Suspended WestJet Flight Cuts Off Major Connection For Fredericton Airport
FREDERICTON – While WestJet’s Fredericton-Toronto flight set to be suspended this November is only flying about once a day, it deprives Fredericton of one of its main air connections to the rest of the world beyond Eastern Canada.
Airport Public Relations and Marketing Manager Kate O’Rourke said that while the flight to be suspended later this year was flying less – on account of high levels of uncertainty and recovery in the airline industry – Toronto is a major connection point to flights going further, to destinations ranging from Western Canada to the United States and Europe.
“Toronto is one of those main hubs for Eastern Canada, so it’s a top destination. Toronto and Montreal are really two big hubs, that if you’re going beyond this area, they’re the two airports you’re going to go through to catch your connection,” said O’Rourke.
“(WestJet) talked about that 13-times-a-week peak volume, but that’s not what we’re seeing this year – as is the case with most places. It’s a flight a day into Toronto.”
RELATED: Aaron’s Coffee House To Open At Greater Moncton Airport
While Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport CEO Courtney Burns suggested some air travelers could be diverted to Greater Moncton to catch flights to Toronto later this year – noting a similar diversion occurred during the peak of COVID-19’s lockdowns and restrictions – both she and O’Rourke stressed that it’s only one carrier of several suspending the route.
Those to take a flight out to Toronto this November need not despair, O’Rourke noted. Porter and Air Canada are still offering flights to Toronto.
“We do have those other flights through Porter and Air Canada – this not like last year, where we saw a complete suspension of service due to the lockdowns. We still have lots of options to continue to serve those travelers. Travelers will still have options. WestJet announced those suspensions well in advance, and so people have lots of time to figure out what they want to do,” said O’Rourke.
“The good news is travelers will continue to have options out of Fredericton.”
Other top destinations for flights departing from the Fredericton International Airport include Montreal and Deer Lake, Newfoundland.
RELATED: Toronto Flight May Boost Moncton Air Traffic
On July 18, WestJet announced that it will be suspending several Eastern Canadian flights, effective November 15 of this year. These suspension are part of a pivot on the part of the Calgary-based air carrier to focus more on western flights and sun destinations – the result of a strategic review the company undertook in June.
O’Rourke said it’s more difficult than it would be in a normal year to adequately gauge how the cancellation of WestJet’s Fredericton-to-Toronto route in November will impact the airport.
“Things have been in flux so much over the past couple of years and they still are,” said O’Rourke.
“They are evolving pretty constantly, and all airlines are trying to really figure out the best way to do business right now, adjusting their schedules to reflect the changing demand, and how all those network connections and pieces come into the network.”
RELATED: Air Canada Cuts Will Impact Saint John Airport
While unable to provide passenger numbers for that particular route, O’Rourke said that as of June, the Fredericton International Airport was at around 73-per-cent of its 2019 passenger numbers.
“It’s a fluid situation, changing month-to-month and ramping up very quickly,” she said, noting they are well-staff and operations are going smoothly as the airport recovers from the past couple of years of pandemic-related economic impacts.
“It’s, of course, a network, so those planes that are Fredericton and going somewhere else, so we are seeing some of those delays and cancellations at the larger hubs affecting us in that way,” she said.
“We’re talking with the airlines that might be interested in serving that route, as well, and what we’re hearing is that they don’t have their plans necessarily sorted out for next summer yet, like all the airlines – they’re still evaluating that, so we’ll see what time brings.”
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas at [email protected].