Home is where the start is for Calgary-based carrier
By: Bob Mowat
With the announcement that it was restoring flights to its complete network of domestic airports, WestJet signalled this week that the safest way to ‘restart travel’ was to begin at home – although that’s not to say the carrier won’t be operating international flights, it will.
WestJet’s executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, John Weatherill observed that the airline was making good on its commitment to restore service to some 42 communities – including Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Sydney and Quebec City – and it was doing it both voluntarily and proactively; adding that the carrier needed to make these decisions now in order to prepare for the summer travel season.
Andrew Gibbons, director, government relations for WestJet, explained that the airline is seeking to have a domestic travel plan put in place and, to that end, it is working with federal and provincial officials – including the premiers in Atlantic Canada – in order to see Canada open to travel this summer.
In this respect, Weatherill said that the company is also looking at domestic package product and is working through the details on packaging at the moment and once that has been hammered out, WestJet will be sharing the details with its trade partners.
He also made it clear that he was expecting to see a strong domestic travel season this summer.
And Weatherill also said that the carrier will be operating international flights this summer, including to Europe.
However, both Weatherill and Gibbons cautioned that while they were optimistic, the situation remained fluid and the airline’s plans could change as a result of the forces of an ever-changing global pandemic that has been buffeting the industry for more than a year now.
Obviously, the question of whether WestJet’s decision to restart its regional services is connected to the financial support package that is currently being discussed with the federal government was raised in a briefing yesterday.
Responding to that question, Gibbons made it abundantly clear that this week’s announcement was about WestJet and emphasized that its restoration of its regional network was a move that the carrier was making on its own volition.
He added that at the moment there is no agreement with Ottawa, however, discussions are ‘continuing’ and hopefully there will be more to say in the near future. Beyond that, Gibbons wouldn’t comment.
WestJet’s executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, John Weatherill observed that the airline was making good on its commitment to restore service to some 42 communities – including Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Sydney and Quebec City – and it was doing it both voluntarily and proactively.
John Weatherill
On the issue of travel restrictions, Gibbons was quick to emphasize the significant barrier that federal hotel quarantine requirement is for the industry.
And he said that WestJet has asked that there be a transition from the hotel quarantine restriction to a policy (or policies) that will achieve the government’s public health goals while allowing the safe restart of travel by May 1.
As an example, Gibbons suggested that a transition approach could involve a program like the testing pilot that Calgary Airport was operating.
Here’s the background
The announcement of WestJet’s restoring of flights to its complete network of pre-COVID-19 domestic airports came from Ed Sims, WestJet, President and CEO, who said: “We committed to return to the communities we left, as a result of the pandemic, and we will be restoring flights to these regions in the coming months, of our own volition.”
He continued: “These communities have been a crucial factor in our success over our 25 years and it is critical for us to ensure they have access to affordable air service and domestic connectivity to drive their economic recovery.”
Service is set to resume to the five airports WestJet suspended service from in November, beginning June 24, 2021 through to June 30, 2021.
In addition, service between St. John’s and Toronto, which was indefinitely suspended in October, will resume effective June 24, 2021.
Following a temporary suspension, the restart of service between St. John’s and Halifax will be advanced from June 24, 2021 to May 6, 2021.
Said Sims: “Our focus remains on the safe restart of air travel. We ask that federal and provincial governments work with us to provide clarity and certainty to Canadians, including travel policies that support economic recovery and restore jobs.”
Recognizing the investments that WestJet’s travel and tourism partners in the regions need to make to begin to recover from the pandemic, the airline will continue to encourage the Atlantic premiers to advance their efforts to ensure the region is open to Canadians this summer.
Sims pointed out that: “Alongside an accelerated and successful vaccine rollout, we are hopeful that there will be an easing of onerous travel restrictions currently in place.”
And he concluded: “We look forward to working together to safely reconnect Canadians to the region in the coming months.”
Go to www.westjet.com for more.
