Canadian carrier WestJet is responding to significantly reduced demand for travel to the US by temporarily suspending nine routes to large markets within the USA.
Citing a “downward shift in transborder travel demand”, the Calgary-based carrier said on 6 May that it is focusing on domestic and transatlantic flying during the upcoming summer air travel season.
“WestJet has updated its summer schedule to help Canadians fly where they want to go,” the airline says. ”This shift is inclusive of nine temporary route suspensions to US destinations.”
”As is common in the aviation industry, WestJet continuously adjusts its schedule based on demand,” it adds.
WestJet’s soon-to-be launched route between Vancouver and Austin, for example, has been delayed to October.
The carrier is also suspending routes between Calgary and New York, Calgary and Fort Lauderdale, Edmonton and Chicago, Kelowna and Seattle, and Winnipeg and Las Vegas, among others.
Some of WestJet’s route suspensions are for June only, while other routes will be reinstated in the fall.
WestJet is not alone among Canadian carriers reducing flights to the USA. Rising tensions between the longtime allies, driven by US President Donald Trump’s global trade war and threats of annexing Canada, are driving many Canadian air travellers to book flights to elsewhere.
Last month, Toronto-based Porter Airlines disclosed it had tweaked its schedule in response to sagging demand for US-bound flights, though it pledged to maintain a substantial operation to the USA during summer.
Air Canada, too, has said it is observing a slowdown in traffic to popular US destinations. And Calgary-based low-cost carrier Flair Airlines previously warned that sun-seeking “snowbird” travellers could cool on the USA this winter, prompting it to plan more domestic flying.
WestJet is also adding flights within Canada in response to the shift.
”We have seen an increase in demand for domestic travel, specifically between Eastern and Western Canada, and we recently announced three new domestic routes and enhanced connectivity to meet this need,” it says.
The carrier is adding seasonal flights to Halifax from Vancouver, Regina and Saskatoon, as well as a route between Winnipeg and St John’s.
WestJet is also turning more attention to Europe, with recently announced long-haul routes between from Halifax and Amsterdam and Barcelona set to launch within the next two months.
