‘We have big plans’: WestJet CEO bullish on Winnipeg

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This article was published 05/10/2024 (433 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

New routes and growing operations were among the topics WestJet Airlines leadership planned to cover during a recent trip to Winnipeg.

CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech touched down Friday to speak to the Winnipeg Airports Authority.

Already this winter, WestJet will break its company record for flights scheduled to leave Winnipeg during the season. It’s touting a 35 per cent year-over-year increase in flights.

“We believe that Manitobans still have lots of unserved travel needs that we can provide,” von Hoensbroech said. “We have big plans.”

WestJet announced first-time direct routes to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, in July. Over the past two years, it’s launched direct flights to Los Angeles, Atlanta and Nashville, and it’s surpassed the number of flights offered pre-COVID-19 pandemic.

WestJet will fly to 22 locations from Winnipeg this winter.

The airline views itself as “the home carrier of Western Canada.” It groups Winnipeg into the pool of western Canadian cities, which is why it’s building its services in the Manitoba capital, von Hoensbroech said.

Launching a plethora of flights has led WestJet, for the first time, to station a crew of pilots and flight attendants in Winnipeg. Previously, WestJet staff would fly elsewhere to start their shifts.

About 187 flight attendants made Winnipeg their home base last year, according to manager Matthew Wiebe. Early this year, some 125 pilots were designated part of the Winnipeg crew.

“They’ve been so excited that they can actually work from where they live,” Wiebe shared Friday.

Still, WestJet doesn’t have a fleet of aircraft based in Winnipeg; that might change, von Hoensbroech hinted.

The company is “considering it,” but needs to invest in maintenance facilities. The CEO said he’d discuss the topic with WAA president Nick Hays.

Both executives were mum on what, if any, new routes could be added in 2025.

“I would expect that next summer, we would have more capacity in Winnipeg than we had this summer,” von Hoensbroech stated.

Hays called WestJet’s continued expansion “great news.”

It comes as Winnipeg Richardson International Airport climbs towards pre-pandemic levels of traffic. The WAA is forecasting a 95 per cent return to 2019 visitation numbers by the end of 2024.

The city’s largest airport is also unrolling a new parking system; parkade users will have their vehicle’s licence plate scanned upon entry.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com