For the first time that I can recall, I enjoyed my flight. I flew from Calgary to Kelowna yesterday on WestJet. I haven’t flown on WestJet since its early days, but I recall it being fairly pleasant, if not a little basic. I never thought to fly with them again. Usually I fly with Air Canada (who has somehow managed to find a way to progressively get worse in the face of stiff competition) because I have a points card. I decided to go with WestJet this time because of the departure time available and it was cheaper. Not expecting much, I was first struck by the difference in their departure gate at YYC. A screening room with lounge chairs to preview upcoming movies, a children’s area anchored by an over-sized cartoonish-looking television, racks of complimentary newspapers, and plenty of seating. After the pre-boarding of children and persons with disabilities, I was expecting the usual “Group 1″ being called upon, then “Group 2″, “Group 3″, etc. I always find it annoying? Its bad enough you’re not in “first-class”, now there’s a class system amongst coach. I always seem to be in the last group when traveling. Where’s Sister Rosa? The staff of Westjet at the boarding actual announced to the crowd that the plane was being boarded now. Boarding was very pleasant with out any problems. There were LCD Televisions in front of you allowing you to sit back and watch some TV. Cool. Never got that on Air Canada or America West or United Airlines or America Airlines. My back and neck would get sore from trying to look over the seat in front of me to see the screen. I’m pretty good at it. Flipped through the channels expecting to see some canned programming, instead I got live Wimbledon quarter finals play on. Very cool, WestJet was broadcasting live television from a Bell ExpressVu satellite. I thought that these would for sure cost extra? No. With the shows and the movies, I had no problem buying a beer. After settling in and watching Serena Williams get over-matched by Justine Henin, I started jonesing for a coffee. I didn’t have time to pick up my usual before the flight. I also received some cookies with my coffee too. And the coffee was actually good. My coffee was brewed to perfection. I was in a groove, and before I knew it, the time had already passed and they were announcing over the PA system that we would be arriving into 20 minutes early. And then the banter, humour and singing begun. It was such a pleasure to see the staff break away from their usual tired scripts, and entertain their guests. I’ve never seen so many smiling faces in a plane before, particularly before touch-down. From what I can see, WestJet has captured lightening in a bottle. I hope that other airlines will follow suit, like Westjet and its customer appreciation.