Campus’Air, a dedicated shipping service tailored to meet the needs of students across Canada, has been launched by WestJet Cargo. Canada’s geographical size poses unique logistical challenges, particularly for students who move between cities for their education. Unlike smaller countries where trucking is a feasible option, the distances between major Canadian cities make air transport a more practical solution.

“Canada is twice the size of the European Union and the second biggest country in the world in terms of space. Trucking is not always an option. It’s very expensive, and it takes too long,” Kirsten de Bruijn, Executive Vice President of WestJet Cargo, explained.

“Campus’Air is our way of supporting the academic community, providing them with an affordable, reliable shipping solution that underscores our commitment to fostering education and community development across Canada.” 

Academic approach

The initial rollout included a select list of universities, chosen based on the volume of student movements and the universities’ willingness to participate in the marketing efforts required to inform students about the new service. As the programme grows, more universities are being added to the list.

“We started inquiring with universities to say, ‘Hey, how does this really work?’ and we noticed that they had limited options. So, we thought, we want to do something back for the community as cargo specifically,” de Bruijn shared. 

“It’s a combination of market cost, capacity available, and that’s how we came up with the 50 percent discount and that we will give all the students.”

Comprehensive and careful

The service includes a robust support system, with a contact centre available from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM to assist with bookings and enquiries. This ensures that students can easily access the service and get the help they need throughout the process.

However, while the service is comprehensive, there are some limitations regarding what can be shipped.

 Dangerous goods, such as lithium batteries and certain types of perfume, are not permitted due to international transport regulations. 

“All of this transport will be in the belly of our passenger planes, right with the passengers, so there are international transport regulations,” de Bruijn clarified.

Other goods that aren’t eligible include laptops or other devices with permanent batteries; retail goods or any items intended for sale or commercial use; food or other perishable items; live animals; construction materials or other bulk items in large quantities; high-value items such as jewellery, precious metals, passports, etc.

Looking ahead, WestJet Cargo is considering expanding the initiative beyond Canada, though there are significant logistical and regulatory hurdles to overcome. 

“We have spoken about it…but the challenge that we have that we haven’t really fixed yet is that, unfortunately, international transportation can only be done by a freight forwarder,” she noted. For now, the focus remains on perfecting the domestic service and evaluating its success.

“We will have two avenues. One is a direct review with the universities…and then the contact centre, the WestJet people who talk to the actual students,” de Bruijn outlined.

“If we get feedback that we need door delivery or pick up from the university, we can explore maybe partnerships with trucking companies to do that.”