WestJet adds new routes to U.S., sun destinations as demand ramps up

WestJet Airlines is ramping up its winter schedule, adding new routes as more Canadians get back to travelling.

The Calgary-based airline announced Monday that it will be adding new domestic and international routes in December in the wake of increasing travel demand, bringing the total number of destinations it serves to 95.

"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," John Weatherill, WestJet's chief commercial officer, said in a statement.

"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."

WestJet will see its service out of Toronto expand to 55 destinations, including 26 international routes, 17 domestic and 12 transborder to the United States. The airline will also increase its service to 61 destinations out of Calgary, including 30 domestic routes, 19 transborder and 12 international. It will add non-stop options out of Winnipeg and Edmonton, and bring back its three-times weekly service between Toronto and Kelowna from Dec. 17 to Jan. 5.

The service expansion comes shortly after the federal government lifted its global advisory urging Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside the country. The advisory was put in place at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. The government of Canada's website now advises that travellers should be fully vaccinated at least 14 days before travelling.

Weatherill also says it is critical that the government travel policies which were introduced before vaccines became widely available in Canada "are recalibrated to accelerate Canada's economic recovery and to reflect the new fully-vaccinated travel journey."

Below are the new routes WestJet will add to its schedule in December:

Competition in Canada's airline industry appears to be heating up, with the COVID-19 pandemic providing an opportunity for smaller airlines to aggressively expand in the market. Flair Airlines, which has positioned itself as an ultra-low-cost carrier, recently announced it will be increasing the size of its fleet as well as expanding to new destinations in Canada and the U.S.

With files from The Canadian Press

Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj.

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