In 2020 WestJet will be adding three more Boeing 787 Dreamliners to their fleet for a total of six. This past year saw them launch new routes from Calgary to Paris and Dublin along with the replacement of the the 767 on the London Gatwick Route. In the past week we saw the plane start flying between Toronto and London Gatwick and we already know one additional aircraft for next year will be used for Vancouver to London flights. As of today we also know where another one of the three new aircraft for 2020 will fly – Rome. Westjet will launch the first ever non-stop flights between Calgary and Rome on May 2. The route will operate once per week until May 23 where it will ramp to three flights per week on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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| Screenshot ITA Matrix taken last night |
WestJet is really keeping their word of growing the Calgary hub with yet another flight to Europe. Yes it is only three flights per week but WestJet will also be bumping Paris flights up to 6x weekly from the 4x seen in 2019. You can bet if the route does well like Paris has it will be bumped up in the future. Like WestJet’s other European flights from Calgary, the Rome flight is timed for connections from the Western U.S. as this one their key strategies for these routes. Not only does WestJet count on us Canadians to fly these routes but they want to take advantage of connecting traffic from the U.S. and this is where Rome makes a lot of sense. There aren’t a lot of direct flights from the Western U.S. to Rome so most of people have to rely on connecting flights and WestJet is poised to take a piece of that pie.
WestJet’s Boeing 787 aircraft feature three class of service Economy,
Premium Economy and Business. The 16 seat Business Class cabin features
lie flat seats, on demand dining and much more. Those flying in Business Class also get lounge access in Calgary and other Canadian cities. We should see the opening of WestJet’s new Flagship Lounge in Calgary next summer which is perfect for this new flight if you hold WestJet elite status or are flying it in business class!
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Overall it is another win for those in Calgary and Western Canada as WestJet continues to make in roads in the transatlantic market and seeing that the flights are from Rewards Canada’s home airport we are super excited for them! Now, we just await WestJet’s announcement of flights to Asia! They’ve been mentioned by WestJet in the past and perhaps those will come in 2021 when more of the 787’s make there way into the fleet.