News / Cargo chief quits WestJet as freighter operations cease

WestJet Cargo

WestJet Cargo is losing both its freighters and its head of cargo, after its freight ambitions came to an end.

The Canadian carrier burst onto the cargo scene as the pandemic was drawing to a close. In 2022, to much fanfare, it appointed Kristen de Bruijn as EVP cargo, joining from Qatar Airways Cargo, but with a CV including Emirates Sky Cargo and AF-KLM Cargo.  

And it leased converted 737-800Fs. The first arrived in April 2022, began flying a year later, and now continues to ply a route between Bermuda and New York, thought to be on behalf of Cargojet. One source said it had taken a “really, really long time” to get the first freighter certified by Transport Canada.  

A second arrived in August 2022, was stored for much of 2023 and 2024, and restarted service in December 2024. According to flight data, its only recent plan was a trip between Toronto and Havana, which was cancelled.

A third aircraft arrived in July 2023, and has been stored since February 2024.  

Now, with no freighters to speak of, Ms de Bruijn is leaving the carrier in June to live in the US. 

“As the freighters transition out of WestJet’s operations, this feels like the right time for me to embrace new challenges,” she said.

One source confirmed: “Kristen is leaving. They’ve been shopping their freighters for a while.” 

Another source, who said Ms de Bruijn was only rarely in the office now, added: “WestJet Cargo is coming to an end. Kristen will leave in coming weeks, aircraft are up for sale. She got way too much press for a business case that never had a chance of succeeding.” 

One source said agreed that the operation “never materialised in the way it was meant to”, adding: “The market never picked up, there were too many issues. They just focused on their belly operations from the scheduled network. 

“During the time it took to certify the freighter, WestJet lost what was probably the peak of the market and the best window of opportunity where everyone was just printing cash during Covid.” 

As Ms de Bruijn joined, WestJet announced it would partner with GTA, a sales and handling group, part-owned in some stations by dnata, to operate its freighter network. According to one source, GTA dnata was also an investor in WestJet, “and ran out of patience”. 

Over the past couple of years WestJet has tried to come up with innovative answers to its predicament. In November 2023, for example, it announced a partnership with Flexport to optimise backhaul routes to Asia. The carrier would deliver Canadian cargo to Chicago O’Hare, from where Flexport would fly the freight with its Atlas Air-operated 747s to Asia. 

But results were patchy and seasonal. And Flexport admitted that the economics of the plan were not ideal. 

“The economics of some of these markets change dramatically,” explained Neel Jones Shah, outgoing board advisor to Flexport, at the time. “You know, sometimes people will dump a lot of capacity into a market like that, and then all of a sudden the yields halve. Interline arrangements don’t work when the yields get to too low a point. Our relationship with WestJet is fantastic … but at times, the market just doesn’t allow the economics to add up, and so you have to pivot to something else.” 

Last year, WestJet Cargo decided to limit cargo operations to two freighters, owing to  “market conditions”. 

And it has now pivoted again – with a focus on sales rather than its own fleet. Last week, WestJet announced that it had a 20-ton per day block space agreement with Virgin Atlantic on its Toronto-Heathrow service, “a commercial year-round collaboration that will significantly boost cargo capacity between the east coast of Canada to London and beyond, on Virgin Atlantic’s network”. 

“It signifies the airline’s return to the Canadian cargo market after more than two decades, leveraging WestJet Cargo’s proven expertise to manage and sell this key route,” it said.

This, along with the bellies of WestJet’s 130+ fleet, will no doubt keep the remaining cargo team at WestJet in business.

But with its ambitious cargo dreams now over, and its well-publicised boss leaving the airline, will WestJet get the same level of attention in cargo that it has in the past couple of years? 

WestJet has not yet responded to The Loadstar’s request for comment.