Category Archives: WestJet

WestJet announces its 2022 Summer Schedule

WestJet today announced its 2022 summer schedule, marking a significant milestone in recovery through the restoration of its network to near pre-pandemic levels. Making significant investments in its transatlantic network, the airline will offer a multitude of connections to Europe this summer, with more non-stop service options across the country from Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax. WestJet also announced new, daily service between Toronto and Chicago beginning May 19, 2022.

At its peak this summer, WestJet will serve 43 domestic, 23 transborder, 16 Caribbean and eight transatlantic destinations, restoring 94 per cent of its pre-pandemic routes with more than 600 daily departures network wide. Complementing WestJet’s network, Swoop previouslyย announcedย significant expansion plans for its domestic network in preparation for Canada’s busy summer travel season.

Restoring transatlantic connectivity

This summer, WestJet is restoring transatlantic connections across the country and significantly reinvesting in the Atlantic Gateway, bringing back international connectivity to Atlantic Canada with increased service between Halifax to Paris, London, Dublin, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Additionally, the airline will re-introduce connectivity to the Eternal City with non-stop service between Rome, Italy and its home hub in Calgary.

Route Frequency Start date
Halifax-Paris 4x weekly May 7, 2022
Halifax-Gatwick 1x daily May 1, 2022
Halifax-Dublin 3x weekly May 1, 2022
Halifax – Glasgow 3x weekly May 2, 2022
Toronto โ€“ Barcelona 3x weekly May 13, 2022
Toronto – Dublin 1x daily May 15, 2022
Toronto – Glasgow 4x weekly May 20, 2022
Toronto – Edinburgh 3x weekly June 2, 2022
Toronto โ€“ London Gatwick Daily (increasing to 9x weekly in June) May 1, 2022
Calgary โ€“ Rome 3x weekly May 7, 2022
Calgary โ€“ Paris 5x weekly March 14, 2022
Calgary โ€“ London Heathrow 4x weekly March 26, 2022
Calgary โ€“ London, Gatwick 5x weekly March 14, 2022
Calgary โ€“ Dublin 3x weekly May 8, 2022
Vancouver โ€“ London, Gatwick 1x daily May 1, 2022

Alberta network returns to pre-pandemic levels
WestJet will restore service levels across Alberta to pre-pandemic levels with more than 180 daily departures from both Calgary and Edmonton this summer. WestJet’s investments in transatlantic flying from Calgary International Airport will see the airline increase the critical tourism pipeline between Alberta and Europe by 43 per cent when compared to 2019, supported by new routes and increased non-stop options to London Gatwick, Paris and Dublin.

“The restoration of our Alberta network marks a major milestone in WestJet and the province’s recovery as we rebuild our network and strengthen critical connections to global hubs and business economies,” continued Weatherill.

Alberta service:

  • Calgary: 142 daily departures, 35 domestic, 16 transborder and eight international destinations
  • Edmonton: 38 daily departures, 15 domestic and two transborder destinations

New daily transborder service between Toronto and Chicago

“We are also thrilled to provide daily non-stop service between Toronto and Chicago, two dynamic global cities,” continued Weatherill.ย  “Whether traveling for business or leisure, this new route provides guests with increased options to discover these two vibrant cities or seamlessly connect to their chosen destination via our expansive network.”

Route Frequency Start date
Toronto – Chicago 1x daily May 19, 2022
Chicago – Toronto 1x daily May 16, 2022

Standing with Ukraine:

WestJet Group to acquire Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines

It’s official. WestJet issued this statement:

WestJet and Sunwing announced today that they have reached a definitive agreement under which the WestJet Group of companies will acquire Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines.

The transaction will bring together two distinctly Canadian travel and tourism success stories to deliver new travel options and greater value for travelers in the rapidly expanding leisure and work-from-anywhere travel markets. The combination will enable both companies to protect and create jobs and rebuild strength in the Canadian travel industry at a critical time.

WestJet Logo (CNW Group/WESTJET, an Alberta Partnership)

Following the close of the transaction, a new tour operating business unit will be created under the WestJet Group, to include both Sunwing Vacations and WestJet Vacations Inc., and will be led by Sunwing CEOย Stephen Hunter. Sunwing’s current shareholders will become equity holders in the WestJet Group.

Canadian travelers will have access to more competitive airfares and affordable vacation packages through the combined strength of the companies. The tour operator business will be headquartered in Toronto, with aย Quebecย head office inย Lavalย and the business will continue to market the Sunwing brand alongside WestJet Vacations. The WestJet Group will maintain its head office inย Calgary.

The WestJet Group of companies will expand to include Sunwing Airlines. This will add increased capacity, dedicating otherwise seasonal aircraft to operate year-round inย Canada, instead of Sunwing supplementing seasonal demand with imported aircraft, which translates into more jobs for Canadians. This acquisition will improve the WestJet Group’s ability to offer more affordable fares by immediately expanding its low-cost footprint inย Canada.

WestJet Group and Sunwing intend to build on their collective history of constructive labour relations and will respect all arrangements with union and employee associations, including those in place and those currently under negotiation.

As a result of the resiliency created by the transaction, Sunwing expects to no longer require the pandemic-related Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) Sunwing obtained from the Canadian government in early 2021, which will be fully repaid upon closing of the transaction.

The combination, which remains subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, is anticipated to close late 2022.

WestJet is in the hunt to acquire Sunwing Airlines

Sunwing Airlines’ days may be numbered. According to Bloomberg, WestJet is nearing a deal to acquire the carrier.

WestJet Group welcomes the border changes

WestJet Group issued this statement:

The WestJet Group welcomes today’s announcement from the federal government outlining changes to Canada’s border measures and travel policies effective February 28, 2022. The WestJet Group will continue to advocate, based on science and data, for the removal of all measures impacting fully-vaccinated air travelers.

“The removal of travel barriers for fully-vaccinated travelers and families is a positive step forward for our industry; we have been advocating tirelessly for these changes on behalf of our guests and our communities,” said Angela Avery, WestJet Executive Vice-President, External Affairs. “As a fully-vaccinated industry, we have worked with public health authorities and all governments to curb COVID-19 and today’s announcement validates that travel has never been a significant vector of transmission.”

WestJet continues to advocate for the return to surveillance arrivals testing only and for the federal government to outline a recovery roadmap for the travel and tourism industry, based on science and reflective of the current realities of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As measures transition and Canada’s pandemic situation continues to improve, we are optimistic that the remaining policies will be reassessed and removed for fully-vaccinated travellers in the weeks ahead as outlined today by the Ministers,” continued Avery.

Chief Medical Officers of Health for Air Canada, Toronto Pearson, and WestJet call on Governments to shift PCR testing from airports to communities

Open Letter:

Dear Hon.ย Jean-Yves Duclos, P.C., Minister of Health; Dr.ย Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer ofย Canada; Hon.ย Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier ofย Ontarioย and Minister of Health; and Dr.ย Kieran Moore,ย Ontarioย Chief Medical Officer of Health:

WestJet (CNW Group/Air Canada)

Over the last two months, Omicron has quickly become the predominant variant of COVID-19. As it spreads throughout our communities, we need to ensureย Canada’sย limited testing resources are being used where Canadians need them mostโ€”to support our communities, schools, hospitals and long-term care homes.

As the government has ramped up testing at airports for international arrivals, we have seen frontline workers struggle to get PCR tests and lab processing capacity decrease significantly. There is a growing discrepancy between resources allocated to asymptomatic travellers and to those who need it most. In the most recent week ofย reported data, over 123,000 PCR tests were conducted atย Canada’sย airports with an average positivity rate of 3 per cent. Meanwhile, the positivity rate in our communities is now approximately 30 per cent and could be higher due to the under-reporting of positivity from a lack of tests.

A recent study prepared for the Manchester Airports Group found that travel testing at best delayed the peak of cases by no more than 5 days, and made total case counts only 3 per cent lower. This was because Omicron was prevalent in the communities long before it was detected as a variant of concern inย South Africa. Indeed, here inย Canadaย as well, we have learned that Omicron was present and circulating in our communities long before the first official case was declared inย Canada.

As every person traveling to Canada must take a PCR test prior to getting on a plane inbound to Canada and must be fully vaccinated, there is no good public health rationale for a second test upon arrival. We know that the primary concern for Omicron is in the community. By extension, the primary need for testing is in our community; not at our airports. Now is the time to act. We call on the Government of Canada to work with Ontario to implement the following measures immediately to support our healthcare system and our communities:

  1. Remove mandatory arrivals testing from airports and shift these scarce resources to our schools, community and healthcare system.
  2. Revert to surveillance arrival testing of international air passengers.
  3. Require mandatory isolation for persons arriving from an international location if they are exhibiting symptoms or test positive on a surveillance test. Travelers who are asymptomatic after receiving their negative pre-departure test before travel to Canada should not be required to isolate.

Collectively, our organizations have worked hard to keep travel safe, and we have achieved a positivity rate that is ten times less than community spread. Now is the time to shift testing resources to where they’re needed most. Removing arrivals PCR testing from Toronto Pearson airport alone would free up 8,000 tests a day for the GTA, which will help keep our most vulnerableโ€”those in long-term care, hospitals and our children attending schoolโ€”safe.

Now is the time to put scarce testing resources where Canadians need them most: in our communities and not in our airports.

Dr. Jim Chung

 

Chief Medical Officer โ€“ Air Canada

 Dr. Edward Wasser 

Chief Medical Officer โ€“ Toronto Pearson

 Dr. Tammy McKnight

 

Chief Medical Officer – WestJet Airlines

 

Toronto Pearson (CNW Group/Air Canada)

Air Canada (CNW Group/Air Canada)

WestJet to cancel 15% of its flights in January

From Reuters:

“WestJet Airlines will cancel 15% of scheduled flights in January because the rapidly spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 has left the airline unable to fully staff its operations”.

The WestJet Group opposes re-introduction of blanket air travel advisory

The WestJet Group is expressing its strong opposition to the travel advisory issued by the Government of Canada. The targeted advice outlined is not based on science and data and significantly undermines aviation’s proven safety record in response to COVID-19. These measures are a setback in Canada’s progress and its successful transition from relying on blanket advisories and policies.

“Air travel is the most tested and protected consumer activity in Canada, every person travelling internationally is tested on average twice throughout their travel journey,” said Harry Taylor, WestJet President and CEO. “As the only fully-vaccinated air travel sector in the world, WestJet is calling on the government to publicly share the travel related COVID-19 data that has been used to re-impose the advisory and advice targeted towards fully-vaccinated Canadians and the travel and tourism industry.”

International travel standards and policies should be harmonized, yet Canada’s travel measures remain firmly out of step with border policies enacted across the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. The advisory announced today, contradictsย WHO’s guidanceย that states blanket travel bans will not prevent the international spread of COVID-19 and adversely affect lives and livelihoods. The Government of Canada should continue to focus on vaccinations and testing, as the pathway for safe and fully-vaccinated international air travel must be preserved.

“Since the onset of the pandemic, we have safely flown more than seven million guests and air travel has been commended for its commitment to safety. Fully-vaccinated Canadians should not be singled-out for choosing to take part in a safe activity,” continued Taylor. “Travel bans, restrictions and blanket advisories are devastating to the continued economic recovery of our country and place tens of thousands of recently recalled Canadian travel and tourism jobs at risk. We are very concerned today’s announcement will create unnecessary disruption and chaos in advance of the holiday travel season.”

Since the onset of the pandemic, The WestJet Group has responded to COVID-19 to ensure the safety of all. The airline has implemented its own measures in response to the pandemic including a zero-tolerance mask policy, enhancing health and safety measures, suspending sun flights and implementing the airline’s mandatory vaccination policy for employees and air travelers.

WestJet releases its 10th holiday video

WestJet today released the airline’s 10th holiday video, WestJet Christmas Miracle:ย A Wish Come True.ย This year’s theme focuses on the emotional and sentimental moments that guests missed celebrating last year due to the pandemic.

Over the course of two weeks, undercover and operating as a documentary film crew, WestJet interviewed Canadians in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver asking them how the pandemic impacted their Christmas traditions and what they wished for the most this holiday season.

The spot features surprises ranging from round-trip tickets and all-inclusive vacation packages to a global reunion between mother and daughter.

Additional Christmas Miracle content including a WestJet’s Christmas Miracle surprise for the airline’s WestJet Cares for Kids partner, Make A Wish, will be available in the coming days.

WestJet announces schedule for new service between London Heathrow and Calgary

WestJet today announced route details for its new non-stop service to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR), from the airline’s largest, global hub, Calgary International Airport. The new route provides access to London’s largest airport with close and rapid access to important destinations in London. Flights between the two global hubs are set to operate four-times weekly, beginning March 26, 2022.

Details of WestJet’s service between Calgary and Heathrow:

Route Frequency Start Date
Calgary โ€“ Heathrow Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday March 26 โ€“ October 28, 2022
Heathrow โ€“ Calgary Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday March 27 โ€“ October 29, 2022

As confidence in business and leisure travel continues to rise, WestJet’s newest route will operate this spring on the airline’s 787 Dreamliner. WestJet’sย 787 serviceย features the airline’sย Business Cabinย including lie-flat pods, dining on demand and elevatedย Premiumย and Economy Cabin options.

With the addition of Heathrow to WestJet’s network this spring, WestJet will connect Calgary to 77 nonstop destinations throughout the year.ย  WestJet will also continue to offer non-stop flights between Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax to London, Gatwick.

The WestJet Group introduces comprehensive COVID-19 testing program for guests through AZOVA

The WestJet Group today announced a significant expansion to its COVID-19 testing program through AZOVA, a leading digital health technology platform, giving guests the confidence to book their holiday travel knowing all their COVID testing requirements are available through a convenient and easy-to-use site atย https://www.azova.com/westjetswoop/.

With AZOVA’s app-based program, guests have access to a vast network of approved testing locations across Canada and the majority of WestJet transborder and international destinations. Additionally, AZOVA offers rapid molecular self-administered testing options with video proctoring services that allow for testing and validation certificates. Guests can take these testsย from the comfort of home, or in any destination to meet the Government of Canada’s pre-entry PCR test requirements AZOVA’s COVID-19 testing services meet entry requirements for each destination and enable travellers to take self-administered or in-person tests prior to departure.

“As many of our guests look to book holiday travel outside Canada for the first time in almost two years, it’s critical that we provide our guests with the peace of mind knowing that all the COVID testing requirements they will face throughout their journey can be conveniently booked, conducted and stored in the AZOVA app,” said Dr. Tammy McKnight, WestJet’s Chief Medical Officer. “We’ve heard from our guests that pre-departure testing, and entry requirements are confusing, complex and inconsistent. We are confident that AZOVA’s easy-to-use self-testing options and network of testing locations will give guests the confidence they need to plan their next flight or vacation.”

“COVID testing requirements can be overwhelming and confusing with different requirements for every destination. AZOVA provides an end to end and seamless solution to enable guests to quickly identify what test is needed for any destination and to quickly purchase or schedule the tests that are needed anywhere in the world through a single application. We are thrilled to be working with WestJet and Swoop to bring this solution to guests and travellers everywhere,” said Cheryl Lee Eberting, MD, CEO and Founder of AZOVA. “Once you have received your test results, enter your AZOVA Credential ID into the AZOVA WestJet and Swoop site and receive a travel clearance on the AZOVA app for your destination. You can simply show your travel clearance at the gate with no paperwork and no confusing forms required.”

Portable Self-Administered Testing & In-Destination Lab Testing

Guests who are traveling outside of Canada for a period of more than 72 hours after November 30th will be required to present a negative molecular test taken within 72 hours of their flight. AZOVA offers an at-home RT-LAMP test, called the Lucira Check-It COVID-19 test kit with video proctoring which can be purchased and delivered to your home in Canada. These tests can be taken in the comfort of your home to meet the entrance requirements of most destinations, and can be packed and taken with you to be taken in destination to meet the requirements for return travel back to Canada.

In addition to availability in Canada, AZOVA also offers the Lucira Check-It COVID-19 test kit to be purchased and delivered to your destination in the United States.