skidcanuck
15th Jan 2004, 09:04
WestJet to triple Toronto flights
Globe and Mail Update
WestJet (WJA-T)
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is boosting its flights from Toronto, tripling the amount of departures as it looks to serve key Canadian cities.
The Calgary-based discount airline said it will move its Toronto operations to a larger Terminal 1 from Terminal 3 in April. Capacity will be redeployed from Hamilton.
After the move, WestJet will have 182 weekly departures from Toronto, which it said was three times the current number. That will allow it to link to Montreal and Ottawa from Toronto. (The airline currently flies between Hamilton and the cities. Flights to Halifax and Winnipeg will be served from Toronto.)
In Hamilton, Ottawa and Montreal flights have been cancelled.
"Despite our best efforts over the past few years we have been unable to acquire an adequate load factor and yield on these routes to achieve profitability," Clive Beddoe, WestJet's CEO, said.
"Despite the elimination of these short-haul routes, we remain committed to our mid and long-haul operations from Hamilton as we continue to provide non-stop service from this market to the cities of Halifax, Moncton, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Calgary.
The airline said its Hamilton work force will be cut, but added that all employees have been offered to relocate to other cities.
Jetsgo traffic rises
Montreal-based discount airline Jetsgo Corp. said Wednesday that its revenue passenger miles jumped 231 per cent to 174.1 million miles in December from a year ago.
RPMs measure the number of passengers multiplied by the average length of a trip.
Load factor fell to 77.4 per cetn from 78 per cent a year ago.
"We are continuing the trend of filling our added capacity at close to a 100 per cent rate," Michel Leblanc, Jetsgo president, said.
The company said it will also include surcharges -- fuel and NavCan -- in its base ticket prices. In the past few weeks, Air Canada and WestJet said they will incorporate fuel surcharges into their prices.
Globe and Mail Update
WestJet (WJA-T)
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is boosting its flights from Toronto, tripling the amount of departures as it looks to serve key Canadian cities.
The Calgary-based discount airline said it will move its Toronto operations to a larger Terminal 1 from Terminal 3 in April. Capacity will be redeployed from Hamilton.
After the move, WestJet will have 182 weekly departures from Toronto, which it said was three times the current number. That will allow it to link to Montreal and Ottawa from Toronto. (The airline currently flies between Hamilton and the cities. Flights to Halifax and Winnipeg will be served from Toronto.)
In Hamilton, Ottawa and Montreal flights have been cancelled.
"Despite our best efforts over the past few years we have been unable to acquire an adequate load factor and yield on these routes to achieve profitability," Clive Beddoe, WestJet's CEO, said.
"Despite the elimination of these short-haul routes, we remain committed to our mid and long-haul operations from Hamilton as we continue to provide non-stop service from this market to the cities of Halifax, Moncton, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Calgary.
The airline said its Hamilton work force will be cut, but added that all employees have been offered to relocate to other cities.
Jetsgo traffic rises
Montreal-based discount airline Jetsgo Corp. said Wednesday that its revenue passenger miles jumped 231 per cent to 174.1 million miles in December from a year ago.
RPMs measure the number of passengers multiplied by the average length of a trip.
Load factor fell to 77.4 per cetn from 78 per cent a year ago.
"We are continuing the trend of filling our added capacity at close to a 100 per cent rate," Michel Leblanc, Jetsgo president, said.
The company said it will also include surcharges -- fuel and NavCan -- in its base ticket prices. In the past few weeks, Air Canada and WestJet said they will incorporate fuel surcharges into their prices.