WestJet adds new destinations with 2015 summer sched

Two new destinations are being added to WestJet's network as part of its 2015 summer schedule.

Airline executives and airport officials hosted a media event at Halifax Stanfield International Airport this morning to announce the addition of Houston, Texas and Gander, Newfoundland. The airline adds a total of nine new routes and increased frequency on 15 established routes. 

“We know that 2015 will be driven by competition on every level, and we are ready,” said WestJet's Bob Cummings, executive vice-president, sales, marketing and guest experience. “Houston and Gander will connect more people, more often, to established and emerging energy markets, and we continue to improve service for our growing number of business travellers."

Gander routes will be hosted on WestJet's regional carrier, Encore.

"We are an airline driving a very exciting evolution that will bring the strength of our low-cost, people-driven guest experience into more markets,” Cummings said.

"Houston and Gander may seem like they sit on opposite ends of the spectrum, but the two destinations have more in common than expected," explained a WestJet release on the new routes.  "Houston is a big player in the global energy sector, making it a natural choice for new, non-stop jet service from Calgary. Gander is a small but mighty town, now the third WestJet destination in the province, set to benefit from the growth of Newfoundland’s offshore oil boom and the established business-traveller market between Alberta and the “Rock”. Service to Gander from Toronto and Halifax completes WestJet Encore’s progression across Canada – now operating coast-to-coast while bringing lower fares and better connections from British Columbia to Newfoundland." 

Expanding its international reach, WestJet will resume service to Dublin on May 1, 2015, and new flights between Halifax and Glasgow begin May 29, 2015. 

Halifax sees its largest increase in service beginning July 15, 2015, with new routes to Gander and Deer Lake, Newfoundland, and Sydney, Nova Scotia, as well as increased frequency to St. John’s, Ottawa and Toronto. 

New WestJet flights between Toronto and Gander begin May 3, 2015, a new WestJet Encore route between Ottawa and Moncton begins July 15, 2015, and service between Toronto and Fredericton, announced last July, begins April 15, 2015.

In addition to non-stop flights to Houston, growth in Western Canada includes new daily non-stop flights from Calgary to Yellowknife and Terrace, BC, launching May 3, 2015. WestJet Encore service between Edmonton and Kamloops, BC, announced early last year, is set to begin on Feb. 15, 2015. 

Details of WestJet’s new routes in summer 2015:

Details of WestJet’s European service in summer 2015: