WestJet Brings Sunshine to Canadian Travellers

Canadian carrier WestJet is to launch seven new routes as part of a major change to its flight schedule from the beginning of the Northern Winter schedules at the end of October. The new services bring direct links to the US and the Caribbean from Canadian regional airports at Kelowna, London, Thunder Bay and Victoria and Winnipeg.

"This winter schedule represents growth in key areas within our domestic, transborder and international networks," said Hugh Dunleavy, Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Planning, WestJet. "For business travellers, we are offering more value and more options this winter in both Central and Western Canada. And for leisure travellers, we are providing more Canadian gateways to sun destinations in the US, Mexico and the Caribbean. Overall, this is a balanced, strategic approach to growth across our three networks."

The table below highlights the airline’s planned new routes for the winter season:

Alongside the regional flights, WestJet has announced it will also launch twice weekly non-stop seasonal flights between Toronto and San Juan, Puerto Rico from November 5 and will resume services to Hawaii from Calgary and Edmonton, with operational details to be announced at a later date. Elsewhere, the carrier will increase links to Cancun from 42 to 50 flights per week with improved connections from Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver.

Links to Phoenix will also increase from 33 to 43 flights per week with additional rotations from Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon and Vancouver, while Palm Springs will be served 32 times a week, including for the first time with an evening flight from Calgary. The carrier will also increase its activities in Hawaii significantly with flights from Vancouver to both Kona and Lihue increasing from two to three a week, to Honolulu from eleven to 13 a week and to Kahului from 12 to 14 a week.

There is also an expansion in the domestic Canadian market with an increased service between Edmonton and Calgary from five to seven flights daily, and between Vancouver and Toronto from five to six flights daily, effective October 31. The Calgary – Montreal route will also see a second daily rotation while the upgraded schedule on its eastern triangle initiative will also continue through the winter with ten daily flights between Toronto and Montreal and nine between Toronto and Ottawa.

Ahead of the winter, WestJet has confirmed that it will also introduce a short-time seasonal link between Hamilton International Airport and Las Vegas. The twice weekly seasonal link will operate for an eleven week trial period from September 9 to November 28 to test the feasibility of the route to determine if it is viable in the future when the carrier has additional capacity.

“As we prepare for the annual fall transition of our fleet we had a window of additional flying time over an 11-week period,” said John MacLeod, Vice-President, Network Management and Alliances, WestJet. “Based on the demand during the 11-week trial, we will determine if this route is a viable option to consider as our fleet grows.”