WestJet’s future in Lethbridge at YQL is being enhanced, thanks to a transition from WestJet Link over to WestJet Encore.
A schedule change began Oct. 1, but the intended change will begin Oct. 27.
“We’re moving from our capacity purchase agreement with Pacific Coastal over to our regional aircraft with WestJet Encore,” notes Jared Mikoch-Gerke, WestJet director of Alliances and Airport Affairs.
The aircraft is twice the size and there will be an updated schedule that isn’t as frequent. “But offers optimal connectivity to basically anywhere within our expansive network from Calgary,” adds Mikoch-Gerke.
In terms of capacity, Mikoch-Gerke says, it’s not a significant reduction of seats because the transition will be going from an aircraft that has 34 seats to an aircraft that will now have 78 seats.
“One of the things we’ve heard the most from the community around our service in Lethbridge, that we’ve had here since 2018, is concerns around the reliability of it and the inconsistency and having to see frequent cancellations. One of the biggest reasons we’re bringing this in-house and into a larger aircraft is because we are more confident we can deliver a schedule more reliably in the community,” Mikoch-Gerke explains.
“We want to make sure we’re able to deliver effectively the schedule we’re committing to and offering the best connectivity to markets across Canada and North America.”
A few months ago, WestJet announced a new product, “UltraBasic,” which has given the airline an opportunity to sell fares a little bit cheaper than normal.
According to Mikoch-Gerke, there’s a couple of benefits to transitioning. The aircraft is new, more fuel efficient, flies a little bit faster and it has a lower cost per seat. “We’ve got cheap fares in the market right now for $79. If you look at what the average fare was between Lethbridge and Calgary over the last 12 months, it was $109.”
“If you’re looking for connecting flights, which is what the majority of travellers are from Lethbridge, in many cases you’re going to find fares comparable to, and in some cases cheaper, to your final destination from Lethbridge than you would be from Calgary.”
There used to be three flights a day in the market and now it’s down to one. “That’s not the optimal position for the community and it’s not the optimal position for us. We’re looking to rebuild that. We would like to have additional frequencies in the market,” says Mikoch-Gerke.
“Once we start to rebuild the trust in the community and start to see demand increasing, we’ll be wanting to add additional frequencies back in the market, similar to what we had. We’ve put in a larger aircraft. That absorbs some of the seats from what we previously had. We do believe there’s room for additional frequencies in the future,” adds Mikoch-Gerke.
WestJet is also constantly evaluating new markets and new market opportunities. “We’ll continue to work with the airport, the City of Lethbridge and the Lethbridge and District Chamber of Commerce to identify if there’s key markets Lethbridge and community members are interested in. We’ll continue to have that dialogue with them,” notes Mikoch-Gerke. “We’ve had a good relationship with the community and with the airport. We’ll make sure we work continually with them and evaluate any new opportunities that might arise.”
Last year, there were over 42,000 passengers that flew out of Lethbridge. “It’s a significant number. We had a higher volume of passengers than in previous years. We know the schedule reliability has been a challenge and that’s the predominant reason why we’re transitioning to Encore because we have a higher level of confidence in being able to execute that schedule reliably for what the community expects,” says Mikoch-Gerke.
Mayor Blaine Hyggen says the transition is going to be monitored. “We’ve been promised it’s going to be monitored. As more seats are filled from Lethbridge, that will be evaluated. It’s my understanding it happens usually a couple of times a year.”
“This will be evaluated on a regular basis just to see when that opportunity is to increase air traffic through Lethbridge,” adds Hyggen.
