summary
- WestJet is expanding its fleet with the purchase of three Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft to meet demand for affordable air travel in Canada.
- The airline’s winter 2024/2025 schedule out of Edmonton features 30 nonstop flights, including new routes to Ottawa and Montreal.
- With more than four million seats available, WestJet is adding more domestic and cross-border flights, solidifying its position as Edmonton’s leading airline.
This week, Canadian leisure airline WestJet announced the highlights of its winter 2024/2025 Edmonton flight schedule, adding 20 per cent more capacity than last year. To accommodate some of this increased capacity, the airline announced it will add three more Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft this year.
Increase in Boeing 737s
WestJet is purchasing three Boeing 737 MAX 8s equipped with CFM International’s LEAP-1B engines from Singapore-based aircraft leasing company BOC Aviation. These will add to WestJet’s existing fleet of 37 MAX 8s. The aircraft will be configured with 189 seats in an all-economy configuration or 174 seats in a two-class configuration (12 premium and 162 economy).
Mike Scott, WestJet Group executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the company has an ambitious growth strategy and that expanding its fleet is essential to delivering on its mission to provide affordable air travel to Canadians.
“Two years ago we set out a growth plan to strengthen connectivity between the east and west of the country, while maintaining our position as Canada’s domestic leisure champion and the home carrier for the west. The benefits of our strategy are being realized across our network, and continued increases in aircraft capacity are essential to maintaining our momentum.”
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The first co-branded paint scheme debuted over 10 years ago.
The 737 MAX 8 will improve connectivity and capacity for WestJet’s domestic and cross-border network, but the airline said the aircraft will “It is not an immediate reflection of the in-cabin experience synonymous with the WestJet Group.” WestJet said it will prioritize updating and refreshing its cabins as part of its existing fleet transformation plan to ensure passengers have a consistent experience throughout the life of their fleet.
Photo: WestJet
according to Flightradar24, WestJet has a fleet of 183 aircraft, including 45 de Havilland Dash 8-Q400s operated by WestJet Encore and five Saab 340 turboprops operated by Pacific Coastal Airlines. WestJet’s all-Boeing fleet includes 39 737-700s, 46 737-800s, 37 737 MAX 8s, seven 787-9 Dreamliners and four 737-800(BCF) freighters.
Expanded Winter Schedule
WestJet Airlines announced Tuesday that it will operate more than four million seats in and out of Edmonton this year, solidifying its position as the city’s leading airline. In the winter of 2024/2025, the airline plans to offer nonstop service to 30 cities from Edmonton International Airport (YEG), including 16 cities in Canada, nine cross-border cities including Hawaii, and five cities in Mexico.
Analysis: Why and how WestJet adapted its market strategy
The airline previously operated a low-cost model.
This winter, WestJet will operate approximately 313 weekly flights out of Edmonton International Airport, one of the most connected cities in the WestJet network. The airport is home to 10 new or increased domestic flights and WestJet is the region’s leading carrier, accounting for 50 per cent of all passenger traffic in and out of the airport.
The new domestic routes will be between Edmonton and Ottawa (11 flights per week) and Edmonton and Montreal (5 flights per week). Routes seeing increased frequency from Edmonton include Winnipeg (10 flights per week), Vancouver (8 flights per week), Abbotsford (4 flights per week), Regina (4 flights per week), Victoria (4 flights per week), Saskatoon (2 flights per week), Kelowna (1 flight per week) and Comox (1 flight per week).
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying
WestJet is also strengthening its cross-border winter service by adding a daily flight to Atlanta. The nine U.S. destinations serving from Edmonton for the 2024/2025 winter season include Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Palm Springs, Orlando, Honolulu and Maui.
For those looking to escape the harsh northern winters, WestJet offers five destinations from Edmonton to Mexico, including Huatulco (three times a week), Cancun (nine times a week), Puerto Vallarta (10 times a week), Los Cabos (three times a week) and Mazatlan (three times a week).
Have you flown with WestJet in 2024? Let us know in the comments.
