From Childhood Dreams to Lifelong Passion for Aviation and the Power of Data!

Can you imagine a world without airplanes? What would it be like to be grounded, unable to soar through the skies and explore new horizons? For

Christian Novosel, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at WestJet, aviation isn’t just a career; it’s a lifelong passion that began in his youth and continues to fuel his ambitions today.

Growing up near a bustling airline hub, Christian was captivated by the sight of airplanes taking flight. His early fascination with aviation led him to pursue flight lessons during university, eventually earning his pilot license. Even now, amidst his executive responsibilities, he still finds time to take to the skies, a testament to his enduring love for flying.

For Christian, the allure of the airline industry lies in its unique blend of enchantment and challenge. On one hand, airlines offer the promise of uniting loved ones, fostering connections, and facilitating exploration. Yet, behind the scenes, the industry presents formidable obstacles—from optimizing networks to managing complex operations—that demand ingenuity and expertise.

As an industry leader, Christian thrives on navigating this intricate landscape, constantly seeking innovative solutions to the industry’s most pressing issues. For him, the magic of aviation lies not only in its ability to shrink the world but also in its power to foster cultural exchange and mutual understanding.

Through WestJet, he is not just shaping the future of air travel but also the way people connect and experience the world. His unrelenting dedication to excellence and his passion for aviation serve as beacons, guiding WestJet toward new heights of success. In a world where borders seem to blur and distances shrink, he stands at the forefront of an industry that continues to inspire wonder and possibility. With each takeoff and landing, he reminds us that the sky is not the limit; it’s just the beginning of a journey filled with endless opportunities.

Join us as we delve into the captivating world of aviation with Christian Novosel, exploring the magic, challenges, and endless possibilities of the airline industry.

Evolution and Commitment to Hospitality

Christian highlighted that in 1996, WestJet embarked on its journey with just three aircraft, five destinations, and a team of 220 dedicated individuals known as “WestJetters.” Today, the airline operates a diverse fleet of four aircraft types, serving over 110 destinations across North America, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. With a commitment to excellence, WestJet ensures the smooth operation of more than 600 flights daily, accommodating millions of guests with a fleet comprising over 180 aircraft.

WestJet’s reputation for exceptional hospitality extends beyond the confines of its aircraft to the digital realm and associated tools. The airline remains steadfast in its promise to deliver unparalleled service, both in the air and online, embodying a culture of warmth and care for every guest’s journey.

Airline Industry Leadership

Christian describes his life-changing experience working for airlines. He matured his problem-solving abilities at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he devised engaging strategies for a variety of airlines. His time at BCG laid the groundwork for his future pursuits by igniting his interest in pragmatically tackling problems and scalable systemic solutions.

Transitioning from consultancy to executive roles, he joined JetBlue in New York, leading cost transformation initiatives and pioneering data-driven budgeting methodologies.

Subsequently, at the Lufthansa Group, he championed data- driven decision-making from the very top, getting live data into the boardroom, and building a group-wide Business Intelligence movement, hosting global analytics events and disrupting traditional airline profitability models.

His leadership journey took an innovative turn as he established the digital team at Austrian Airlines, spearheading a comprehensive digital transformation amid the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19. His commitment to agile development and community-building facilitated the rapid deployment of critical digital solutions, like building a digital repatriation platform within three days, which was announced by the foreign minister live on TV on day four, setting the stage for Lufthansa’s ongoing digital transformation.

Throughout his career, Christian emphasized the importance of fostering communities and striking a balance between centralized efficiency and decentralized accountability. These principles, he believes, are essential for nurturing sustainable digital and data-driven business transformations in the airline industry and beyond.

Leadership in Organizational Development

Christian emphasizes the pivotal role of sturdy organizational and cultural foundations in WestJet’s radical digitalization. Following the onset of the digital transformation journey, restructuring efforts led to the establishment of a strong digital powerhouse within the company.

He introduced new functions to facilitate a holistic and scalable transformation, enabling rapid proof of concepts (PoCs) through a dedicated digital business development and consulting team. By partnering with various entities within an innovation ecosystem, such as airports, startups, and governmental agencies, WestJet formed digital alliances to drive innovation across Western Canada.

Centralization of functions like advanced analytics and data teams ensured a single source of truth, bolstered by robust data governance crucial for driving scalable AI-based automation. A proactive consulting approach towards the business fostered experimentation and implementation of digital methods, extending the transformation’s reach beyond the digital organization. Additionally, establishing strong product management and digital delivery capabilities, coupled with clear business outcomes and objectives, empowered agile delivery teams to execute effectively.

However, Christian underscores that organizational structures alone do not guarantee digitalization success. Cross-functional agile product teams, comprising business owners, product owners, developers, quality analysts, and scrum masters, are held together by aligned processes, business objectives, and WestJet’s strong organizational culture. This cohesive approach ensures continuous excellence and drives WestJet’s digital transformation forward.

Driving Digital Transformation

Christian, sharing an illustrative example, notes, “At WestJet, our vision is to thrive as a digitally enabled enterprise. This vision entails not just addressing data assets and tools but also instigating a people-centric shift towards rapid execution.”

WestJet’s Five-Pronged Digital Strategy:

• Fostering a Digital Mindset: WestJet emphasizes a blend of technological understanding, efficient process management, outcome-focused thinking, and pragmatic reasoning. This approach, dubbed “ok/good/great,” prioritizes executing simpler, quicker solutions that can evolve.
• Drive Automation Where Possible: Automation liberates WestJet employees to focus on high-value tasks. This includes creating live data visualizations, using APIs for seamless data exchange, and implementing robotic process automation for efficiency gains.
• Treating Data as an Asset: Acknowledging the value of data, WestJet standardizes data management tools, establishes robust data governance, and centralizes data sources. This ensures timely, accurate data for operational efficiency and informed decision-making.
• Delivering Value at Pace: WestJet adopts a pragmatic and agile delivery approach to release changes swiftly. The focus is on proof-of-concepts (POCs) for rapid learning and minimally viable products (MVPs) to swiftly achieve business value.
• Nurturing Digital Talent: Recognizing the importance of digital skills, WestJet invests in learning paths to develop its workforce. The aim is to empower employees to drive business outcomes and cultivate enduring digital careers.

WestJet’s strategy has significantly enhanced its execution capabilities. For instance, a mobile application feature initially utilized by only 5% of guests saw adoption surge to 77% after iterative, data-driven improvements. Leveraging its ecosystem of partners and start-ups, WestJet has explored artificial intelligence (AI) to support our contact center agents and reduce call times significantly by providing authentication and intent assessment digitally.

Recently, an internally developed solution was launched to enable guests to self-serve during disrupted travel events, which saw 68% of guests complete changes and cancellations online without the need to call the contact center anymore.

WestJet emphasizes collaboration between technology and business teams in an agile setup. This collaborative environment fosters consistent value creation, innovation exploration, and the maintenance of core toolsets. Through this holistic approach, WestJet is not only investing in foundational applications but also transforming its work culture and expanding its digital competencies. Ultimately, the aim is to realize the vision of a digitally enabled enterprise.

Maximizing Digital Revenue Generation and Operational Efficiency

Christian, leading the Digital team, shares a notable project exemplifying their commitment to streamlining processes and driving efficiency. Through a structured intake process, cross-functional teams propose and prioritize digital features, which are subsequently executed via formal A/B testing protocols. This approach yielded significant revenue gains and enhanced guest experiences within the past year alone.

Embracing pragmatism, the team recently developed an operational dashboard to proactively identify guests at risk of missing connections based on live flight schedules. This simple yet effective solution underscores their dedication to swift problem-solving and continuous improvement. By consistently seeking digital solutions and collaborating with business partners, they create tangible benefits, including operational efficiencies, cost savings, and an overall enhanced experience for both employees and guests.

Impact on Airline Strategy and Partnerships

Christian highlights WestJet’s proactive approach to collaboration within the aviation ecosystem. Under his guidance, the airline has cultivated stronger relationships with business and innovation teams across core airports, including their hub. These collaborations have led to joint Proof of Concepts (POCs) aimed at testing and learning effectively, essential for staying competitive in the dynamic aviation industry.

He further emphasizes the value of finding like-minded partners who prioritize agility and innovation. By aligning with such partners, WestJet aims to adapt quickly to market changes and drive joint success. WestJet is a founding partner of the Alberta Aerospace Innovation Hub, attracting exceptional minds to Western Canada to build an innovation cluster in Calgary, with a focus on applying cutting-edge technology to advance aviation and make WestJet more competitive and sustainable.

Nurturing Collaborative Synergy

In cultivating collaboration within diverse teams, Christian emphasizes transparent communication, ensuring all perspectives are valued. Setting clear goals and decision- making processes fosters an outcome-driven culture.

Promoting a collaborative mindset with clear accountabilities via objectives and key results enhances efficiency, aiding in achieving shared business objectives. Establishing a robust governance process defines roles, metrics, feedback channels, and documentation. Leading by example and remaining adaptable to evolving business needs, he champions collaboration and synergy.

Championing Talent Growth

In his commitment to fostering high-performance teams, Christian shares a remarkable success story highlighting the transformative impact of talent growth on organizational performance. As an advocate for people’s development, he recognizes the pivotal role of leadership in cultivating success in today’s fast-paced and unpredictable landscape. By empowering his team members to excel and fostering a culture of accountability, he has played a key role in shaping the careers of numerous individuals who have gone on to achieve significant success in their respective fields. Amidst the competitive digital technology space, his passion for creating an environment that attracts top talent shines through, laying the foundation for sustained growth and excellence within the organization.

Building High-Performance Teams

Christian emphasizes the importance of instilling purpose and motivation within his teams. At the heart of their strategy lies alignment with the organization’s values, ensuring every team member contributes to common goals.

By immersing themselves in WestJet’s existing value system, his digital team derived their vision and guiding principles, fostering cohesion towards shared objectives. This dedication was further reinforced through initiatives like WestJet’s inaugural Digital Day, which united over 700 WestJetters to celebrate achievements and showcase digital innovations. Continuing the momentum, he expanded Digital Day and its third iteration in 2024, saw over 1,200 participants actively engaged. Now established as an innovation event in the eco-system, it serves as a catalyst for collaboration and connection across the WestJet and aviation community. Digital Day also delivers real-time results with the addition of live hackathons solving real business problems within 6 hours, learning sessions that foster digital mindsets and dashboard creation sessions that design data visualization assets.

In 2024, corporate-wide Innovation Awards were launched by Christian to celebrate individual digital mindsets, to showcase their digital initiative and achievements and to reward the digital behaviours WestJet is striving for.

This commitment to alignment extends to regular team rituals, such as stand-ups and town halls, where communication and context are prioritized. Christian underscores the importance of leading by example, and providing clarity on the “Why?” behind initiatives. Through consistent communication and a focus on shared purpose, he ensures that every team member feels empowered to execute and contribute to WestJet’s success.

Corporate Success: Testimonials and Accolades

In testimonials from satisfied clients, it’s evident that WestJet’s continual growth, soaring guest numbers, and exceptional net promoter scores are a testament to their commitment to excellence. Christian, a key player in this success, not only excels in advancing WestJet’s digitalization but also contributes his expertise to the broader technology community. With high ratings on the DevOps maturity scale (DORA) and having held a notable role on Tableau Software’s advisory board, Christian’s dedication to innovation shines through in his dual roles as speaker and digital technology advocate.

Announcement

Recently, Christian Novosel, along with five (5) founding partners, was proud to announce WestJet’s participation in Calgary’s new Aerospace Innovation Hub. The opening event was held in the Aerospace Innovation Hub’s future home, a highly visible location on the departures level of the Calgary International Airport, WestJet’s home base.

This new Aerospace Innovation Hub will serve as an incubator for startups as they research and develop aero- space, travel, airline, and manufacturing technology and equipment—innovations that will help us better serve our guests and stay at the forefront of automation and technology in the aviation and travel industries.

It is a tangible example of our commitment to collaboration and active participation in the aviation ecosystem, and we are confident that with WestJet’s valuable insights and practical advice, the Aerospace Innovation Hub will solidify Calgary’s position as a global leader in this industry.