The path to domestic recovery

The past 12 months have been longer and more challenging than any of us could have imagined.

Over the last 365 days, my posts here have mostly focused on the myriad of challenges, safety precautions, network reductions and layoff notices WestJet has been undergoing while we worked to keep the skeleton of our airline afloat.

It’s time that we set a different tone and this is the week.

On Wednesday we announced our return to the Atlantic with Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Sydney becoming reconnected to our network and St. John’s and Halifax seeing an increase in service, we also announced our return to Quebec City.

Today I am pleased to bring you more positive news. 

This June we will begin flying to 11 new city pairs for Western Canada, opening up new destinations to cities that may never have seen this type of direct support before. 

On the heels of restoring service to Atlantic Canada, we are stimulating air travel to some of the hardest hit communities whose businesses and workers have been adversely affected by the pandemic. It is crucial these communities have access to domestic connectivity to drive their economic recovery and while it may be some time before international travel returns, Canadians should have the opportunity to explore their own country this summer. 

We know that travel can be done safely and with the rollout of vaccines and the beautiful summer months allowing us to spend more time outdoors, it is with cautious optimism that we are making this announcement. 

WestJet is leading the way back so that the 1 in 10 Canadians who work in travel and associated roles can look forward to a summer without the worry that has been riding on them for the past 12 months.

According to Destination Canada, if Canadians shift two-thirds of their planned spend on international leisure travel towards domestic tourism, it will make up for the estimated $19 billion shortfall currently facing our visitor economy, help sustain 150,000 jobs and accelerate recovery by one year.

We need a restart that safely addresses the onerous travel restrictions in place and encourages Canadians to start planning for their summer travel. 

Canadians have not seen their families for more than a year. They, and we, now call on the government to tell us WHEN is the time to travel.

Thank you for the loyalty and support through your messages and comments here on this channel. Many of you have continued to support WestJet and in choosing to fly on us, have helped preserve competition and caring service in Canada.

I have often shared that despite our 25 years to date of halving airfares and doubling the number of traveling Canadians, the best of WestJet is still ahead of us all.