WestJet ends seasonal Winnipeg-Palm Springs route early

WestJet has cut its direct flights from Winnipeg to Palm Springs, Calif., a month earlier than originally scheduled.

The twice-weekly route was slated to continue until April 24. Instead, the last flight of the kind — for this winter — left March 27.

Guests impacted by the move have been notified and given reaccommodation options, WestJet spokeswoman Julia Kaiser wrote in an email. The Alberta-based airliner didn’t answer why it ended the flight path four weeks early.

“We are planning to return this fall,” Kaiser stated, noting the direct path has always been a seasonal, winter-only operation.

Airliners have been scaling back their offerings from Canada to the United States, John Gradek, an aviation expert and faculty lecturer at McGill University in Montreal, said earlier this week.

Canadians have largely leaned into patriotism and boycotting American products amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and calls for Canada to become the 51st state.

Air Canada reduced its number of flights to Florida, Gradek said, and United Airlines cancelled a new route between Toronto and Los Angeles set to launch in May.

“There is a significant impact of Canadians’ decisions to reduce their travel to the U.S.,” Gradek said.

He wasn’t talking about WestJet’s Palm Springs decision while making his comments; it’s unclear why the company ended its route prematurely.

It’s “too soon to say” whether Manitobans are travelling less to the United States, said Kerilee Falloon, Winnipeg Airports Authority acting director of communications and marketing.

She expects to have more data from airlines in the coming weeks. On Friday, the WAA hadn’t yet clocked a significant decline in U.S.-bound passengers.

“We do expect that might change in the coming weeks and months,” Falloon said.

People tend to book summer vacations around now, she added. The WAA will monitor passenger traffic to look for trends.

WestJet is halting its direct flight between Winnipeg and Montreal at the end of April. It cited shifting demand and fleet constraints.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com