This week saw WestJet bolster its Summer 2023 schedule further, with a focus on destinations in Canada and the United States.
There are going to be nearly 600 daily departures across the WestJet network over the Summer season, which will come as no surprise due to the demand expected in that period.
Without further ado, let’s get into the routes…
Heavy Increase in Frequencies…
The Canadian carrier provided the following table, which shows exactly the heavy frequency additions that will be made over the Summer 2023 season:
| Route | 2023 peak summer frequency | 2022 peak summer frequency |
| Edmonton – Las Vegas | 11x weekly | 4x weekly |
| Edmonton – Los Angeles | 7x weekly | 4x weekly |
| Calgary – Denver | 4x weekly | 2x weekly |
| Calgary – Houston | 13x weekly | 7x weekly |
| Calgary – New York (JFK) | 7x weekly | 4x weekly |
| Vancouver – Saskatoon | 7x weekly | 4x weekly |
| Vancouver – Ottawa | 11x weekly | 5x weekly |
| Calgary – Yellowknife | 14x weekly | 7x weekly |
| Calgary – Windsor | 7x weekly | 3x weekly |
| Calgary – London, Ont. | 14x weekly | 7x weekly |
| Calgary – Montreal | 20x weekly | 13x weekly |
| Edmonton – Kelowna | 35x weekly | 27x weekly |
| Edmonton – Winnipeg | 20x weekly | 6x weekly |
| Edmonton – Yellowknife | 7x weekly | 3x weekly |
| Edmonton – Saskatoon | 14x weekly | 6x weekly |
| Edmonton – Regina | 14x weekly | 6x weekly |
| Edmonton – Victoria | 20x weekly | 13x weekly |
| Edmonton – Halifax | 13x weekly | 7x weekly |
| Winnipeg – Thunder Bay | 13x weekly | 7x weekly |
| Winnipeg – Saskatoon | 12x weekly | 7x weekly |
WestJet CCO: A Thoughtfully Designed Schedule…
Commenting on the frequency additions was WestJet Group Executive VP & Chief Commercial Officer John Weatherill:
“Providing our guests with even more opportunity to travel across our network this summer comes as a result of a thoughtfully designed schedule that balances the high demand for travel alongside a reliable and resilient operation”.
“With more seats available for booking and added capacity on popular routes, our summer schedule reflects a strengthened commitment to providing seamless domestic and transborder connectivity for our guests.”
The carrier is doing everything it can to operate more flights, which in turn will generate more revenue moving forward.
Exceeding Pre-Pandemic Capacity…
As per data from RadarBox.com, WestJet is exceeding pre-pandemic capacity based on a seven-day rolling average in terms of flights operated.
For March 5-12, the airline operated 474 flights, which is an increase of 84.44% compared to the same period last year.
Such a figure is also 68 movements ahead of the 2019 figure of 406 movements, which was before COVID-19 was a thing.
So things are definitely moving in the right direction for WestJet.
Overall…
It remains clear that WestJet is pressing ahead with growth and is capitalizing on previous successes made in the pre-COVID era.
Looking ahead, all eyes will be on the carrier to see how much further it can take its operations, as well as what the future looks like beyond the Summer 2023 season.
But for now, the ball is in WestJet’s court. They just have to capitalize on their operations as much as possible.
