WestJet’s new ultra low-cost arm will have six aircraft in service before the end of the year, the carrier’s chief executive has confirmed, with plans to expand trans-border and internationally.
As revealed exclusively by our schedules blog, Airline Route, on the morning of September 14, 2015, WestJet plans to introduce flights to London Gatwick from Calgary, Edmonton, St John’s, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg, the latter’s first regular transatlantic service to the UK since Zoom Airlines served the market in September 2008.
As well as a new route between Edmonton and Nanaimo, the Canadian carrier will increase frequencies on a number of routes including Regina, Grande Prairie, Kelowna and Saskatoon.
The flight will open up new more efficient import and export opportunities for local, national and international companies moving products to and from Western Canada. Edmonton is Canada's fifth-largest municipality and the capital of the state of Alberta is a key hub for the country’s oil and natural gas industry, with the city is known as ‘the oil capital of Canada’.
According to its update flight schedules for winter 2015/2016, WestJet will initially use the widebodied jets on a twice weekly service between Calgary and Honolulu and four times weekly link between Calgary and Kahului from December 11, 2015. The following day, a three times weekly link between Edmonton and Kahului will also be inaugurated.
The Edmonton – Abbotsford route, which has been served continuously since April 2006, is currently served by two daily Boeing 737s, but the new third daily rotation from June 2015 will be flown by WestJet Encore with a smaller Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 turboprop.
The new Air France connection to Vancouver will launch on March 29, 2015 and will initially operate on a three times weekly basis through to May 4, 2015 when it will be increased to a five times weekly schedule for the peak summer period, before returning to a three times weekly offering from September 14, 2015 through to the end of the season on October 24, 2015.
Air services between Europe and Edmonton, the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and a developing cultural, governmental and educational centre, have been limited over recent years and the introduction of this additional transatlantic connection will help facilitate the growing long-haul demand for travel to and from the city.
On the domestic front the carrier will introduce twice daily flights to San Antonio from October 2, 2014 and a daily link to Tampa from November 6, 2014, while a daily international service to Edmonton and twice daily offering to Vancouver, both in Canada, will also start on October 2, 2014.
