WestJet Group Announces ‘Expansive’ Schedule for Winter Season

The airline is bolstering its leisure network.

A WestJet Boeing 737 MAX 8 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

[ Routes ]July 27, 2024 6:00 am ET

By John Flett

Canadian consortium the WestJet Group has announced an ‘expansive’ schedule for the Winter 2024-25 season to capitalize on passengers seeking sunnier climates south of the border. The Calgary-based group comprised of leisure carrier Sunwing Airlines and WestJet will operate to 63 destinations in the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America this winter. Together the airlines will increase transborder capacity by five percent and capacity on Latin-Caribbean routes by three percent.

John Weatherill, WestJet Group’s Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Our winter schedule is building on our ambitions to ensure Canadians benefit from a comprehensive network of affordable domestic air service, while providing seamless access to fulfill cold-weather escapes to the most popular sun destinations.”

The WestJet Group completed its acquisition of Sunwing Airlines in May 2023 and together with the WestJet brand is seeing significant growth in the Canadian market. In addition to the 63 destinations south of the border, the group will also operate to three transcontinental destinations (Tokyo, Paris, and London) and have 37 domestic airports on its network over the winter season. “As we bring more seats and affordable fares across our entire network, we are giving Canadians choice and flexibility this winter,” said Weatherill.

The group will also be leveraging its codeshare partner Delta Air Lines’ network via the U.S. carrier’s hubs including Atlanta and Minneapolis. Flights to Delta’s hubs will be increased over the winter by 42 percent on a year-by-year comparison. This will give passengers the opportunity for one-stop connections from Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Vancouver to more than 100 U.S. destinations on the Delta network.

WestJet’s domestic network will be able to offer ’71 unique domestic routes’ with a total of 323 daily domestic departures. According to the airline, this will give passengers the choice of ‘more unique routes between Eastern Canada and Western Canada than any other airline.’ The announced schedule increases will also give WestJet a 53 percent market share of domestic services operating within and between the Eastern provinces of British Columbia and the group’s home province Alberta.

Several airports will benefit from double-figure domestic capacity growth (vs. winter 2023). Winnipeg (44 percent), Regina (24 percent), Saskatoon (27 percent), Edmonton (32 percent), Kelowna (14 percent) and Vancouver (16 percent) lead the way. Calgary will have a six percent increase in domestic capacity year-on-year compared to last winter.

Kelowna in British Columbia will have the addition of a daily non-stop flight to Seattle beginning in January. “This route will provide guests in the Okanagan and across the Pacific Northwest regions with new convenient and affordable options to easily connect between both popular regions for business and leisure year-round,” said Weatherill.

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John Flett

John has always had a passion for aviation and through a career with Air New Zealand has gained a strong understanding of aviation operations and the strategic nature of the industry.

During his career with the airline, John held multiple leadership roles and was involved in projects such as the introduction of both the 777-200 and -300 type aircraft and the development of the IFE for the 777-300. He was also part of a small team that created and published the internal communications magazines for Air New Zealand’s pilots, cabin crew and ground staff, balancing a mix of corporate and social content.

John is educated to postgraduate level achieving a Masters degree with Distinction in Airline and Airport Management. He has been the course director of an undergraduate commercial pilot training programme at a leading London university and a member of Heathrow Community Trust’s ‘Communities for Tomorrow’ panel.

John is currently living in Canada and is contracted as an external instructor for aviation-related organizations.

Author

John Flett

John has always had a passion for aviation and through a career with Air New Zealand has gained a strong understanding of aviation operations and the strategic nature of the industry. During his career with the airline, John held multiple leadership roles and was involved in projects such as the introduction of both the 777-200 and -300 type aircraft and the development of the IFE for the 777-300. He was also part of a small team who created and published the internal communications magazines for Air New Zealand’s pilots, cabin crew and ground staff balancing a mix of corporate and social content. John is educated to postgraduate level achieving a masters degree with Distinction in Airline and Airport Management. John has held the positions of course director of an undergraduate commercial pilot training programme at a leading London university. In addition he is contracted as an external instructor for IATA (International Air Transport Association) and has been a member of the Heathrow Community Fund’s ‘Communities for Tomorrow’ panel.
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