WestJet Axes Nearly All Atlantic Canadian Flights
HALIFAX — WestJet has indefinitely suspended flights in Moncton, Fredericton, Sydney, and Charlottetown while making major cuts to service in Halifax and St. John’s.
The suspension, which will come into effect on November 2, means the elimination of more than 100 weekly flights in Atlantic Canada and slashes the airline’s seat capacity in the region by 80 percent.
“It has become unviable to serve these markets and these decisions were regrettably inevitable as demand is being obliterated by the Atlantic Bubble and third-party fee increases,” WestJet president and CEO Ed Sims said in a video statement.
Right now, WestJet flies between Moncton and Toronto four times a week, and between Fredericton and Toronto four times a week.
Those flights will be completely suspended.
In Halifax, the airline has been offering multiple daily flights to and from Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, St. John’s, and Sydney
Its new schedule eliminates the Sydney and Ottawa flights, reduces the Halifax-Calgary route to nine flights a week, the Halifax-St. John’s route to 11 flights a week, and the Halifax-Toronto route to twice a day.
Along with changes in Charlottetown and St. John’s, Westjet is also suspending its service in Quebec City.
Sims gave no timeline for if, or when, WestJet will come back to Atlantic Canada, saying only that service will return “when the situation improves.”
Job Losses Also Coming
The airline’s massive pullback from Atlantic Canada also means additional job losses. Sims said WestJet is permanently laying off 100 employees in its corporate and operation support divisions.
Those layoffs are in addition to the more than 3,300 layoffs the company announced earlier this year that also affected Atlantic Canadian staff.
“We understand this is devastating news to the communities, our airport partners, and the [customers] who rely on our airline, but these suspensions were unavoidable without the prioritization of rapid-testing or support for the introduction of a safe Canadian bubble,” Sims said.
The news from WestJet follows a June announcement by Air Canada that it was indefinitely suspending 11 routes in Atlantic Canada and closing stations in Bathurst, NB and Wabush, NL.
Derrick Stanford, the president of the Atlantic Canada Airports Association, says the situation is a “hopeless” one for the region’s airports.
“We understand WestJet’s decision and can’t say that we are surprised. Demand has been severely hampered by 14-day quarantine restrictions and our region has the lowest travel volumes in the country right now,” Stanford said in a news release.
McNeil Calls For Federal Strategy
Answering questions about WestJet’s decicion today, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said a vibrant air service is vital to Atlantic Canada’s economic prosperity. He called on the federal government to create a national air strategy that would ensure service to the region comes back strongly.
“This is a national issue and it’s our view that we need to find a solution to this, otherwise our climb out of the economic impact of covid will be greater than other parts of Canada,” he said.
Monette Pasher, the executive rirector of the ACAA, echoed McNeil’s concerns. She pointed out that airlines have been specifically citing “restrictive government travel policies” as key reasons for low passanger numbers.
“We have been expressing the urgency of the need for government to provide support for our industry. Frankly, it’s been seven months and time is now running out. Rebuilding air service in our market will be very challenging, as this is another significant blow to Atlantic Canada communities,” she said.
Stanford said the industry doesn’t expect a recovery to pre Covid-19 levels for four to five years at a minimum and that the financial prospects for the region’s airports are “untenable.”
“There’s no pot of gold at the end of any rainbow. Our airport businesses have been decimated and our financial sustainability is in serious question. Airports are critical to economic vitality… but we’re at the cliff’s edge and we’re holding on by our fingernails,” she said.
In an attempt to cling to that cliff edge a little longer, many Atlantic Canadian airports have tried to boost revenue by raising the airport improvement fees they charge customers.
Sims specifically highlighted those fee raises as a barrier for potential airline passangers.
“Price increases that make air travel even more expensive is not what the travelling public needs, or can even afford right now,” he said.
With files from Tara Clow, news director with 91.9 The Bend, a Huddle content partner.