, 2005) - Word leaked out early yesterday morning about two painting projects for the Virtual WestJet fleet that have yet to be painted. Specifically the 737-600, which will arrive at WestJet later in the summer, and the 737-800, which has already been in service at WestJet for the past few months, are now officially undergoing paint jobs for the Virtual WestJet fleet.

The source was caught red-handed for leaking the valuable information onto the public Virtual WestJet forums. Identified only as "Mike," but clues began falling into place after careful investigation of the post. It was found that the user's name was Mike Adamo, the new Director of Fleet Management for Virtual WestJet.

In a few brief comments, Darcy Broda, Executive Vice President for Virtual WestJet, said, "We have a rampant problem of leaking news around here!" Darcy did not care to comment when asked about whether or not the preview page would be showing any work soon.

Once word of the two paint jobs got out, members of Virtual WestJet began sharing there thoughts about the new project. Mr. Randy Vansnick, a Virtual WestJet First Officer, said, "...Can't wait to see the -800." Only days prior were members asking about any progress on getting a 737-800 painted when First Officer, and proud WestJet TAC employee, Shane Walker, professed his desire to see the PMDG in "our cool WestJet colors."

It is not known when the project will be completed, but members are asked to continue flying their 700's, 200's and non-PMDG-800's patiently and in a orderly fashion to their next destination.

Virtual WestJet's CEO Appoints Three Outstanding Individuals

Vancouver, British Columbia (May 28, 2005) – Martin Provost, CEO of Virtual WestJet, is pleased to announce three special appointments for the Virtual WestJet organization today. Martin named Darcy Broda the Executive Vice President of Virtual WestJet who will be responsible for over-seeing many of the affairs in the organization. Darcy has been with the organization for the past 10 months working behind the scenes with Martin on various projects.

Martin also appointed Darcy to take the role of Director of Technical Services. Darcy will be responsible for web-related aspects of the Virtual WestJet web site as well as other technically related services at the virtual airline. Mr. Broda has years of experience in this field and has shown in the past that he is a valuable asset to the Virtual WestJet organization.

Mr.Provost is also pleased to officially announce the new Director of Fleet Management, Mike Adamo. Mike will be responsible for looking after Virtual Westjet's entire fleet which now includes Boeing 737-200's, 737-700's, and 737-800's. Mr. Adamo joins the team with a lot of previous experience in painting aircraft for Flight Simulator, and with his talent, he should be a exceptional addition to the team.

Brian Bergman, Director of Operations at Virtual WestJet, wished to welcome all of the new members of the management team and expressed that he looked forwarded to working with them. Mr. Bergman continues to work as a valuable part of the team at Virtual WestJet while Martin has shuffled the rest of the management positions around.

The Virtual WestJet management team now consists of five very capable individuals who are committed in continuing to build upon Canada's best virtual airline.

Celebrating 5 Years in Moncton, and 2 Years in Montreal!

Calgary, Alberta (April 14, 2005) – Minutes into April 14, Virtual WestJet wrote this news article, an hour later it was released and contained the following:

We are pleased to present yet another celebration of service event for Virtual WestJet Members and not just one, but two events in the next 10 days. The upcoming Tuesday, April 19, 2005 WestJet will be celebrating Moncton's 5th year of service and Virtual WestJet will be along side the entire way! Then on Sunday, April 24, 2005 WestJet will be celebrating the second year of service to Montreal, Quebec and Virtual WestJet will host another fly-in.

Darcy had these comments when asked about participation for these events, "The upcoming event into Moncton is on short-notice, again, but if you can make it out to the event, Fly your WestJet colors proudly! If can't make it this Tuesday, make it a point to visit Montreal on the following Sunday. We expect a good turn out for Montreal.

Some suggested routes for the Moncton fly-in are Hamilton(YHM) or Toronto(YYZ) both of which are currently serviced through WestJet with seven weekly non-stop flights each way. For Montreal's celebration Virtual WestJet is taking it to the next level. That is we are inviting out the 800's for a cross-country journey from either Vancouver(YVR) or Calgary(YYC). The event will take place for the entire day at Montreal and we hope Virtual WestJet traffic picks up around 7pm Local time. If you don't think you can handle the 800 or you are looking for a shorter route, try flying through the triangle (Ottawa-Toronto-Montreal corridor).

Before this news release comes to an end, lets look at some interesting facts about these WestJet destinations.

Moncton has a population of just over 61,000, but the metro-area includes just under 120,000 Monctonians. It's located in the geographic center of the Maritime Provinces and is situated along the Petitcodiac River Valley... but you already knew that didn't you? After going bankrupt twice, it finally incorporated successfully in 1891-Thank goodness! It's had its share of rough years especially when Canadian National Railways closed it's shops there. Never fear my fellow Monctonians, WestJet is here! (And Virtual WestJet too!) Oh and if you were wondering, Moncton is set to become New Brunswick largest city in 5-10 years.

Montreal, on the other hand, holds a population of 1.8 million with as many as 3.6 million in it's immediate grasp. You often hear Montreal is the only city in the world where an entire airplane can be built, from the start of engine crafting to the last drop of paint. Of course Bombardier leads the way in this respect. Montreal is the second largest city in Canada, the second most important French-speaking city in the world after Paris, and is the largest city in the Americas where the majority of the population is francophone. Make sure to brush up on your French!

Flight Schedule Updated for Virtual WestJet

Calgary, Alberta (April 5, 2005) - This evening Virtual WestJet is pleased to announce that the Flight Schedules are updated for April, 2005. The new schedule should reflect proper flight times and flight numbers. By providing the latest schedules for our pilots we hope that they create their own realistic environment with more ease.

Virtual WestJet is also pleased to announce that as of April 5, 2005 we have 300 pilots in our roster. The welcomed support from not only WestJet Airlines but from all of our members has greatly enhanced our Virtual Airline and we hope to continue our relationships into the future.

Virtual WestJet Celebrates Windsor Service!

Calgary, Alberta (March 28, 2005) - Virtual WestJet is pleased to present a new event for Virtual WestJet pilots. All pilots are invited to fly-in to Windsor Airport on Friday, April 1, 2005 at 2100 EST. The Virtual Airline is celebrating the 2nd anniversary of service to the wonderful city of Windsor, Ontario. Pilots are invited to fly-out of any airport they wish to meet up around 9pm local (EST) in CYQG. Some suggested origin airports include Calgary and Winnipeg, which are and were(respectively) routes for WestJet Airlines.

This announcement is also forward notification that Virtual WestJet will start hosting events for different cities in the future. Upcoming events include fly-ins to Moncton, Montreal and Toronto. More information will be released in the next few weeks to provide details of these events.

In a brief news conference with no one in attendance, Darcy Broda had these comments in light of the press release. "Hello? Is this thing on? Ah, Thank-you all for ..... Never mind. We are very pleased to celebrate the anniversary's of commencement throughout the entire WestJet network with Online Events. With the newly released version of Squawkbox we hope many pilots join in to celebrate these upcoming events. We look forward to seeing pilots fly into Windsor on Friday night as it is a destination that is seldom used by our members". Martin Provost, CEO and President of Virtual WestJet, had these kind words about the event, "That would be an awesome idea". However he followed by saying that he deeply regrets he will not be able to partake in the upcoming event.

Here are some interesting Windsor facts. It is the southern most city in Canada and is home to more then 208,000 Canadians. Windsor's nickname happens to be the "City of Roses". The city competes with Oshawa, Canada for the title of automotive capital of Canada partly because of its proximity to Detroit. Twenty-seven percent of all trade between Canada and the United States crosses the Ambassador Bridge which connects Detroit and Windsor. Famous Canadians that are from Windsor include, Prime Minister Paul Martin, unemployed hockey players Ed Jovanovski and Tie Domi, and singer Shania Twain.

Route Map Enhancements with New RVSM Chart

Calgary, Alberta (January 20, 2005) - Early Thursday morning Virtual WestJet released an new version of it's Route Map. A few additions, as well as modifications to the map, were made in light of the constantly growing WestJet Airlines schedule. The following non-stop route pairs were taken out of the winter schedule: Calgary-Thunder Bay, Edmonton-Ottawa, Hamilton-Thunder Bay, and Toronto-Los Angeles which was out of service before the holidays. However, there were a couple of new routes added to the map which included Vancouver-Los Angeles, and Calgary-Palm Springs.

An additional feature was also included in the latest edition of the Route Map. January 20th, marked the switch over day for the majority of North and South American airspace's to a fully functional RVSM airspace. A convenient chart, that can be launched from the Route Map, should aid in this changeover. If you are looking for more detail and some history in RVSM airspace, please direct yourself in an orderly fashion to Michael Oxner's Site. VATSIM will be requiring their pilots to adhere to the new rules as soon as possible so it is advisable to understand what changes have been made.

A further feature, to assist pilots around airports, will be available soon. The Route Map is a continuously updated application for all Virtual WestJet members. CEO Martin Provost was not available for comment this morning, but is expected to give a statement shortly.

Virtual WestJet Releases a Flight Planner BETA

Calgary, Alberta (December 31, 2004) - In a rather short press conference held at 3am, Virtual WestJet IT member, Darcy Broda announced the release of the new web based flight planner. Although the planner is in BETA stages, early testing has revealed it stable and functional. Pilots are now able to go to the site, select their flight number and a wealth of information will be displayed.

The CEO of VWJ also expressed his approval, "This is an unbelievable feature... Wow!!! It's going to make flight preparation so much easier." However this is just a start said Darcy Broda, as he plans to add many new features in the coming months.

The flight planner can be accessed by clicking Crew Centre button, then the Flight Info button and on that page there will be a link to the planner. If users are to notice any bugs in the system the IT team advised them to report the bugs on the company forum.

Virtual WestJet Announces December as 737-200 Tribute Month

Calgary, Alberta (December 1, 2004) - Virtual WestJet officially welcomed the month of December by announcing a the whole month would be dedicated to the 737-200. Members were kindly asked to get out their 200's and fly the blue skies of Canada. It is well noted that 2005 may indeed by the last year for the 737-200's at WestJet Airlines. With oil prices sitting at uncomfortable levels, WestJet Airlines might retired their 200's earlier then originally planned. On a related note to the news, a new repaint of the 737-200 should be available shortly for members to download from the Virtual WestJet web site. Exciting events are taking place daily now at the new Virtual WestJet and at least for the next week the management has hinted it won't stop. Martin Provost commented about the special tribute month to the 737-200's and said this, "It is a great idea, and it would encourage more group flights."

In a much smaller scale of news worthiness, a glimmer of hope appeared for all users that use their FireFox for viewing the internet in the widely IE dominant world. Darcy Broda from the Virtual WestJet IT team said this about the breakthrough "This is the last time I stay up all night for our one member who views in FireFox. If this isn't worth another donation of $1.43, I don't know what is." He refused to give a name but mumbles under his breath sounded like he was pretty upset.

Promotions for Most, Demotions for some

Calgary, Alberta (November 29, 2004) - A small adjustment has been made to the streamlining of the Virtual WestJet Rank system. Before this afternoon, the ranks did not update automatically based on hours submitted. The script was changed by Darcy Broda, one of Virtual WestJet's IT members. With this change in the script it will mean that rank is updated accordingly, when management so chooses, thereby reflecting hours based on both Previous Hours and Virtual WestJet accumulated hours.

Virtual WestJet Announces Name Change at the Request of WestJet Airlines Ltd.

Calgary, Alberta (November 27, 2004) - A little surprise from Virtual WestJet management was released this afternoon which brought on a new name for the Virtual Airline. WestJet Airlines Ltd. contacted Virtual WestJet last week and granted a limited license, by express consent of WestJet, to use WestJet trade-marks on its web site. Virtual WestJet formerly known as "WestJet Virtual Airlines" officially changed its look at 7:15 pm Mountain time as a result of the changes.

Martin Provost drafted a post on the forum that can now be seen under Listen Up!! In his post he talked briefly about the new agreement between WestJet Airlines Ltd. and Virtual WestJet, then carried on to thank all of the members of Virtual WestJet for their professionalism dedication.

At the request of WestJet Airlines Ltd., many things at the web site were changed tonight. A new introduction to the Virtual WestJet site was one of the highlights along with some small changes to the main feature of the home page. Also, clearly visible on the front page of the web site is a new acknowledgement with a few details of the WestJet trade-marks limited license agreement. Finally, Virtual WestJet is moving there web site to their new home soon. http://www.virtualwestjet.org will be the new site for Virtual WestJet and a further news release will be issued when it officially goes online.

Upgraded Route Map and Web site News Feature

Calgary, Alberta (November 19, 2004) - Late Friday evening, the Virtual WestJet IT Director Darcy Broda announced further upgrades to the route map. "WestJet's routes are constantly changing due to seasonal demand and I decided to reflect that in the VA Route Map now available for download." commented Darcy. Among the routes that have been modified over the past few months are the new routes into the United States. The update is currently adjusted for the non-stop routes that do not operate at this time. These deleted routes include the services between the two city pairings and are as followed: Edmonton to Comox, Edmonton to Abbotsford, Toronto to Abbotsford, Toronto to St. John's, Calgary to Halifax, Ottawa to Thunder Bay, Hamilton to Thunder Bay, Montreal to Halifax, and Montreal to Moncton,

The upgraded route map has been taken down from the web site and instead it is available for download. "This is a better way of getting access to the route map. Our pilots can now run the program quickly without having to first visit the web site needlessly before their flight." said Darcy. When Darcy was asked to whether additional features may be included in a future route map he said, "If my work is received well by pilots, then it is possible in the future to see many more cool features included with what I would call a All-In-One package for the route map."

Another new feature has also been developed for the WestJet VA web site. It allows our regular visiting pilots to see whether there are any news releases that they haven't read before. This feature is easily updateable and should keep pilots aware with what is happening at both WestJet Airlines Ltd. and Virtual WestJet.

Virtual Westjet Announces Its First News Release

Calgary, Alberta (November 18, 2004) - The Virtual WestJet IT Team in cooperation with Virtual WestJet Management is please to announce multiple new features for Virtual WestJet. The first new feature was unveiled earlier this afternoon that upgraded the way pilots will now fill out pireps. In addition to the pirep's upgrade a new section of the website has been officially opened. This new section will be located under Virtual WestJet / VA News. Finally, the Route Map has seen a significant albeit subtle change.

When asked about the new VA News section, Martin Provost, Virtual WestJet CEO, said this evening: "...I thought it would be a good idea to show pilots what's new so they don't think they are alone." Mr. Provost went on to say, "We've got the best site around man!! Go Westjet Go."

The Pirep form has undergone some recent changes which include a new distance feature that works behind the scenes as well as limited options for the plane type. "We are pleased with the new pirep form and we will continually strive to make it easier for our pilots," said Darcy Broda from the IT Team.

* This section of news releases has nothing to do with WestJet Airlines Ltd. All information on this page belongs solely to Virtual WestJet. Any information that may appear to be similar is purely coincidental.

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