Topic: Growth Stocks

Stock Pickers Digest Hotline – Friday, February 15, 2013

Article Excerpt

WESTJET AIRLINES, $21.88, symbol WJA on Toronto, is our “Stock of the Year” for 2013. The company serves 81 destinations in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Its fleet of 100 modern Boeing 737s are 30% more fuel efficient than older jets. WestJet plans to take delivery of 35 more 737s through 2018. WestJet continues to add ticketing and baggage-transfer alliances with other airlines, including Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Delta Airlines and American Airlines. This lets it reach new markets while limiting its risk. The company has also invested heavily in a state-of-the-art computer reservation system. WestJet has a hidden asset in its non-union workforce, which helps keep its costs down. Many flyers also find that its service is friendlier than unionized airlines. As well, most of its workers are shareholders. The company is now extending its low-cost, non-union model into its new short-haul Canadian regional airline, WestJet Encore, which it aims to start up in June 2013. WestJet is our #1…