London is calling WestJet, which announced Tuesday it plans to begin flying to the United Kingdom capital by next spring. The Calgary-based airline will fly through London Gatwick.
WestJet currently has two transatlantic routes, one from St. John’s to Dublin and a second between Glasgow and Halifax, which the carrier introduced last month.
The launch of a London route, which brings WestJet into direct competition with Air Canada for London-bound travellers, marks the “next phase” of WestJet’s international expansion plans, according to Bob Cummings, WestJet’s executive vice-president of commercial affairs.
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“WestJet is at the right scale to make this step in our evolution,” Cummings said.
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WestJet will fly Boeing 767 widebody jets to and from Gatwick, not the carrier’s fleet of Boeing 737 narrow-body jets. Schedules and fares will be released later this summer, WestJet said in a release. The carrier is speaking to airports across Canada to determine which it will fly from, it said.
“Wide-body capability now allows us to serve London Gatwick from anywhere in Canada and brings into consideration more international destinations in the future,” Cummings said.
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