WestJet announced five new routes and a number of schedule changes that the Canadian low-cost carrier billed as “its most comprehensive schedule release since the airline took to the skies in 1996.”
The highlight for U.S. travelers likely will be WestJet’s new nonstop route between Calgary and New York JFK, a route that will launch April 27. The carrier will fly one daily round-trip flight on the route using Boeing 737 jets.
WestJet also plans to add flights between Las Vegas and the Alberta city of Fort McMurray. The airline will start flying the route June 24, offering two flights a week.
WestJet’s other new routes include:
– Calgary-Prince George, B.C.: One daily round-trip flight beginning April 27
– Vancouver-Fort McMurray, Alberta: One daily round-trip flight beginning May 12
– Fort McMurray-Kelowna, B.C.: One daily round-trip flight beginning May 12
Elsewhere, WestJet plans to increase the number flights it offers on 20 existing routes and will convert five seasonal routes into year-round service.
“The latest schedule reflects the varied needs of the many guests who choose WestJet,” John Weatherill, WestJet’s director of Network and Schedule Planning, says in a statement.
“We have added in-flight service and amenities for those guests travelling for business and additional flight frequency and convenient, non-stop service across all points of the network,” Weatherill adds. “Our goal is to make it even easier to do business affordably and efficiently with our airline. Leisure travelers asking for more frequency to WestJet’s southern destinations will also see their options increase with today’s announcement.”
In making its Monday announcement, WestJet also touted other upcoming routes and changes — most notably the launch of the company’s first trans-Atlantic route. That route — between Toronto and Dublin — is scheduled to begin June 15.
WestJet says “other summer highlights” include “service increases to 15 popular southern destinations including Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale and Phoenix in addition to well-traveled Caribbean and Mexican spots.
