WestJet adding more Europe-bound flights from Halifax, holding off on domestic travel | Globalnews.ca
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WestJet announced on Thursday that the airline plans to add more flights from Halifax to Europe.
The region was shelled of its WestJet flights during the COVID-19 pandemic. WestJet suspended many of its routes to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia during that time.
Speaking with Global News on Thursday, Vice-President of External Affairs Andy Gibbons, said there isn’t a focus on short-haul Atlantic Canadian routes at the moment.
“Regional flying in Atlantic Canada is not a priority,” said Gibbons.
“There have been a lot of ups and downs in this region. Flights have come, and flights have gone. The value of this investment (flights to Europe) today is that people can count on these flights. They know they’re going to be there.”
John Gradek, a professor of airline management at McGill University, called the move “opportunistic,” saying that WestJet is showing little sign of continued growth in the region.
The flights announced Thursday to Dublin, London-Gatwick, and Edinburgh are seasonal and set to expire in the fall of 2024. There is no clear plan for the 2025 flight schedule.
Gibbons said that coming out of the pandemic, their strategy looked at the profitability of flights within Atlantic Canada, along with the growth of the airline.
“They’re looking at the UK as being a 737-type market. They can serve the Maritimes 10 to 12 weeks of the year. Otherwise, you’re not flying it,” said Gradek.
“The airplanes in the WestJet mainline are too big (for Maritime short-haul flights).”
Gradek said that even WestJet’s smaller planes have a busy schedule in western Canada, keeping them out of the Maritimes.
One of the largest airports in the region, Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), said they’re in talks with various airlines for returning short-haul flights out of YHZ.
“We’re looking at all options to reconnect (short-haul trips),” said Marie Manning, vice-president of business development and chief commercial officer with the airport.
“Regionalization is one of those areas that’s a priority for us to reconnect.”
According to Gibbons from WestJet, the airline has more plans on announcing flights in and out of the Maritimes but said schedules for the summer of 2024 will be announced in the new year.
WestJet currently only operates in Halifax and Moncton, and has dropped its Maritime flights in and out of Fredericton, Saint John, Sydney and Charlottetown.
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