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Sean Durfy figures he has strong cards to play in 2009 with his plans to unveil WestJet Airlines Ltd.'s frequent-flier program and sign two partnerships with global carriers, moves designed to help fill seats even as consumers tighten their travel budgets.

In 2008, the WestJet chief executive officer watched nervously as oil prices surpassed a record $147 (U.S.) a barrel in July, only to breathe a sigh of relief when they tumbled below $40.

For Mr. Durfy, who became CEO of the Calgary-based carrier in 2007, expansion remains a goal for 2009 despite forecasts that travellers will be scaling back trips.

New destinations next spring include San Francisco, San Diego, Yellowknife and Sydney, N.S., which will bring the number of cities in WestJet's network to 55, covering markets in Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. For Mr. Durfy, it's just the latest evidence of steady growth for an airline that began with service to just five cities in Western Canada in 1996.

WestJet's fleet currently consists of 76 Boeing 737s, and the delivery schedule calls for another 45 of the same models to arrive by 2013. Evolving from its roots as a no-frills carrier, WestJet now has leather seats, seat-back TV screens and competes against Air Canada for business travellers.

Air Canada has long held a competitive advantage with the Aeroplan rewards program, but Mr. Durfy hopes to lure more passengers away from his rival in 2009 by introducing WestJet's own frequent-flier plan.

How do you intend to build customer loyalty in tough times? We'll put a loyalty program in place by the second quarter of next year for our frequent fliers. It will be simple and easy to use. If you spend $1,500 [Canadian], you would get a certain percentage of value in a credit file. You'll be able to use that amount on any flight at any time or on WestJet Vacations. If you built up the file to have $600, you could use that $600 toward a flight. The real treat for most people who are acquiring points is free flights and vacations.

I know you're a fan of Shoppers Drug Mart's Optimum program, which improves rewards as more points are collected. It sounds like the more money spent at WestJet, the better the rewards, too? We'll have a competitive loyalty program. The more you spend, the better your reward rate is — at $3,000 or $4,500 in spending. When you get a certain higher dollar amount in your credit file, you might get a companion ticket or ancillary benefits like free buy-on-board stuff. We'll also introduce a loyalty credit card.

You formed an alliance with Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. last summer. What can you tell me about the potential for new alliances? I would like to see two more deals in 2009. We're getting our systems in place to do that. We want to have some announcements soon on code-sharing agreements for implementation in 2010, depending on the complexity of them. They are the usual suspects that we've talked about — Air France, KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific.

Would you prefer to have one partner for the transatlantic and the other for the transpacific? Why not? Spread it out a bit. We will do code-sharing with a partner that has the best corporate culture, that allows us not to dilute the low-cost model that we have.

How much of an impact will the recession have on travel demand for your seats? When you go into these recessionary periods, travellers defer to the low-cost airline. Their company may say business class is out. We're seeing people come over to our product. Our bookings are still strong for January and February.

Where do you see oil prices headed? It's anybody's guess. There has been speculative trading in the price of oil. I think maybe $40 a barrel (U.S.) is too low. No one knows …The lower cost of oil is favourable to us on the operating side. But our power base is still in Western Canada, and when oil prices come down, you see it have an impact on the oil industry.

WestJet has a fleet of Boeing 737s. What about acquiring a different Boeing model in! future for long-haul trips? That will have to be a WestJet board decision. If an opportunity comes up at the right price point, you have to look at it. Does that mean we would change our business model? Not necessarily.