Westjet will fly year-round between London’s Gatwick Airport and both Toronto and Calgary but intends to keep Vancouver flights to and from that airport seasonal, the company announced January 6.
The news follows the Calgary-based airline’s (TSX:WJA) September announcement that it would fly between London Gatwick and six Canadian cities starting in May 2016.
Spokesman Robert Palmer explained to Business in Vancouver that Calgary's relative scarcity of non-stop flights to Europe was part of the reason why the airline chose to make the Calgary flights year-round instead of making its Vancouver flights year-round.
"Vancouver currently has far more international flights and carriers than Calgary," he said. "So, that's part of it. It's also partly the way the aircraft is cycled."
The Calgary flights, for example, will use the same planes that are on the Calgary-Hawaii route.
WestJet’s Vancouver flights to and from London Gatwick will launch May 6 and be six times per week until October 21, when the plan is for them to stop until the following May.
WestJet also plans to keep service to and from London Gatwick on a seasonal basis from Edmonton, Winnipeg and St. John’s.
WestJet's winter Toronto flights to and from London Gatwick will be daily whereas flights between Calgary and London Gatwick will be three times per week during the 2016-2017 winter.
As part of a promotion to fill these flights, the company is offering discounted one-way fares. That means flights as cheap as $323 each way between Vancouver and London Gatwick.
“Today's announcement is another important step in the international expansion of WestJet,” WestJet’s vice-president of network planning, alliances and corporate development, Chris Avery, said in a release.
