![]() ![]() Now there are finally budget (or “ultra low-cost”) airlines entering the country, with Westjet’s Swoop (like Jetstar to Australia’s Qantas) having commenced flights in June, Jetlines commencing flights next year and Flair Air rapidly expanding with both domestic and US services.īut the majors have long been offering “ultra low-cost” style, no frills fares. Ratification of the deal was announced Friday.Earlier this month, I was flying around Canada with WestJet and Air Canada, long the only Commercial players in the Canadian domestic market. “Going forward we are actually looking at positive numbers and positive margins.”īargaining with pilots came down to the wire, with WestJet cancelling more than 230 flights in preparation for job action before an agreement-in-principle was reached hours ahead of the strike deadline on May 19. “That month was certainly heavily impacted,” von Hoensbroech said Friday. The drop in bookings prompted by the threat of a strike only added red ink. The CEO, who took the helm at WestJet in February 2022, said less than a month ago the airline hadn’t turned a quarterly profit since 2019. “The market has become pretty competitive,” von Hoensbroech said, but insisted Swoop’s integration strengthens its grip on discount offerings, rather than marking a retreat. The company said no layoffs are expected from the integration, with all Swoop employees slated to move to the mainline.Ĭompetition for budget airfares has grown in recent years, particularly in Western Canada, as upstarts Flair Airlines and Lynx Air challenged Swoop - all three are Alberta-based - for market share on key routes. Soon after, the pink-daubed planes will be repainted with the blue and turquoise of WestJet’s livery. 28, when it will cease to fly, WestJet said. Swoop’s 16 narrow-body 737s will ply its current network through to Oct. So therefore we actually see this as an advantage and as an increased footprint for the ultra-low-cost offering in Canada.” “We are actually broadening our ultra-low-cost reach to a much, much broader network than we could have ever covered with Swoop. “We were prepared for both possible outcomes, and then decided that provided the overall deal didn’t make sense, we are actually ready to integrate Swoop into the mainline business,” von Hoensbroech said in a phone interview from WestJet’s Calgary headquarters.Įach trip by the carrier’s 180-plane fleet will offer a portion of ultra-low-cost fares, he said. WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said he mulled keeping Swoop separate, but that higher wages for its flight crews made the option less feasible. It also comes after pilots with WestJet and Swoop ratified a new collective agreement that brings them onto a level pay scale, and also gives them a 24 per cent hour pay bump over four years. The move marks a major shift in Canada’s aviation skyscape, arriving five years after Swoop first surfaced as a response to discount rival Flair Airlines’ launch in 2017. Amid fierce competition, WestJet will wind down its Swoop subsidiary by late October as it folds the budget airline’s operations under its main banner, the airline said Friday. ![]()
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