Lee Lipton, director network and schedule planning at WestJet, speaks to Routesonline about the Canadian carrier's participation at World Routes 2017 in Barcelona.
WestJet Airlines’ planned ultra low-cost subsidiary will start services in the summer of 2018 as the Canadian carrier seeks to further disrupt the industry.
The launch of the as yet unnamed business remains subject to agreement with its pilots and any required regulatory approvals. Details of its plans also remain vague but WestJet confirms it will aim to “provide Canadians with no-frills, lower-cost travel options” and will operate with an initial fleet of ten high-density Boeing 737-800s.
Canada’s 150th anniversary is the ideal time to visit a vast country that offers something different at every turn, yet the surprises don’t extend to the downtrodden aviation industry that may soon see its fortunes change.
Airlines and airports are always happy to get involved on April Fool’s Day, and this year it has been no different. Now the clock has struck twelve, and the pranks are no longer, we’ve drilled down the top April Fool’s jokes in the aviation industry this year.
WestJet will introduce a twice daily domestic service between London Metropolitan Area Airport and Lester B Pearson International Airport in Toronto from the end of March 2016. The link, operated by its regional division WestJet Encore using Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 NextGen turboprop equipment, will complement its existing service to Calgary and seasonal sun charters to the US and Caribbean from London.
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 airline is in the process of introducing four second-hand 767-300ERWs into its fleet and will debut the first of these in passenger operation from August 2015 initially on routes within Canada and into the Caribbean from the end of the year. However, over the last 12 months it has been talking to airports, including many in Europe, with view to redeploy these aircraft into new markets from spring 2016, mainly across the Atlantic.
Following the success of its flights between St John’s and Dublin last summer, the carrier is offering a daily operation between Halifax and Glasgow from May 29, 2015 until October 23, 2015 using a Boeing 737-700. Like the St John’s – Dublin operation, the link will provide a same-aircraft connection to and from Toronto with other connections available to Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and 16 other cities in WestJet's Canadian network.
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 revised schedule will see the airline boost its inventory by more than ten per cent to offer up to ten daily flights in the spring, eleven during the peak travel months of July and August, and nine in the autumn.
The Increased service at Halifax will open new markets to meet pent-up demand, enhance business-to-business connections, and provide more opportunities for tourism, leisure travel and the ability to connect family and friends. And it will lead to employment opportunities within the local aviation industry and increased business for related support organisations.
Nigel Mayes, ASM senior vice president consulting and product development and Mike St-Laurent, senior consultant, explore the dynamics of the Canadian market.This article is from Issue 1, Volume 11 of Routes News for 2015.
Ahead of this year's Routes Americas forum, Routesonline is providing a snapshot on the leading airlines and airports and most used aircraft types across the region. Here we look closely at the airlines serving the Caribbean and highlight the region's top performers.
At Routesonline we've decided to take a look back at the news breaking the same week in previous years and revisit it one or two years later to see what’s happened since we released the news.
St. John’s International Airport situated in Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada has registered a record amount of numbers during its summer 2014 season.
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 link will operate from May 29, 2015 until October 23, 2015 using a Boeing 737-700 and like the existing St John’s – Dublin transatlantic operation will provide a same-aircraft connection to and from Toronto with other connections available to Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and 16 other cities in WestJet's Canadian network.
WestJet Encore's move eastward is part of a strategic plan to “continue to liberate Canadians in smaller communities from the high cost of air travel,” continuing WestJet’s own pioneering developments in the larger Canadian markets through its 18-year history. The first step of this Eastern Encore expansion saw the introduction of flights to Ontario from June 27, 2014.
Initially, WestJet expects to operate four widebody aircraft with the first deployments on routes between Alberta and Hawaii during the winter season beginning in late 2015.
The airline, like many other low-cost carriers, has been actively studying the launch of long-haul services across the Atlantic and this route is seen as WestJet testing the water before expanding its activities further.
The airline currently utilises a 136-seat Boeing 737-700 on its daily Toronto - Québec City route but will replace this with a 78-seat Dash 8-Q400NextGen when Encore takes over the operation of the route from March 15, 2015.
