WestJet Shelves New US-Canada Flights That Were Meant To Start Next Week

Westjet, Canada’s second-largest airline, has recently shelved several routes between Canada and the United States, presumably due to weakened demand between the two countries. This surprise cancellation of its new route between Vancouver and Austin is part of a broader network shake-up, which has also seen four other routes temporarily suspended during the busy Northern Hemisphere summer season.

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WestJet

IATA/ICAO Code

WS/WJA

Year Founded

1994

The routes on the chopping block include Vancouver to Austin, Kelowna to Seattle, Winnipeg to Los Angeles, Winnipeg to Las Vegas, and Edmonton to Atlanta. It is worth noting that the Austin route was cancelled before it officially launched, and the latter are all just postponed for the summer peak season. These routes were all operated with the carrier’s fleet of Boeing 737

aircraft.

Westjet planned to launch a direct route on May 11, with three weekly services from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). This would have been the first non-stop link between Vancouver and Austin. The airline explained that the route suspension was due to a ‘downward shift in demand.’

While the Vancouver route won’t take off this year, the airline will continue to operate its seasonal direct service to Austin from its biggest hub at Calgary International Airport

(YYC). Air Canada also operates the route year-round from Toronto, with summer seasonal operations from Montreal and Vancouver. WestJet released this statement on its abrupt route cut to Austin:

Other Routes Cut

Weak demand for travel to the United States for Canadians has also resulted in many other Westjet routes being axed for the summer. The US West Coast is bearing the brunt of route cancellations. The airline’s seasonal service between Kelowna and Seattle and Winnipeg and Los Angeles will be paused between July and August. This is alongside Winnipeg to Las Vegas, and Edmonton to Atlanta.

While trans-border demand weakens between the US and Canada, Canadian airlines have refocused their networks on other international and domestic operations. Westjet has reported that while US demand is soft, domestic travel demand is high, particularly to Canada’s Eastern and Western provinces. The airline also has added new European services from Canada’s Maritimes, with a new service from Halifax to Amsterdam and Barcelona. This is the first time the carrier has connected Spain to Nova Scotia.

Data from Cirium, an online aviation analytics company, shows that the cancelled flights have been removed for future bookings, with more details about the route cuts identified in the table below:

Related

This Is The Oldest Aircraft In The WestJet Fleet

WestJet operates a reasonably modern fleet of aircraft with the oldest example being 21.7 years old.

A Shrinking Canada-US Market

Tensions between the US and Canada have reduced business and leisure travel demand between the two countries, leading to airlines cutting trans-border routes. WestJet isn’t immune to this, with Air Canada scaling back several secondary US routes.

US carriers have also been scaling back operations, with Delta and United reducing frequencies on routes to Toronto from Detroit and Chicago, respectively. JetBlue has also seen the need to axe its hotly anticipated new service between Boston and Halifax, citing weakened demand. This leaves JetBlue’s sole Canadian service between New York and Vancouver.

While these cuts will limit business and leisure travel options, they show how easily political tensions can affect flyers and smaller niche travel markets. Simple Flying reached out to WestJet for comment on its latest route adjustments, and their spokesperson responded, “Due to a downward shift in demand, WestJet has updated its summer schedule to help Canadians fly where they want to go.”