News Releases

WestJet brings Australia closer

Airline opens bookings to Australia with expansion of Qantas relationship

CALGARY, Dec. 4, 2018 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced it has expanded its codeshare relationship with Qantas by placing its WS code and flight numbers on Qantas-operated flights between Los Angeles and Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

"Canada's favourite airline, WestJet, welcomes this deepened relationship with Qantas," said Brian Znotins, WestJet Vice-President, Network Planning and Alliances. "Expanding our partnership with Qantas provides our guests greater global travel options and aligns with the new premium products and services WestJet is developing as we continue our evolution to a global network airline."

Itineraries connecting the growing WestJet network to these Australian destinations are available today for purchase on all WestJet sales channels for flights starting December 6, 2018.

"The expansion of our codeshare relationship with WestJet will give Canadian travellers more options to visit Australia than ever before," said Stephen Thompson, Senior Executive Vice-President, The Americas, Qantas. "We offer more non-stop flights between North America and Australia than any other airline and have Australia's largest domestic network with connecting services to more than 60 destinations across Australia and New Zealand. Our customers tell us they feel their Australian holiday starts the moment they step onboard a Qantas flight, with our award-winning Australian food and wine selection and the warm Aussie hospitality our crew provide."

WestJet and Qantas have been codeshare partners since 2014 and the airlines have offered Qantas Frequent Flyer and WestJet Rewards members the ability to earn and redeem loyalty rewards since 2017. Travellers will also continue to enjoy one-stop check-in and baggage transfers to their final destination.

WestJet operates flights from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto to Los Angeles. The WS code will be added on Qantas' daily flights between Los Angeles and Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and its seasonal service between Vancouver and Sydney.

About WestJet
Together with WestJet's regional airline, WestJet Encore, we offer scheduled service to more than 100 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe and to more than 175 destinations in over 20 countries through our airline partnerships. WestJet Vacations offers affordable, flexible vacations to more than 60 destinations and the choice of more than 800 hotels, resorts, condos and villas.  Members of the WestJet Rewards program earn WestJet dollars on flights, vacation packages and more. Members use WestJet dollars towards the purchase of flights and vacations packages to any WestJet destination with no blackout periods, and have access to Member Exclusive fares offering deals to WestJet destinations throughout our network and those of our partner airlines.

WestJet is proud to be recognized as Best Airline in Canada and Travellers' Choice winner – North America for 2017 and 2018 in the TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice awards for Airlines. The airline was also named the Travellers' Choice Winner – Economy, North America, 2018. All awards are based on authentic reviews from the travelling public on TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site. We are one of very few airlines globally that does not commercially overbook.

WestJet is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol WJA. For more information about everything WestJet, please visit westjet.com.  

Recent recognition includes:
2018 North America's Best Low-Cost Airline (Skytrax)
2018/2017 Best Airline in Canada and Travellers' Choice Winner Mid-Sized and Low Cost Airlines – North America (TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice awards for Airlines)
2018 Travellers' Choice Winner – Economy, North America (TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice awards for Airlines)
2018/2017/2016 Canada's Most Trusted Airline (Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria)
2016 Canada's most reputable company for Corporate Social Responsibility (Reputation Institute)
2016/2015/2014/2013/2012 Ranked top three for Canadian Brands (Canadian Business Magazine)
2016/2015/2014/2013 WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard ranked #1 in Canada (MoneySense magazine)

About Qantas
Qantas is Australia's largest domestic and international airline connecting Australians to the world.  It is widely regarded as one of the world's most respected full-service airlines and one of the strongest brands in Australia, with an outstanding reputation for excellence in safety, customer service, operational efficiency and technical innovation. The Qantas network spans 46 countries across Australia, Asia and the Pacific, the Americas, Europe and Africa and flies to almost 60 destinations throughout Australia. The U.S. is one of Qantas' most popular destinations, with its first Trans-Pacific flight taking place in 1954 to San Francisco. Qantas offers more non-stop flights per week between the U.S. and Australia than any other airline with direct flights from Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Dallas/Fort Worth and Vancouver, and more than 240 codeshare city pairs across the U.S., Canada and Mexico from Qantas gateways. 

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SOURCE WESTJET, an Alberta Partnership

For further information: Media contacts: To contact WestJet media relations, please email media@westjet.com