WestJet shelves new US-Canada flights that were meant to start next week
During the peak Northern Hemisphere travel season, WestJet, Canada's second-largest airline, has temporarily suspended five U.S.-Canada flights, including Vancouver–Austin and Winnipeg–Las Vegas, for the summer
Westjet is Canada’s second-largest airline; it recently shelved several routes between Canada and the United States. Surprisingly, the cancellation of its new route between Vancouver and Austin ensures network shake-up, which also saw four other routes temporarily suspended during the busy Northern Hemisphere summer season.
The routes on this chopped block include Vancouver to Austin, Kelowna to Seattle, Winnipeg to Los Angeles, Winnipeg to Las Vegas, and Edmonton to Atlanta. This all just postponed for the summer peak season. All these routes were operated with the carrier’s fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft.
Austin is firmly off the menu
In a recent approach, WestJet planned to launch a direct service on May 11th, with three weekly services from Vancouver International Airport to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. This would have been the first non-stop link between Vancouver & Austin. The airline explained that route suspension was due to a downward shift in demand.
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. Meanwhile, Air Canada also operates the route year-round from Toronto, with summer seasonal operations in Montreal and Vancouver. WestJet released this statement on its abrupt route cut to Austin;
“Due to a downward shift in demand, WestJet has updated its summer schedule to help Canadians fly where they want to go. Our schedule is continuously being adjusted based on demand.”
Other routes cut
Although there is a weak demand for travel to the United States for Canadians, many other WestJet routes are axed for the summer. In fact, 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.
Besides trans-border demand weakening between the US and Canada, Canadian airlines have refocused their networks on other international & domestic operations. Westjet recently reported that while US demand is soft, domestic travel needs are high—particularly to Canada’s Eastern & Western provinces. The airline also has added a new European service from Canada’s Maritimes and a new service from Halifax to Amsterdam and Barcelona. It’s the first time the carrier has connected Spain to Nova Scotia.
A shrinking Canada-US market
The line of stress between the US and Canada—reduced business & leisure travel demand between the two countries. This led to airlines cutting trans-border routes. Westjet isn’t the only solution, as Air Canada is scaling back several secondary US routes.
US carriers have also been scaling back operations, with Delta & United reduced frequencies on routes to Toronto from Detroit and Chicago. Above all-JetBlue has seen the need to axe with anticipated new service between Boston and Halifax. Overall, it 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."