Westjet Launches New Summer Flight Schedule

DALLAS – Canadian airline Westjet (WS) has announced an increase in flights on several coast-to-coast routes for passengers in Canada with the initial release of its summer 2024 schedule.

Westjet aims to increase domestic, leisure, and international travel opportunities by 15 percent annually. The airline will introduce ten new routes and return to or extend services on a further 16 routes. "Our 2024 summer schedule continues to deliver on our commitment to make critical investments across Canada, providing more affordable options for Canadians and international visitors to connect with the people and places that matter the most," said John Weatherill, WestJet Group Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer.

WS' route network expansion will allow Canadians to connect with several more destinations and is part of Westjet's growth strategy. Although not readily available, WestJet's full summer schedule will be completed and published over the coming week. Weatherill said, "This summer will see the return of seasonal, leisure-focused flying to connect Eastern and Western Canada and substantial growth in service to sun destinations, further cementing our position as Canada's leading leisure airline."

Cross Country Services

WestJet's summer network will feature 15 new routes to and from destinations in Western Canada. Eastern Canada will also benefit from 11 new routes, including a new direct seasonal service between Calgary (YYC) and Deer Lake (YDF), Newfoundland. The return of seasonal non-stop services includes between Toronto (YTO) and Deer Lake (YDF), Moncton (YQM), New Brunswick., Charlottetown (YYG), Prince Edward Island, Victoria (YYJ), and British Columbia. There will be a 44 percent growth in capacity between Halifax (YHZ) and Nova Scotia and a 60 percent growth in St. John's (YYT) compared to Summer 2023

In addition, WS will resume transatlantic flights between Halifax (YHZ) and Dublin (DUB), Edinburgh (EDI) and London (LON), as well as St Johns (YYT) and London Gatwick (LGW).

Being Canada's top choice for leisure travel, Westjet will provide higher capacity than other Canadian airlines. It will offer higher capacity on flights to popular summer destinations than any other Canadian airline. Highlights of the expanded route network include a 57 percent growth in capacity on Latin and Caribbean routes over the summer of 2023 and a 56 percent increase in capacity from Toronto (YTO) to summer sun destinations. WS will offer more flights between Hawaii and Canada than any other airline. In addition, it will be the only airline operating year-round services between Canada and Maui-Kahului from both Calgary (YYC) and Vancouver (YVR).

US Flights

To increase opportunities for travel between Canada and the United States, WestJet will grow transborder seat capacity by 26 percent this summer, including a 70 percent growth of capacity into Delta Air Lines (DL) hubs. WS and DL are partner airlines. Through WestJet's longstanding codeshare partnership with Delta (DL), passengers can access more than 100 U.S. destinations when connecting through DL's hubs in Atlanta (ATL), Detroit (DTW), Minneapolis (MSP), Los Angeles (LAX) and Seattle (SEA).

New services will include flights between Regina (YQR) and Minneapolis (MSP), Vancouver (YVR) and Detroit (DTW), Edmonton (YEA) and Atlanta (ATL). There will also be direct connectivity between Edmonton (YEA), San Francisco (SFO), and Nashville (BNA). This summer will also see the return of seasonal flights from Halifax (YHZ) and St. Johns (YYT) to Orlando (MCO) in Florida. Furthermore, WS will operate more direct flights to Phoenix (PHX) and Las Vegas (LAS) from Western Canada than any other airline.

WestJet launched in 1996 with a fleet of just three aircraft, 250 employees, and five destinations. The carrier has grown to over 180 aircraft, 14,000 employees, and over 100 destinations in 26 countries. In serving Canadians for 27 years, WestJet has cut airfares in half and increased Canada's flying population to more than 50 percent.

WESTJET C-GAWS BOEING 737-8CT(WL) #100 BOEING 737 NG. Photo: Liam Funnel/Airways