INTERVIEW-WestJet CEO says October bookings drop amid crisis

CALGARY, Alberta, Oct 2 (Reuters) - WestJet Airlines Ltd has seen short-term travel demand drop as the global financial crisis has intensified in the past 10 days, but the carrier is still confident in its longer-term growth plans, Chief Executive Sean Durfy said on Thursday. 'We've seen demand for bookings come off in the near term, which would be the October timeframe. But looking out into November, December there's still quite a bit of strength there,' Durfy told Reuters in an interview. 'I think what's happening is the system is shocked, and it's really all about consumer confidence. Folks are sitting back and saying, 'What does all this mean to me?' WestJet, Canada's second-largest airline, has not revised plans to increase capacity by 16 percent to 18 percent this year and by about 8 percent in 2009, despite an economic... [read full story]