Canadian airline surprises passengers with Christmas gifts

Alberta-based airline WestJet surprised more than 250 passengers with Christmas gifts as part of a video promotion resulting in free flights for a needy family. The video depicts the more than 250 passengers telling their Christmas wishes to a virtual Santa as their boarding passes were scanned at airports in Toronto and Hamilton, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Wednesday. The video then shows how 175 WestJet volunteers visited Best Buy and CrossIron Mills while the flights were in the air and purchased gifts that were given to the passengers as they claimed their baggage at Calgary International Airport. The airline said free holiday flights would be given to a family in need if the video received 200,000 views, a goal reached Monday evening. "In early August, we sat down with our friends at [production company] Studio M and started brainstorming what 'giving' looked like at its best. We wanted to do something big, exciting and fresh," WestJet sponsorship lead Greg Plata wrote in a blog post explaining the video.