WestJet is making more cuts to its schedule as the airline continues to face volatile demand and instability if the face of continuing travel restrictions.
The airline is eliminating more than 230 weekly departures, including 160 domestic.
It’s also suspending 11 routes (Edmonton-Cancun, Edmonton- Puerto Vallarta, Edmonton-Phoenix, Vancouver-Cancun, Vancouver-Phoenix, Vancouver-Puerto Vallarta, Vancouver-Cabo, Vancouver-Los Angeles, Vancouver-Palm Springs, Calgary-Las Vegas, Calgary-Orlando).
Another 13 seasonal international and transborder destinations are also suspended (Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Huatulco, Ixtapa, London (Gatwick), Mazatlán, Nassau (Bahamas), Port of Spain, San Jose (Costa Rica), Tampa, and Turks and Caicos.)
The airline will go with 150 daily departures, returning to levels not seen since June 2001.
With the reductions, WestJet will operate at a more than 80% reduction year over year.
Specific to international markets, capacity will be down 93% year over year where the airline will be operating only five daily flights compared to 100 last year.
Some 1,000 employees will be impacted through a combination of furloughs, temporary layoffs, unpaid leaves and reduced hours.
A hiring freeze has also been implemented.
WestJet President and CEO Ed Sims says “Immediately following the federal government’s inbound testing announcement on December 31, and with the continuation of the 14-day quarantine, we saw significant reductions in new bookings and unprecedented cancellations. The entire travel industry and its customers are again on the receiving end of incoherent and inconsistent government policy. We have advocated over the past 10 months for a coordinated testing regime on Canadian soil, but this hasty new measure is causing Canadian travellers unnecessary stress and confusion and may make travel unaffordable, unfeasible and inaccessible for Canadians for years to come.”
Sims adds “Regrettably, this new policy leaves us with no other option but to again place a large number of our employees on leave, while impacting the pay of others, This is a cruel outcome for loyal and hardworking staff who have been diligently working through the pandemic.”
The new rules kicked in on Thursday.
