Canadian low-cost carrier, WestJet Airlines, has selected the UK capital, London, as the first transatlantic destination from Canada for its widebody Boeing 767-300 fleet. The airline will deploy the aircraft to London Gatwick from spring 2016, complementing its current transatlantic services to Dublin, Republic of Ireland and Glasgow, Scotland, which are flown using smaller single-aisle Boeing 737s.
The airline is in the process of introducing four second-hand 767-300ERWs into its fleet and will debut the first of these in passenger operation from August 2015 initially on routes within Canada and into the Caribbean from the end of the year. However, over the last 12 months it has been talking to airports, including many in Europe, with view to redeploy these aircraft into new markets from spring 2016, mainly across the Atlantic.
"This news marks the next phase in the international portion of our strategic plan," said Bob Cummings, executive vice-president, commercial, WestJet Airlines. "We are at the right scale to make this step in our evolution. Combined with our low-cost approach and renowned people-driven service, we have the network, brand and infrastructure to successfully enter and grow in the wide-body market.”
The Canadian carrier has yet to confirm its precise operational plans for the London market but its expanded offering in the low-cost, long-haul market shows clear ambitions. Gatwick is currently linked directly to Calgary, Gander, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver by leisure carrier Air Transat while the Canadian cities of Halifax, Ottawa, St John’s are also served non-stop from the UK capital.
"Widebody capability now allows us to serve London Gatwick from anywhere in Canada and brings into consideration more international destinations in the future, said Cummings, who added that the Canadian cities it will fly to London from will be determined over the course of this summer."We will meet with airports across the country to determine the most suitable ones we believe will meet our needs and those of our guests," he added.
The selection of London Gatwick also strengthens that airport’s standing in the Transatlantic market and will see it operate alongside Norwegian on low-cost routes between Europe and North America, providing cost effective access to cities in Canada for British business and leisure travellers and will allow many Canadians new opportunities to visit Britain.
“WestJet’s announcement that it will connect Canada and London is further illustration that the growth of low cost long haul will continue to be a game-changer, increasing competition and services for passengers,” said Stewart Wingate, chief executive officer, Gatwick Airport.
This will be just the first of a number of anticipated announcements from WestJet on its summer 2016 long-haul schedule plans. Further deployment information on the 767s and flight schedules and pricing is expected to be revealed later this summer with service commencing in spring 2016.
WestJet will configure its 767 fleet in a two-class arrangement, including a 24 seat Plus cabin, offering wider seats with more recline in a 2-2-2 configuration. There will be a further 238 seats in the main cabin, and all seats having access to power sources for personal electronic devices such as tablets or phones.
According to its latest flight schedules for winter 2015/2016, WestJet will initially use the widebodied jets in the Calgary – Toronto market from August 2, 2015, before deploying them on international missions at the end of the year. A twice weekly service between Calgary and Honolulu and four times weekly link between Calgary and Kahului will commence from December 11, 2015, while the following day, a three times weekly link between Edmonton and Kahului will also be inaugurated.
Here's the proposed WestJet Airlines Boeing 767-300ER schedule as extracted from OAG Schedules Analyser on the morning of June 16, 2015...
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