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Airline announces new flights in Alberta and Saskatchewan

CALGARY, Feb. 19, 2013 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced it will use its new fleet of Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft to enhance its schedule in Alberta and Saskatchewan beginning this spring.

Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie and Saskatoon will see an increase in the number of flights to their cities this summer on a year-over-year basis.

"This type of flying demonstrates the versatility of the Q400 aircraft," said Ferio Pugliese, President, WestJet Encore and Executive Vice-President, WestJet. "In addition to new destinations, we are now able to effectively connect cities that have WestJet service but not between each other or, in some cases, now offer service year-round. It also allows us to operate more efficiently, since these aircraft have the right amount of seats needed on certain routes or at certain times of the day. This versatility opens up many new possibilities to serve even more Canadians in the future, as well as increase frequency of flights to better serve business travellers."

WestJet will extend service between Calgary and Grande Prairie to year-round from seasonal, adding one new daily flight in August, operated by WestJet Encore. WestJet will also increase the number of daily flights between Calgary and Edmonton to nine from seven by September. Both new flights, as well as two existing flights on WestJet's Boeing 737 Next-Generation aircraft, will be operated by WestJet Encore.

Between Edmonton and Grande Prairie, WestJet will increase the number of daily flights to three from two by September, and all flights between the two cities will be operated by WestJet Encore.

There are also a number of changes to flights between Alberta and Saskatchewan. WestJet will increase the number of daily flights between Calgary and Saskatoon to five from four. The new flight will be operated by WestJet Encore beginning June 24, 2013. Between Calgary and Regina, one of the four daily flights between these cities will be operated by WestJet Encore beginning in August.

As part of WestJet's 2013 summer schedule, both Saskatoon and Regina also see the addition of three more flights per week to Toronto.

WestJet Encore will take delivery of its first two Canadian-built, 78-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft in June 2013 and add five more by the end of the year. WestJet has firm orders for a total of 20 Q400s and options for an additional 25 over the next six years.

"Last week's announcement of the first two destinations, Fort St. John and Nanaimo, B.C., as well as schedule improvements in Alberta and Saskatchewan, are really just the beginning of things to come for WestJet Encore," said Ferio Pugliese, President, WestJet Encore and Executive Vice-President, WestJet. "As we take delivery of additional aircraft in the years to come, we will add more destinations and continue to enhance our schedule to serve our guests."  

About WestJet

WestJet is Canada's most preferred airline, offering scheduled service to 85 destinations in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Powered by an award-winning culture of care, WestJet pioneered low-cost flying in Canada. Recognized nationally as a top employer, WestJet now has more than 9,000 WestJetters across Canada. Operating a fleet of more than 100 Boeing Next-Generation 737 and Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft, WestJet strives to be one of the five most successful international airlines in the world.

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SOURCE: WestJet