WestJet cancelling service between Montreal & Quebec City

WestJet has announced that it will cancel service between Montreal and Quebec City, effective Oct. 28, 2018.

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WestJet will keep flying between Toronto and Quebec City three times daily and between Toronto and Montreal 14 times daily.

Any travellers who have booked service after Oct. 28 will be rebooked on flights that connect in Toronto, refunded or rebooked on other airlines.

An effort to reduce costs

Lauren Stewart, a spokesperson for WestJet, told PAX:

"As was indicated in our quarterly earnings, WestJet is steadfastly committed to reducing costs and improving profitability. We are responsibly reducing capacity across our network. We had anticipated stronger demand on Quebec City/Montreal route that did not materialize and as such, the decision was made to discontinue this route."

She continued:

"Network decisions about routes and frequency are based on data, sophisticated planning tools, guest feedback and ultimately, consumer demand. The decisions to remove a route are not taken lightly, and all trade-offs are weighed against the benefits. Ultimately, we have a responsibility to use our assets to provide a service that most guests are looking for and that gives a reasonable return on investment for our shareholders. Overall, we are reducing our available seat miles (ASMs) by almost six percentage points versus the previous booking schedule, which equates to approximately 460 million ASMs. This is across the network."

This winter, WestJet will operate an average of 701 daily flights to 96 destinations including 39 in Canada, 22 in the United States, 34 in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America, and one in Europe.

The Quebec City/Montreal route was announced in February of 2017.

For more information, visit WestJet's website.