It appears more than Jann Arden is furious after Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre made an unprompted short speech on board a WestJet flight Sunday evening..Now, CUPE Alberta says the cabin crew of the WestJet flight had no input into this decision..CUPE Local 4070 represents cabin crew employees at WestJet.."It’s very disappointing that WestJet management let a politician use the public address (PA) system on a recent flight for his political statement," CUPE Local 4070 President Alia Hussain said.."It is doubly disappointing that WestJet is now trying to assign blame on the cabin crew for this event."."Who's ready for a home you can afford," Poilievre announced as the planeload of people cheered. "Who's ready for some common sense?".Poilievre made the same announcement in French, then thanked the WestJet pilots and crew..The video was posted to Twitter ("X") and quickly went viral..A WestJet spokesperson, replying to an email from CTV News, said while it was a public flight, it was actually added in order to accommodate delegates flying to and from the Conservative Party convention in Quebec City..The airline’s CEO, Alexis von Hoensbroech, said the flight was largely filled with Conservative delegates..“The leader of the party was given the opportunity to greet delegates onboard (which is not unusual), but this was not a political endorsement nor should it be interpreted as such. We are non-partisan by nature and will revisit our policy on this,” von Hoensbroech said on Wednesday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter..Hussain said: "The cabin crew had no input into this decision. WestJet’s own work rules state clearly that no one other than the operating crew is to use the public address system."."A plane’s cabin crew should never be put in a position of having to take a political stance.".Hussain said giving Poilievre a platform showed bad judgment by WestJet.."Mr. Poilievre showed bad judgment taking that opportunity. It is the cabin crew who deal with passenger complaints. WestJet management and Mr. Poilievre should not have put them in that position," Hussain said.."A flight’s PA system should be used to give passengers the information they need and require. The crew is responsible for the safety of everyone on board, and we take that responsibility seriously. WestJet management and Mr. Poilievre owe passengers and crew an apology.".In a statement to CTV News on Wednesday, WestJet said the use of the PA system by individuals other than flight crew is "infrequent" but is granted on "unique occasions.".A spokesperson said the company will be reviewing this policy..Twitter ("X") users were quick to fire back at CUPE for the post.."It’s CUPE. This statement shouldn’t surprise anyone and is meaningless coming from a fairly radical labour union," tweeted one user..Another user pointed out the left should not be having a meltdown as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made announcements on a PA on a train full of people..READ MORE: Jann Arden vows to boycott WestJet after Poilievre made a short speech.Some people on the internet were outraged, while others supported Poilievre..Arden wasn’t having any of it.."A P.A. system on a plane is for the flight crew. Full stop. Not a political soap box for social media,” Arden tweeted..Arden, who was not on the plane at the time, followed up with a second tweet, telling WestJet that she would never do business with the airline again.
It appears more than Jann Arden is furious after Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre made an unprompted short speech on board a WestJet flight Sunday evening..Now, CUPE Alberta says the cabin crew of the WestJet flight had no input into this decision..CUPE Local 4070 represents cabin crew employees at WestJet.."It’s very disappointing that WestJet management let a politician use the public address (PA) system on a recent flight for his political statement," CUPE Local 4070 President Alia Hussain said.."It is doubly disappointing that WestJet is now trying to assign blame on the cabin crew for this event."."Who's ready for a home you can afford," Poilievre announced as the planeload of people cheered. "Who's ready for some common sense?".Poilievre made the same announcement in French, then thanked the WestJet pilots and crew..The video was posted to Twitter ("X") and quickly went viral..A WestJet spokesperson, replying to an email from CTV News, said while it was a public flight, it was actually added in order to accommodate delegates flying to and from the Conservative Party convention in Quebec City..The airline’s CEO, Alexis von Hoensbroech, said the flight was largely filled with Conservative delegates..“The leader of the party was given the opportunity to greet delegates onboard (which is not unusual), but this was not a political endorsement nor should it be interpreted as such. We are non-partisan by nature and will revisit our policy on this,” von Hoensbroech said on Wednesday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter..Hussain said: "The cabin crew had no input into this decision. WestJet’s own work rules state clearly that no one other than the operating crew is to use the public address system."."A plane’s cabin crew should never be put in a position of having to take a political stance.".Hussain said giving Poilievre a platform showed bad judgment by WestJet.."Mr. Poilievre showed bad judgment taking that opportunity. It is the cabin crew who deal with passenger complaints. WestJet management and Mr. Poilievre should not have put them in that position," Hussain said.."A flight’s PA system should be used to give passengers the information they need and require. The crew is responsible for the safety of everyone on board, and we take that responsibility seriously. WestJet management and Mr. Poilievre owe passengers and crew an apology.".In a statement to CTV News on Wednesday, WestJet said the use of the PA system by individuals other than flight crew is "infrequent" but is granted on "unique occasions.".A spokesperson said the company will be reviewing this policy..Twitter ("X") users were quick to fire back at CUPE for the post.."It’s CUPE. This statement shouldn’t surprise anyone and is meaningless coming from a fairly radical labour union," tweeted one user..Another user pointed out the left should not be having a meltdown as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made announcements on a PA on a train full of people..READ MORE: Jann Arden vows to boycott WestJet after Poilievre made a short speech.Some people on the internet were outraged, while others supported Poilievre..Arden wasn’t having any of it.."A P.A. system on a plane is for the flight crew. Full stop. Not a political soap box for social media,” Arden tweeted..Arden, who was not on the plane at the time, followed up with a second tweet, telling WestJet that she would never do business with the airline again.
