WestJet has added six routes to Europe, all of which will be on the Boeing 737 MAX 8. It will fly from 
Toronto to Cardiff, Glasgow, and Ponta Delgada, and from Halifax to Copenhagen, Lisbon, and Madrid. All but Glasgow are brand-new cities in the Canadian carrier’s network. The likelihood of these cities being served was first mentioned on November 17.
All the routes will begin in May or June. Six or so months ahead of the first time is a good amount of time to drive awareness and sales. However, some airlines have only a handful of weeks between announcement and commencement. Examples abound of this. Recent examples include IndiGo and Riyadh Air to London Heathrow (the little notice was for slot reasons), while Uzbekistan’s Qanot Sharq has added London Gatwick flights with a month’s notice.
4 Of The Routes Will Have No Head-To-Head Competition
When this article was published at 08:00 EST, the routes were not bookable, but that is expected to change later today. Some of the following details are available from Aeroroutes. Unsurprisingly, none of the Halifax routes have ever been served before, while Toronto-Cardiff was last served by the now-defunct Zoom in 2008. WestJet last served Glasgow in 2022. Thereafter, it only flew to Edinburgh, but will now serve both Scottish cities again—just like United, with its return to Glasgow.
At 2,993 nautical miles (5,543 km), Toronto-Cardiff is the Canadian carrier’s new longest single-aisle service to Europe. It exceeds what was number one, Toronto to Edinburgh, by 3%. And with a block time of 7h 55m, it will be the longest in this sense, too. It’ll be five minutes longer than Halifax to Barcelona, which was first.
|
Start Date |
Route |
Frequency |
Equipment |
Nautical Miles (km) |
Max. Block Time |
Direct Competition?* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
May 1 |
Halifax to Lisbon |
Four weekly |
737 MAX 8 |
2,420 (4,482) |
6h 40m |
No |
|
May 15 |
Halifax to Madrid |
Four weekly |
737 MAX 8 |
2,605 (4,824) |
7h 20m |
No |
|
May 15 |
Toronto to Glasgow |
Four weekly |
737 MAX 8 |
2,862 (5,300) |
7h 10m |
Yes: Air Transat (six weekly A321LR) |
|
May 22 |
Toronto to Cardiff |
Four weekly |
737 MAX 8 |
2,993 (5,543) |
7h 55m |
No |
|
May 28 |
Halifax to Copenhagen |
Four weekly |
737 MAX 8 |
2,849 (5,276) |
7h 30m |
No |
|
June 12 |
Toronto to Ponta Delgada |
Four weekly |
737 MAX 8 |
2,443 (4,524) |
6h 35m |
Yes: Azores Airlines (five weekly A321LR) |
|
* June frequencies and aircraft |
Look At Lisbon’s Schedule!
The Portuguese capital is renowned for its chronic lack of slots. TAP Air Portugal’s CEO has publicly commented on it, and that it means the country’s flag carrier has little choice but to develop Porto as a mini-hub. JetBlue said it may sue because of its inability to fly there, at least based on when it wants to or with the frequency it desires.
Like Heathrow, slots are available in Lisbon. But airlines must be very flexible in obtaining them. WestJet is doing exactly this. WS32 will depart from Halifax at 2 pm and arrive in Portugal at the horrendous time of 11:55 pm local time. Returning, WS33 will leave Europe at 6 am and arrive in Canada at 8:40 am local time. (This is Simple Flying’s new way of writing hours.)
It will be WestJet’s sole daytime service to Europe. And when all scheduled passenger airlines are included, its 11:55 pm arrival time will be the latest service from Canada/US to Europe. It beats Turkish Airlines from Los Angeles to Istanbul Airport (which is on the European side of the Bosphorus), which will arrive at 11:25 pm next summer.
WestJet’s times may be somewhat acceptable for Portuguese travelers, but less so for Canadians on vacation. The carrier will be betting on getting its foot in the door and then, when it can, changing its schedule to be more commercially suitable. JetBlue is unlikely to take this approach. It will be interesting to see what comes first: WestJet pulling out because of insufficient performance (partly offset by financial incentives and perhaps risk-sharing agreements) or achieving better-timed slots.
Wales Will Get Regular Long-Haul Flights Again
Qatar Airways provided Cardiff’s last regular long-haul service. Influenced by considerable financial incentives, it served the Welsh capital between 2018 and 2020 on the 787-8. According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, 167,300 round-trip passengers were transported. As the carrier’s schedule submission to Cirium Diio indicates that it had 294,000 seats for sale, its seat load factor was just 57%.
WestJet will be the latest carrier to attempt Canada-Cardiff flights. Air Transat flew from Toronto until 2004 using its A310s. The now-defunct Zoom replaced it and operated until 2008, with 757s and 767s deployed. It briefly flew to Vancouver, too. When it ceased to exist, the now-defunct FlyGlobespan had stated it was to operate from Cardiff, but schedules do not exist.
Will WestJet perform better? It is a much better-known name, at least in North America, while passengers will be able to connect to many cities in Canada and the US. Use of single-aisle equipment will mean relatively few seats to fill. It’ll need far fewer passengers to break even at a passenger percentage. And with a much lower trip cost than a widebody, it’ll be a less risky opportunity. Time will tell how it does.
