WestJet firmly secures position as Canada's leading leisure airline through winter schedule unlocking unbeatable opportunity to escape to the sun

The WestJet Group brings unmatched service to the sun operating 230 direct routes from Canada to the southern U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America this winter

Transitioning key routes to year-round service, WestJet provides consistent connectivity to guest's most–loved international destinations and vital domestic connections

Airline brings growth strategy to life providing new year-round domestic connectivity to key markets in Atlantic Canada

CALGARY, AB, July 24, 2023 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced its winter schedule, unveiling significant opportunities for Canadians to plan their winter escapes, while extending key domestic and international routes from summer to year-round service.

"This year's winter schedule is about providing Canadians with what they want: affordable sun destination getaways from across Canada; enhanced domestic connectivity from coast-to-coast; and the assurance that some of our most popular routes, previously operated exclusively in the summer, are available year-round," said John Weatherill, WestJet Group, Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer.

Expansion of service to sun destinations

In alignment with WestJet's growth strategy and providing more affordable leisure and sun travel opportunities, this winter the airline is increasing getaway opportunities with new service to some of WestJet's most popular sun destinations. Featuring four new and four returning routes, WestJet's winter schedule will see more than 85 daily departures on average to sun destinations from communities across Canada. Additionally, in response to high demand for travel to the popular beaches of Mexico, WestJet will proudly serve as the airline providing the most flights to over 10 Mexican destinations from Canada this winter. 

Route	Frequency	Start date
Calgary – Tampa Bay (new)	1x weekly	December 23
Edmonton – Montego Bay (new)	1x weekly	November 12
Edmonton – Mazatlán (restart)	2x weekly	November 4
Prince George – Puerto Vallarta (restart)	1x weekly	December 16
Toronto – Bonaire (new)	1x weekly	December 12
Winnipeg – Huatulco (new)	1x weekly	December 24
Victoria – Los Cabos (restart)	1x weekly	November 9
Edmonton – Abbottsford (restart)	5x weekly	October 29

As part of its winter schedule, the airline also announced new non-stop seasonal service between Toronto and Bonaire, beginning December 12, 2023. With the inclusion of Bonaire to its network, WestJet continues to enhance its capacity and commitment to the Greater Toronto Area.

Year-round extensions

Due to exceptional demand, WestJet is extending key routes, highly utilized by its guests this summer, to operate year-round.

Route	Peak Frequency
Calgary – Paris	4x weekly
Edmonton – Minneapolis	5x weekly
Saskatoon – Minneapolis	3x weekly
Winnipeg – Atlanta	5x weekly
Vancouver – Atlanta	5x weekly
Vancouver – Regina**	3x weekly
Vancouver – Saskatoon**	2x weekly

** Returning route that was previously operated

Through WestJet's codeshare partnerships, guests connecting through Paris, Atlanta or Minneapolis will arrive in Air France's or Delta's major hubs, respectively, gaining access to a vast network of European and U.S. destinations on a single purchased ticket.

Jet from East-to-West and everywhere in between

In line with the airline's growth plan, which aims to continuously expand options to ensure guests can seamlessly travel from coast to coast, WestJet is extending two more key domestic routes from Calgary to Moncton and St. John's respectively, from summer to year-round service.

"We are more committed than ever to building on our momentum, strengthening Canada's east to west connectivity year-round," continued Weatherill. "Strong connections fostered between Eastern and Western Canada are essential to the communities we serve and bolstering business and tourism opportunities throughout our country."

Route	Peak Frequency
Calgary – Moncton	2x weekly
Calgary – St. John's	2x weekly

WestJet Group capacity

As an integral part of the WestJet Group, Sunwing Airlines, is further bolstering leisure and sun flying options across the country. Together as the WestJet Group, WestJet and Sunwing Airlines will provide more seats than any other Canadian airline, across 230 nonstop routes from 26 Canadian communities to 55 popular sun destinations in the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America this winter.

Through its recently published winter schedule, Sunwing continues to demonstrate a strong focus on the leisure brand's eastern roots, increasing their capacity in Atlantic Canada by 26 per cent, Quebec by 15 per cent and Ontario by 9 per cent, when compared to 2022.

"As we work towards our eventual airline integration, the complementary winter schedules of both WestJet and Sunwing Airlines demonstrate early signs of a vibrant future for the WestJet Group that will see a significantly expanded footprint in Eastern Canada and bring even more affordable and seamless sun and leisure travel opportunities to Canadians across the country," concluded Weatherill.

About WestJet

In 27 years of serving Canadians, WestJet has cut airfares in half and increased the flying population in Canada to more than 50 per cent. WestJet launched in 1996 with three aircraft, 250 employees and five destinations, growing over the years to more than 180 aircraft, 14,000 employees and more than 110 destinations in 24 countries.

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SOURCE WESTJET, an Alberta Partnership

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