Thank you, Andy.
Good morning, everyone.
In addition to being vice-president of operations, I'm also the Transport Canada designated representative tasked with ensuring safe operations as WestJet.
Our preparation efforts began early in the fall for this winter's peak season. We held weekly meetings and tracked our preparedness towards the peak. What we could not have foreseen in this preparation was the compounding scale of the weather events that we encountered in our system between December 18 and December 24. In my 22 years at WestJet, this was the most significant weather-induced disruption that I have experienced.
Canadian air carriers have some of the most significant experience in cold weather and winter operations. Mother Nature, however, always has the ability to show us where our limits are. In our particularly harsh climate and operating environment we will always take the time to ensure the safety of our people and our guests. The most difficult part of making a safe decision is ultimately knowing that it impacts our guests and the travel plans that they've entrusted to us. That notwithstanding, during this peak season, WestJetters worked hard to safely carry over 1.2 million guests and operate a significant number of additional flights in support of recovery operations. We very much regret that we had thousands of guests whom we could not get to their destination for Christmas due to weather disruptions. We were thankfully able to stabilize and recover our operation by December 26, which allowed us to refocus our efforts on providing recovery options for our guests, even as challenging weather conditions continued in many areas across our country.
Given the scale of disruption we just experienced, we recognize that for meaningful improvements to happen, we need a holistic approach that brings together the entire aviation system. Aviation is an ecosystem that relies on the capability of all partners to deliver effectively, reliably and safely.