When Turnaround Time Matters, Do It Better

WestJet and DEW Engineering celebrated the introduction of an innovative new product, the first of its kind in Canada. A dual boarding bridge, also known as an over-the-wing bridge, is the first of its kind built in North America, and is now operational at the Calgary International Airport. This bridge permits faster boarding and deplaning of guests by allowing them to enter and exit the aircraft from both the forward and aft doors directly from the airport terminal.

Wallace Roueche, President of DEW, was proud of his creation, saying at its introduction, "We've sold passenger boarding bridges to 47 airports throughout North America, but this was an opportunity to develop a new type of bridge that extends over the wing of an aircraft to the door at the back. We designed, built and installed a working system at WestJet's base of operations in Calgary.

"The over-the-wing bridge is equipped with a multitude of advanced sensors to detect the position of the aircraft. The bridge is docked to the rear door of the aircraft in about 60 seconds from activation."

Don Bell, WestJet's Senior Vice President, Customer Service added, "This is great for a WestJet guest experience, as it lets someone from the back of an aircraft be one of the first off instead of one of the last. By loading through both the front and back doors, we reduce the time guests have to wait to get on and off our aircraft. It's also part of our innovative, low-cost philosophy where we continue to use new technology to help improve the experience of our guests and the underlying profitability. By getting our guests on and off the aircraft quicker, we help maximize the number of flights per day for our aircraft."

FMI: www.westjet.com; www.dewbridge.com