WestJet Group Welcomes Back Bob Cummings As President of Swoop
- Joe Breitfeller
- Apr 14, 2022
- 2 min read
WestJet Group has welcomed back former company executive Bob Cummings, who will become the President of Swoop from April 18, 2022. Previously, Mr. Cummings spent 13 years with the Group in various executive leadership roles.
On Wednesday (April 13, 2022), WestJet Group announced the appointment of Bob Cummings as the President of Swoop from April 18, 2022. Mr. Cummings previously spent 13 years with the WestJet Group, holding several notable Executive Vice President positions, including President of Swoop in 2018, where he was responsible for the launch of Canada’s first ULCC. As WestJet’s Chief Commercial Officer, he helped grow the carrier’s revenue from just over one billion to over $4.5 billion. He also led the growth of WestJet Vacations, WestJet Rewards, and played an instrumental role in the launch of WestJet Encore, the company’s regional airline. Most recently, Bob Cummings spent two years as Chief Executive Officer of Central Mountain Air, where he led the regional carrier through the pandemic and positioned them for success and recovery.
In Wednesday’s announcment, WestJet Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Alexis von Hoensbroech, said,
“I am delighted to welcome Bob back to the WestJet Group to lead Swoop through this pivotal time for affordable air travel in Canada. Bob's passion and knowledge of the ULCC market, his strength in leading high-performing teams and his impressive track record with the WestJet Group, will ensure that Swoop continues to lead the way in providing Canadians with access to ultra-low fare travel.
“I would like to thank Charles Duncan for his leadership of Swoop over the past two years. Charles has played a key role in Swoop's expansion and recovery and will now transition into a new role supporting various strategic projects and initiatives as Executive Vice-President, Integration and Strategic Projects.”
Also commenting on his new role, Swoop’s incoming President, Bob Cummings, said,
“Swoop was created to make travel affordable and accessible for the most price-conscious travellers, and as we continue to expand and offer more schedule options, people can book with confidence when choosing our Canadian, ultra-low-cost airline. I am elated to return to The WestJet Group's leadership team and am looking forward to working alongside Swoopsters to bring more choice, lower fares and certainty to the market.”
With over 25 years of service, WestJet has cut airfares for Canadians in half and increased the flying population around Canada by over 50 percent. The airline launched in 1996 with three aircraft, 250 employees and five destinations, and has now grown to more than 180 aircraft and 14,000 employees, offering service to 100 destinations in 23 countries (pre-pandemic). Even during the pandemic, WestJet maintained their rating by Cirium as one of the top ten airlines for on-time performance in North America.
Source: WestJet/CNW