WestJet Airlines announced Monday that it will be adding more routes in December to meet the increased demand for travel. These new routes happen to also coincide with the fact that the Canadian government has lifted its global advisory to avoid non-essential international travel. The announcement could not come at a better time as Canadians are looking forward to traveling again.
WestJet Adds New Routes
John Weatherhill, chief commercial officer of WestJet commented, “As Canadians’ confidence in travel grows, the return of service to 95 destinations marks a major milestone in rebuilding our network to pre-pandemic levels.” Weatherhill added, “We have our sights set on restoring our global network to reach more than 100 destinations and continue to focus on alleviating the current travel barriers in place for our guests.”
Canadian Government Lifts Global Advisory
On October 22, the Canadian government lifted its non-essential travel advisory. The advisory has been in place since March 2020, at the onset of the global pandemic. The modified advisory states that travelers need to be fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to travel.
Weatherhill noted that these government travel advisories were put in place before the vaccinations became widely available in Canada. He added that it is important that these travel policies “are recalibrated to accelerate Canada’s economic recovery and to reflect the new fully-vaccinated travel journey.”
Hot Competition in Canada’s Airline Industry
The announcement of the travel advisory lift has sparked a competition in the Canadian airline industry. Since the pandemic broke out, smaller airlines have taken the opportunity to expand into the market. For instance, Flair Airlines geared itself to go head to head with WestJet and Air Canada with new Canadian and US destinations, and an increase in its fleet size.
WestJet Service Expansion
WestJet will increase its service out of Toronto to 55 destinations both domestic and international routes. On routes departing from Calgary will increase to 61 destinations, with 30 domestic and 12 international destinations. New non-stop options will be added to the Winnipeg and Edmonton departures as well.
WestJet’s New December Routes
WestJet will add the following routes beginning December 2021:
December 16th
- Toronto to Miami will be operating four times weekly.
- Toronto to Grand Cayman route will operate once a week.
- A new route from Winnipeg to Regina will operate four times a week.
December 17th
- Toronto to Boston will offer service four times a week.
- Toronto to Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago will offer service twice weekly.
- The route between Toronto and Kelowna with three times weekly service will operate between December 17th to January 5th.
- Flights between Winnipeg and Cancun will operate up to three times a week.
December 18th
- Weekly service from Toronto to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- Calgary to Fort Lauderdale and Punta Cana once weekly.
- The Winnipeg to Orlando route will operate once weekly.
- A route operating from Edmonton to Honolulu, Hawaii will also begin operating once weekly.
December 19th
- Toronto to Roatan with service once a week.
- Calgary to Lihue and Kona will operate weekly.
READ MORE:
Travel Insurance That Covers Covid-19 For 2021
Canada Lifts Non-Essential Global Travel Advisory
Top 6 Reasons to Visit the US Virgin Islands this Winter
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Disclaimer: Current travel rules and restrictions can change without notice. The decision to travel is ultimately your responsibility. Contact your consulate and/or local authorities to confirm your nationality’s entry and/or any changes to travel requirements before traveling. Travel Off Path does not endorse traveling against government advisories