WestJet today announced it will be adding the island of Bonaire to its Caribbean destinations with its new non-stop once-weekly seasonal service from Toronto starting February 6, 2021.

As part of the Dutch Caribbean, Bonaire is located in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea and is accessible through The Flamingo International Airport. The airline’s new service will be operated on WestJet’s Boeing 737 aircraft featuring its Premium and Economy cabins.

Negative COVID-19 test eliminates quarantine time

A negative COVID test within 72-hours of departure is required to exempt Canadians from Bonaire’s mandatory 14-day quarantine. Travellers must have a medical certificate with a negative PCR test result upon arrival to the island. More information on Bonaire’s requirements are available online here.

Canadians traveling abroad remain subject to a 14-day quarantine upon their return to Canada.

Details of WestJet’s service between Toronto and Bonaire:

WestJet today released its updated January schedule featuring Dreamliner service to Mexico and more flights to sun destinations in the Caribbean, the United States (including Hawaii), Mexico and Central America.

The updated January schedule adds flights to Liberia (Costa Rica) and Ixtapa/Zihuantanejo, Mexico from Calgary and features the resumption of service between Kona, Hawaii and Vancouver and as well between Aruba and Toronto. Dreamliner service between Calgary and Cancun, Mexico begins on January 8, 2021, while service to Puerto Vallarta will commence on January 23, 2021.

In January, the airline will offer flights to 57 destinations including 33 in Canada, 10 in the U.S. including Hawaii, six in Mexico, six in the Caribbean, one in Europe and one in Central America

COVID-19 testing remains key to ensuring safe and confident travel

WestJet continues to support pre-and post-travel testing initiatives in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia to increase confidence in the traveling public. All information on WestJet’s testing offers and processes can be found at westjet.com/covidtesting.

Canadians traveling abroad are still subject to a 14-day quarantine upon their return to the country if not eligible for Alberta’s COVID-19 testing trial program.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, WestJet has implemented more than 20 additional health and safety measures during the travel journey to meet the needs of guests and WestJetters through its Safety Above All program.

WestJet is planning to operate the following transborder and international routes from January 5, 2021 to February 4, 2021:

HAWAII AND U.S. TRANSBORDER

INTERNATIONAL

WestJet aircraft photo gallery:

WestJet aircraft slide show:

WestJet has announced it has collaborated with LifeLabs in Ontario to offer State of Hawaii-approved pre-departure testing. A negative COVID test within 72-hours of departure will exempt the guest from the state’s required 14-day quarantine.

Through its FlyClear™ program, LifeLabs will provide WestJet guests with a convenient online method to book a COVID-19 test online at a participating Shoppers Drug Mart across Ontario ahead of traveling to Hawaii.

Those wishing to book a pre-departure test from Ontario can do so through LifeLabs for $199 plus tax, payable by the guest, by visiting LifeLabs.com/FlyClear. All information on WestJet’s testing offers and processes can be found at westjet.com/covidtesting.

Guests traveling to Hawaii are responsible for ensuring they receive a test within 72-hours of their flight departing to Hawaii in order to avoid quarantine and will be required to display their negative test result prior to boarding. If test results are not available before boarding the final leg of the trip, the traveller must quarantine for 14 days or the length of the stay, whichever is shorter.

All visitors intending to visit Hawaii must register prior to travel: Hawaii entrance requirements are found at https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/

Last month, WestJet announced its December schedule including twice-weekly, non-stop service between Vancouver and Honolulu and Vancouver and Maui. The airline will also be flying non-stop Dreamliner service between Calgary and Honolulu and Calgary and Maui in partnership with DynaLife.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, WestJet has implemented more than 20 additional health and safety measures during the travel journey and continues to evolve its cleaning protocols to meet the needs of guests and WestJetters through its Safety Above All program.

WestJet today released its updated December schedule featuring up to 55 daily flights to sun destinations in the Caribbean, the United States (including Hawaii) and Mexico. The schedule also highlights increased domestic frequencies for travel starting December 5, 2020 through to January 4, 2021.

For sun seekers the airline is adding December flights to Liberia (Costa Rica), Punta Cana, Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic), Bridgetown (Barbados), Mazatlán (Mexico), Huatulco (Mexico), Orlando, Las Vegas, Honolulu (Oahu) and Kahului (Maui).

WestJet continues to operate at a reduced schedule and has removed over 63 per cent capacity year over year, including approximately 73 percent capacity from the December schedule alone. During the holiday season, the airline will offer flights to 54 destinations including 33 in Canada, nine in the U.S. including Hawaii, five in Mexico, five in the Caribbean, one in Europe and one in Central America. Frequencies will increase throughout the month of December, full details at bottom of the release.

Canadians travelling back through Calgary see benefits of post-travel testing trial

On November 2, YYC Calgary International Airport began the COVID-19 testing trial supported by the Governments of Canada and Alberta, trialing a reduced quarantine period in Alberta, while protecting Canadians from COVID-19.

Canadians travelling abroad are still subject to a 14-day quarantine upon their return to the country if not eligible for Alberta’s COVID-19 testing trial program.

WestJet is planning to operate the following transborder and international routes from December 5, 2020 to January 4, 2021:

Hawaii and U.S. transborder

Caribbean, Mexico and Europe

WestJet aircraft photo gallery:

WestJet welcomed WS1511 from Los Angeles (LAX) to Calgary International Airport (YYC) as the first of its international flights eligible to participate in a new Government of Alberta testing pilot program. The program is trialing a reduced quarantine period in Alberta, while protecting Canadians from COVID-19.

“The start of this unique trial is a significant first step in giving peace of mind to those who need to travel and were apprehensive due to the rigorous quarantine requirements and testing restrictions,” said Arved von zur Muehlen, WestJet Chief Commercial Officer. “This pilot is the health and science-based approach that WestJet and our industry has been seeking.  We encourage our guests to adhere to all of the health guidelines in place as part of this program.”

Eligible participants include Canadians and permanent residents arriving at Calgary International Airport on non-stop international flights who will remain in the Province of Alberta for a minimum of 14-days or exempt travellers who will remain for less than 14-days. Participants will be able to access the testing pilot, if determined eligible and opting-in when clearing customs. Testing wait times may vary based on the volume of international arrivals. For eligible travellers, quarantine will only be required until a negative test result is received, potentially reducing the quarantine from 14-days to as few as two. Details can be found here: https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/travel-info/covid-testing

The WestJet Group of Companies has announced it will begin providing refunds to original form of payment for those guests with flights cancelled by WestJet and Swoop, from any time period, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting Monday, November 2, 2020, WestJet will systematically contact eligible guests, beginning with those with flights cancelled at the onset of the pandemic. The refund process is expected to take six to nine months to work through eligible requests. Further information is provided at the bottom of this release.

Effective Monday, November 2, 2020 guests eligible for a refund to original form of payment will be proactively contacted by WestJet, beginning with those flights cancelled by the airline at the start of the pandemic. WestJet expects there will be an administrative backlog and asks for guests to wait to be contacted as we work through requests as quickly as possible.

Additional Information:

• Further information can be found on westjet.com/refund.
• Eligible guests will be contacted by WestJet beginning Monday, November 2, 2020.
• Eligible guests will be contacted in chronological order of cancellation, beginning with those flights cancelled in March 2020 at the outset of the pandemic.
• We ask guests to wait until they are contacted by WestJet in order to not overload the Contact Centre.
• WestJet Vacations guests will continue to follow the process already established.

All photos by the airline.

WestJet today announced it will be indefinitely suspending operations to Moncton, Fredericton, Sydney and Charlottetown, while significantly reducing service to Halifax and St. John’s. The suspension eliminates more than 100 flights weekly or almost 80 percent of seat capacity from the Atlantic region starting November 2 and also suspends operations to Quebec City, with the removal of Toronto service.

“It has become increasingly unviable to serve these markets,” said Ed Sims, WestJet President and CEO. “Since the pandemic’s beginning, we have worked to keep essential air service to all of our domestic airports, however, demand for travel is being severely limited by restrictive policies and third-party fee increases that have left us out of runway without sector-specific support.”

With today’s announcement, all flights to and from Moncton, Fredericton, Sydney, Charlottetown and Quebec City will be discontinued as of November 2. A return to service date is unknown at this time. Guests impacted will be contacted directly regarding their options for travel to and from the region.

Since 2003, WestJet has successfully brought competition and lower fares to the Atlantic region through new service and routes, while driving tourism and business investments. As of 2019, the airline had added more than 700,000 annual seats to the region since 2015, while creating the opportunity for travel to, from and within the region on 28 routes. The airline has also worked to grow Halifax as the Atlantic gateway to Europe through the introduction of successful nonstop transatlantic service to London-Gatwick, Paris, Glasgow and Dublin since 2016, providing key economic and tourism links between the regions. Up until this announcement, WestJet was the only Canadian airline that maintained 100 per cent of its pre-COVID domestic network.

In addition to the Atlantic Canada service changes, WestJet today also announced the airline will be laying off an additional 100 corporate and operational support employees as prospects for any near-term recovery continue to fade and demand remains weak across its operations. These permanent layoffs do not include airport staff from affected Atlantic airports due to WestJet’s previous airport transformation announcement.

Temporary Route Suspensions:

Planned service in Atlantic Canada as of Nov. 2, 2020:

WestJet and the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) today announced WestJet’s newest aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, is now operating five-times weekly between Vancouver and Toronto. Vancouver joins Calgary and Toronto as another domestic 787 destination.

WestJet is also operating Boeing 737 aircraft on three other nonstop daily flights between Vancouver and Toronto for a total of four daily flights, with the exception of Saturdays. On November 5, the WestJet Dreamliner increases operations between Vancouver and Toronto to daily service. Flights are scheduled to provide convenient departure and landing times for business and leisure travelers.

WestJet 787 Dreamliner schedule between Vancouver and Toronto:

The WestJet Dreamliner features 320 seats in three cabins: Business, Premium and Economy, all of which contain a high-level of comfort.

WestJet aircraft photo gallery:

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WestJet has made this announcement:

WestJet has announced guests traveling to, through or from the United States are now eligible for the airline’s enhanced $200,000 CAD COVID-19 travel insurance coverage for air-only and vacation reservations.

The enhanced coverage will retroactively include all bookings made as of September 18, 2020 and will increase by $100,000 CAD to include up to a maximum of $200,000 CAD at no additional charge to eligible guests.

Any WestJet air-only reservation including WestJet Vacations bookings for travel to and from the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe (including U.K.) and inbound to Canada will be eligible for the coverage for up to 21 days for travel into and including August 31, 2021 through new partner TuGo^®. For one-way travel reservations, coverage is available for up to seven days.

“Our research shows that a lack of COVID insurance is a considerable barrier to travel and our guests were seeking the inclusion of U.S. destinations to our travel insurance offering,” said Arved von zur Muehlen, WestJet Chief Commercial Officer. “Eligible guests travelling to and from the destinations we serve can now have an added layer of confidence knowing they are covered for up to $200,000 CAD against unforeseen medical costs related to COVID-19 when booking with WestJet.”

TuGo’s COVID-19  coverage for WestJet guests includes^*:   

• COVID-19 coverage for emergency medical related expenses for eligible guests with COVID-19 while outside of Canada (or for visitors travelling to Canada) for up to a maximum limit of $200,000 CAD per insured person if they have tested positive or have been diagnosed for COVID-19 while on a trip.
• Trip interruption coverage if the Canadian Government’s travel advisory changes to “Avoid all travel” (level 4) while at any of the travel destinations.

Inclusions:

• • Medical and related expenses, such as medical treatment in hospital if a guest tests positive for and is diagnosed with COVID-19 during their trip.
  • Emergency transportation back to Canada or home country (including up to $5,000 for repatriation in case of death).
  • Quarantine meals and commercial accommodation expenses up to $150/day (or up to $300/day per family) to a maximum of 14 days.
  • Up to $500 combined for a one-way economy flight home, unexpected meals and commercial accommodation expenses.
  • Travel insurance is automatically included at time of purchase on WestJet flights or vacation packages on or after September 18, 2020, for travel between September 18, 2020 and August 31, 2021.
  • Certain exclusions, limitations and conditions apply. Learn more from the Certificate of Insurance.

WestJet has built a framework to ensure Canadians can continue to travel safely and responsibly. From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline invested quickly in hygiene and safety measures to mitigate the risk throughout the entire travel journey, investing millions of dollars’ worth of equipment, cleaning and additional measures to protect those who had to fly. The airline continues to invest, test and trial multiple additional safety measures to ensure safety above all.

*Exclusions apply. Not available for travel including cruises.

WestJet aircraft photo gallery:

WestJet has released an updated schedule designed to get Canadians to and from key destinations while supporting the economic recovery of Canada through continued domestic flying. Starting October 4, 2020 WestJet will offer operations to and from 48 destinations including 39 in Canada, three in the U.S. and three in Mexico, two in Jamaica and one in the U.K.

While the schedule is significantly reduced compared to 2019, several major routes have returned including nonstop service between Calgary and Palm Springs, Phoenix, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas along with the return of nonstop service between Toronto and Kingston and Montego Bay, Jamaica and Cancun. The airline is also reintroducing non-stop Dreamliner service from Toronto to London (Gatwick).

The updated schedule is supported by the layered framework WestJet has built to ensure Canadians can continue to travel safely and responsibly, through the airline’s Safety Above All hygiene program. The airline continues to provide flexibility in booking, change and cancellation policies for guests.

To provide piece of mind for those booking international travel (excluding the U.S.) WestJet also recently announced the availability of no-charge COVID-19 travel insurance coverage for eligible guests for reservations made on or after September 18, 2020, for WestJet air-only and WestJet Vacations bookings.