WestJet announces new service to Houston, Texas and Gander, Newfoundland
CALGARY, Jan. 19, 2015 /CNW/ - WestJet today
announced two new destinations - Houston,
Texas and Gander,
Newfoundland - as part of the 2015 summer
schedule release. The airline adds a total of nine new routes
and increased frequency on 15 established routes.
"We know that 2015 will be driven by competition on every level,
and we are ready," said Bob
Cummings, WestJet Executive Vice-President, Sales, Marketing
and Guest Experience. "Houston and
Gander will connect more people,
more often, to established and emerging energy markets, and we
continue to improve service for our growing number of business
travellers. WestJet resumes service to Dublin and launches service to Glasgow this spring as we further build our
European presence, while WestJet Encore now reaches across
Canada with the routes announced
today. We are an airline experiencing a very exciting evolution
that will bring the strength of our low-cost, people-driven guest
experience into more markets."
Houston and Gander may seem like they sit on opposite ends
of the spectrum, but the two destinations have more in common than
expected. Houston is a big player
in the global energy sector, making it a natural choice for new,
non-stop jet service from Calgary.
Gander is a small but mighty town,
now the third WestJet destination in the province, set to benefit
from the growth of Newfoundland's
offshore oil boom and the established business-traveller market
between Alberta and the "Rock".
Service to Gander from
Toronto and Halifax completes WestJet Encore's progression
across Canada – now operating
coast-to-coast while bringing lower fares and better connections
from British Columbia to
Newfoundland.
"As an airline, WestJet takes the route less travelled by
preparing in good times for the potentially tough ones ahead," said
WestJet Vice-President, Revenue Management, Paul Harvalias. "Last year we promised we would
drop fares, and we followed through by lowering the price of more
than six million seats across our network. The fares offered today
also reflect on that promise; in addition to ultra-low introductory
fares for routes like Houston and
Gander, or for our European
destinations, we have incredibly competitive pricing across the
network throughout the year."
Guests in Atlantic Canada
benefit from a market stimulated by lower fares, more flight
options and greater connectivity as WestJet introduces more
flights. WestJet launches its second year of competitive rates to
Europe when flights resume between
St. John's and Dublin on May 1,
2015, and new flights between Halifax and Glasgow begin May 29,
2015. Halifax sees its
largest increase in service beginning July
15, 2015, with new routes to Gander and Deer
Lake, Newfoundland, and Sydney,
Nova Scotia, as well as increased frequency to St. John's, Ottawa and Toronto. New WestJet flights between
Toronto and Gander begin May 3,
2015, a new WestJet Encore route between Ottawa and Moncton begins July 15,
2015, and service between Toronto and Fredericton, announced last July, begins
April 15, 2015.
In addition to non-stop flights to Houston, growth in Western Canada includes new daily non-stop
flights from Calgary to
Yellowknife and Terrace, BC, launching May 3, 2015. WestJet Encore service between
Edmonton and Kamloops, BC, announced early last year, is
set to begin on February 15,
2015.
Details of WestJet's new routes in summer 2015:
Route
|
Frequency
|
Departing
|
Arriving
|
Effective
|
Calgary –
Houston
|
Daily
|
10:25 a.m.
|
3:22 p.m.
|
Sept. 8,
2015
|
Halifax –
Gander
|
Daily
|
8:50 p.m.
|
11:03 p.m.
|
July 15,
2015
|
Halifax – Deer
Lake
|
Daily
|
7:40 a.m.
|
9:46 a.m.
|
July 15,
2015
|
Halifax –
Sydney
|
Daily
|
12:40 p.m.
|
1:35 p.m.
|
July 15,
2015
|
Toronto –
Gander
|
Daily
|
9:00 p.m.
|
1:22 a.m.
|
May 3,
2015
|
Calgary –
Terrace
|
Daily
|
2:40 p.m.
|
3:58 p.m.
|
May 3,
2015
|
Calgary –
Yellowknife
|
Daily
|
8:45 p.m.
|
10:48 p.m.
|
May 3,
2015
|
Ottawa –
Moncton
|
Daily
|
2:35 p.m.
|
5:26 p.m.
|
July 15,
2015
|
Details of WestJet's European service in summer 2015:
Route
|
Frequency
|
Departing
|
Arriving
|
Effective
|
St. John's –
Dublin
|
Daily
|
11:10 p.m.
|
7:04 a.m.
(+1)
|
May 1,
2015
|
Halifax –
Glasgow
|
Daily
|
10:45 p.m.
|
8:00 a.m.
(+1)
|
May 29,
2015
|
Two-day low introductory fares starting at:
Departing
|
Arriving
|
Air
transportation
charges (ATC)
|
Taxes,
fees and
charges
|
Total
one-way
price
from
|
Base fare
from
|
Other
ATC
|
Toronto
|
Gander
|
$128.00
|
$23.00
|
$55.76
|
$206.93
|
Gander
|
Toronto
|
$128.00
|
$23.00
|
$55.76
|
$206.93
|
Halifax
|
Gander
|
$87.00
|
$18.00
|
$52.69
|
$157.69
|
Gander
|
Halifax
|
$87.00
|
$18.00
|
$49.95
|
$154.95
|
Halifax
|
Deer Lake
|
$80.00
|
$12.00
|
$50.74
|
$142.74
|
Deer Lake
|
Halifax
|
$80.00
|
$12.00
|
$42.61
|
$134.61
|
Halifax
|
Sydney
|
$60.00
|
$12.00
|
$47.60
|
$119.60
|
Sydney
|
Halifax
|
$60.00
|
$12.00
|
$47.60
|
$119.60
|
Ottawa
|
Moncton
|
$88.00
|
$18.00
|
$52.34
|
$158.34
|
Moncton
|
Ottawa
|
$88.00
|
$18.00
|
$48.95
|
$154.95
|
Calgary
|
Yellowknife
|
$96.00
|
$23.00
|
$44.93
|
$163.93
|
Yellowknife
|
Calgary
|
$96.00
|
$23.00
|
$13.43
|
$132.43
|
Terrace
|
Calgary
|
$92.00
|
$18.00
|
$20.33
|
$130.33
|
Calgary
|
Terrace
|
$92.00
|
$18.00
|
$44.48
|
$154.48
|
*Book by January 20, 2015, on
select days. Some restrictions apply. Please see
westjet.com/newdestinations for details.
Low introductory fares to Europe starting at:
Departing
|
Arriving
|
Air transportation
charges
(ATC)
|
Taxes, fees
and charges
|
Total
one-way
price
from
|
Base fare
from
|
Other
ATC
|
Halifax
|
Glasgow
|
$198.00
|
$7.50
|
$54.66
|
$260.16
|
St John's
|
Dublin
|
$167.00
|
$7.50
|
$59.81
|
$258.31
|
*Some restrictions apply. Please see westjet.com for full
details.
Low introductory fares to Houston starting at:
Departing
|
Arriving
|
Air transportation
charges
(ATC)
|
Taxes, fees
and charges
|
Total
one-way
price
from
|
Base fare
from
|
Other
ATC
|
Calgary
|
Houston
|
$144.00
|
$7.50
|
$94.42
|
$245.92
|
*Book by January 26, 2015, on
select days from September 8, 2015,
until December 11.2015. Some restrictions apply. Please see
westjet.com/newdestinations for details.
WestJet Vacations offers a range of experiences in more than 40
destinations in the US, Mexico,
Caribbean, Europe and Canada, most recently adding Glasgow, United Kingdom, to its line-up.
WestJet's summer schedule for 2015 also adds more flights to
Las Vegas, Orlando and year round service from
Toronto to Puerto Vallarta, where guests can take
advantage of the many amenities and great service they have come to
expect from WestJet Vacations.
WestJet Rewards recently launched new Gold, Silver and Teal
tiers that offer milestone awards and flight benefits, including
but not limited to free checked bags, advance boarding and airport
lounge vouchers. Members with top-tier status in another Canadian
airline's frequent flyer program can get Gold flight benefits
immediately by taking advantage of WestJet's Status Match offer,
available until January 31, 2015, at
westjet.com/getgold.
For more details on WestJet's 2015 summer schedule, please visit
westjet.com/newdestinations.
About WestJet
We are proud to be Canada's most-preferred airline, powered by an
award-winning culture of care and recognized as one of the
country's top employers. We offer scheduled service to more than 90
destinations in North America,
Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. Through our regional airline, WestJet
Encore, and with partnerships with airlines representing every
major region of the world, we offer our guests more than 120
destinations in more than 20 countries. Leveraging WestJet's
extensive network, flight schedule and remarkable guest experience,
WestJet Vacations delivers affordable, flexible travel experiences
with a variety of accommodation options for every guest. Members of
our WestJet Rewards program earn WestJet dollars on flights,
vacation packages and more. Our members use WestJet dollars towards
the purchase of WestJet flights and vacations packages on any day,
at any time, to any WestJet destination with no blackout periods –
even on seat sales. For more information about everything WestJet,
please visit westjet.com.
Recent recognition includes:
2015 Best Employers in
Canada (Aon Hewitt)
2014 Interbrand Canada's Best Canadian Brands (Rank #20)
2014 Brands of the Year (Strategy magazine)
2014 Canada's Most Preferred
Airline (Ipsos)
2014 Value Airline of the Year (Air Transport World magazine)
2014/2013/2012 Canada's Most
Attractive Employer (Randstad)
2014/2013 WestJet RBC MasterCard ranked #1 in Canada (Money Sense magazine and
RewardsCanada.ca)
2013 Highest equity score: airline, vacation package supplier
brands (Harris/Decima EquiTrend Study)
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SOURCE WestJet