Fri, Apr 25, 2003
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."
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