WestJet "Passenger Perks" - Direct flights from YWG to YXE and YQR to be cut

WestJet spokesman Robert Palmer confirmed that low loads are forcing the airline to cut direct flights from Winnipeg to Regina and Saskatoon. Pax in Winnipeg will now have to fly to Calgary to connect to Regina and Saskatoon.

Meanwhile the Winnipeg Free Press reports that Air Canada will add a third flight each way from both Saskatoon and Regina. starting in mid May.

Ouch! That hurts. I will definately pay a premium to avoid going through calgary, which Air Canada will require, of course.

It's Westjet requiring the YYC connection. AC is adding flights to YXE and YQR from YWG. It looks like instances like this where WS fleet works against them. You'd have to be pretty strongly anti-AC to fly WS YWG-YYC-YXE/YQR I think. (At least until miles and segments start to mean something at WS LOL)

This is an instance where a second smaller aircraft in the WS fleet would make sense.

According to the online schedule, the flights resume in the winter (though this may change).

Also, would it not be viable for either WS or Jazz to operate Regina - Saskatoon?

This is an instance where a second smaller aircraft in the WS fleet would make sense.

I looked up the schedule and WJ has never really been in the local Saskatchewan to Winnipeg business market to begin with!!!

A day business trip was only possible from Saskatoon to Winnipeg, but not the other way. You could do a day trip from Regina to Winnipeg but that meant a 6:10am flight out of Regina and an 8:15pm flight back. That's a LONG day. You could never do a day trip from Winnipeg to Regina on WJ.

I think their winter schedule is more interested in consolidating passengers from Saskatchewan to Winnipeg, then through to Toronto for connections east and south in the morning and getting the return traffic in the afternoon.

Their schedule is more aimed at leisure passengers and in the summer, the drive from Saskatchewan to Manitoba is an easy one so I can see how whatever local business there might be dries up from May till Thanksgiving.

I also see they have added non stops from Saskatchewan to Vancouver and Toronto for the summer and the Saskatchewan - Winnipeg flights resume with the winter schedule in late October.

I guess if you add high demand seasonal flights, the capacity has to come from somewhere!

Does adding another airplane type and all the costs that go with it to go after this type of small market make sense for WestJet?

I don't think so!

:)

According to the online schedule, the flights resume in the winter (though this may change).

Also, would it not be viable for either WS or Jazz to operate Regina - Saskatoon?

As I mentioned in the other thread, the winter online schedule is just a copy of what they flew this winter. They have not released their schedule for next winter yet. These routes won't be returning.

YQR-YXE doesn't make sense for anyone to operate. The cities are too small, and you can drive between them in just over 2 hours.

I think one of the problems with the YQR-YWG flight was the timing of it--too early in the morning. AC operates a YQR-YYZ flight at around the same time, so having to go through YWG to connect to YYZ made little sense to most people. The summer direct to YYZ probably compounded the problem last year and would again this year. Also, many eastern connections are well served through YYC in the morning on WJ so that routing is probably eating into the YWG traffic. I think if WJ tried the flight later in the morning it would probably do alright, or even in mid-afternoon for eastern connections (I don't know the YWG schedule very well so can't tell if that would work, but it would hit a hole that AC has left open by not having a mid-afternoon YYZ flight).

Westjet would probably do well if they could add the Q-400 aircraft to the fleet for such service, and I expect if the airline really wants to dominate domestically it will have to make a move to a smaller aircraft for some markets as those markets cannot sustain the frequencies that are needed. But that would change everything for the airline's very successful growth and viability strategy.

The flights are being dropped because the direct YXE-YYZ and YQR-YYZ flights are siphoning off connecting traffic that would've otherwise gone through YWG.

YQB has been cut to one flight per day from YYZ whereas there were 2 flights. Porter, AC and VIA on this route make for lots of capacity!

And yet AC with the "right sized aircraft" is adding capacity on those two routes at least for the summer.

This begs the question.....would a smaller aircraft fit into WS expansion plans?

YQB went to two flights daily for all the connections to Florida. It drops to one daily for the summer. I don't know what's going to happen next winter.

When Air Canada - with its "right sized aircraft" - starts to make money, maybe we can revisit your question.

When Air Canada - with its "right sized aircraft" - starts to make money, maybe we can revisit your question.

I am not sure what AC's profitability has to do with Westjet adding smaller aircraft into the market. Indeed, if AC with its higher cost business model can start to make money with the aircraft range it has then I expect that it means Westjet is hurting in some way. The question really is whether WJ can get into using smaller aircraft and make their business model work with the added costs of having another type in the fleet. Lurking within the discussion of all these routes is really the issue about at which point Westjet will move fully into serving the domestic market (meaning when will the airline serve all domestic markets that need service with decent frequencies). What I hear from business types in Regina is disappointment that WJ is dropping the YWG route, which is seen as WJ dumping on Regina, which has been a very good city for the airline. The fact that YYZ gets added in doesn't seem to count for much, perhaps because that is a seasonal route and not a permanent one.

What I hear from business types in Regina is disappointment that WJ is dropping the YWG route, which is seen as WJ dumping on Regina, which has been a very good city for the airline. The fact that YYZ gets added in doesn't seem to count for much, perhaps because that is a seasonal route and not a permanent one.

Regina got Toronto AND Vancouver at the cost of Winnipeg. These two are much bigger business destinations. Furthermore, every route starts as seasonal, and at the end of the season WS will decide if the routes are profitable enough to continue year round.

Regina got Toronto AND Vancouver at the cost of Winnipeg. These two are much bigger business destinations. Furthermore, every route starts as seasonal, and at the end of the season WS will decide if the routes are profitable enough to continue year round.

WS flew to YYZ last summer (at least from YXE, maybe YQR as well) so thus it is a seasonal route.

Happy in YEG as haven't spotted any service cuts yet, Calgary looses one flight but who wants to go there anyways :p

Happy in YEG as haven't spotted any service cuts yet, Calgary looses one flight but who wants to go there anyways :p

You're absolutely right! YEG is the only airport of the big four WS cities to never lose a non-stop destination.^

And yet AC with the "right sized aircraft" is adding capacity on those two routes at least for the summer.

This begs the question.....would a smaller aircraft fit into WS expansion plans?

hopefully WS buys RJ's :D It would be good for the west to support Quebec jobs

Just read the flights to YYZ have become year round.

You're absolutely right! YEG is the only airport of the big four WS cities to never lose a non-stop destination.^

Too bad YEG is the slowest airport in north america for getting your bags from the plane to the customer.

Isn't that Ottawa?

Isn't that Ottawa?

Indeed - WS contracts for baggage service from Servisair (I think) in Ottawa - a recent post-midnight flight arrival wound up with a 40+ minute wait for bags. I felt like I was on AC again.

You're absolutely right! YEG is the only airport of the big four WS cities to never lose a non-stop destination.^

In the distant past WS has cut YEG a couple of times.
1 - YEG was cut from both YYC and YEG during the Greyhound days in 96/97. It returned in 97-98 timeframe.
2 - I belive WS operated n/s from YEG to Moncton for a while (when Moncton was the only maritime service).

Just read the flights to YYZ have become year round.

Also gone is the YXE-YWG and YQR-YWG for the winter season, looks like a permanent route cut for WS.

This looks like WS is pull off the milk run routes like same flight/plane service YEG-YXE-YWG-YYZ. Instead WS is polarizing the schedule around the hubs YVR/YYC/YEG/YYZ.

It looks as if they are finally able to eliminate the YXE-YWG and YQR-YWG winter routes that were only there as a way to offer service from Saskatchewan to Toronto in the winter.

The Regina-Winnipeg flight left at about 6:00am and came back at about 9:30pm. It gave Regina one stop Toronto.

The two Saskatoon-Winnipeg flights left at about 7:00am and 10:00am and came back the other way at about 6:00pm and 8:00pm for the Toronto connections.

The Saskatchewan - Winnipeg market was an afterthought and if you look at the numbers from Stats Canada, you can see why!!!! Twice as many people fly from Saskatchewan to Toronto as Saskatchewan to Winnipeg!!!!! Regina - Winnipeg ranks below Montreal- Sept Iles for airline traffiic and most people west of Ontario couldn't point out Sept Iles on a map!

WestJet has never tried to be all things to all people. By giving up the route, it will allow smaller airlines like Calm Air and Bearskin new opportunities to grow in their niche.

There's no point operating routes if they don't make any money.

You'd never know it by listening to the media, but the days of the government requiring airlines to service certain routes ended with deregulation in 1987! They do because they WANT to, not because they HAVE to!