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WestJet plots new links between Winnipeg, East Coast – Winnipeg Free Press

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WestJet Expands Winnipeg Flights

WestJet announced increased flight frequency and new routes from Winnipeg to the East Coast of Canada. This expansion includes a new direct route between Winnipeg and St. John's, starting Canada Day with twice-weekly flights. Flights between Winnipeg and Halifax will see a 43% increase this summer, with 10 weekly flights scheduled.

Expansion Rationale

WestJet aims to improve domestic connectivity and facilitate travel to Europe via Halifax. Additional direct routes from Vancouver, Saskatoon, and Regina to Halifax were also announced. The airline emphasizes its focus on connecting people to their desired destinations, whether for personal or business reasons.

Impact and Future Outlook

The increased flights are expected to positively impact businesses and tourism in the region. While there's a current travel decline to US destinations, the Winnipeg Airports Authority (WAA) is closely monitoring the situation and potential effects of tariffs. WestJet recently ended flights between Winnipeg and Palm Springs and Montreal, reflecting a strategic shift toward Alberta-based operations and European flights. WestJet provides flights from Halifax and St. John’s to several European cities including Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh and London.

WestJet will launch more flights from Winnipeg to the East Coast — a market it’s growing for European travel.

On Tuesday, the Alberta-based airline announced a direct route between Winnipeg and St. John’s. The twice-weekly offering will begin Canada Day.

Trips between Winnipeg and Halifax will increase 43 per cent this summer, according to a WestJet news release. It’s scheduled 10 such flights per week.

The changes join a number of country-wide direct flights and increased frequencies to Halifax, which WestJet is using as a starting point for European connections.

Direct routes leaving Vancouver, Saskatoon and Regina to Halifax were announced Tuesday.

“We are focused on flying people where they want to go, whether it’s reuniting with loved ones in the Prairies, exploring new sights in the Maritimes or seamlessly connecting to Europe,” John Weatherill, WestJet executive vice-president, said in a release.

The flights will support businesses, tourism and travellers wanting to head east, said Kerilee Falloon, Winnipeg Airports Authority director of communications and marketing.

“This was about enhanced connectivity in Canada, and also a great connection point to Europe,” she said.

The announcement comes during a travel decline to United States hot spots. The WAA hasn’t yet seen a “significant impact” to air travel. It’s expecting to notice a difference as Manitobans book summer holidays, Falloon said.

“We could see changes coming to routes in the next couple of weeks or months.”

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For now, the WAA is “closely monitoring” how tariffs may affect Winnipeg’s airport, she added.

WestJet recently called an early end to its flight path between Winnipeg and Palm Springs, Calif., and it quietly cut its route between Winnipeg and Montreal.

John Gradek, an aviation expert and faculty lecturer at McGill University in Montreal, previously said WestJet is focusing operations on Alberta and flights to Europe.

WestJet flies from Halifax and St. John’s to Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh and London.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

Gabrielle Piché Reporter

Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.

Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

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