Canada's low-fare leader takes
delivery of first of four Boeing 767-300s
CALGARY,
Aug. 27, 2015 /CNW/ - WestJet today
ushers in a new era in the airline's 19-year history with the
arrival early this morning of the first of four Boeing 767-300
extended range aircraft, allowing the airline to begin serving
Europe and other regions of the
world from Canada on a non-stop
basis. Inaugural wide-body flights will begin in early
September.
"The arrival of our first wide-body aircraft opens
the next chapter in the evolution and growth of Canada's low-fare leader," said Bob Cummings, WestJet Executive Vice-President,
Commercial. "WestJet has been liberating Canadians from the high
cost of air travel since 1996, bringing low fares and friendly,
caring, people-driven service to communities from coast to coast.
The launch of WestJet Encore in 2013 gave Canadians in smaller
centres much-needed relief from high fares and the opportunity to
connect to WestJet's ever-expanding domestic, trans-border and
international networks. Shortly, with the arrival of our first
wide-body aircraft as an important milestone, we will offer
Canadians from cities across our network the chance to fly non-stop
to Europe and other regions at
prices not seen in recent memory. As we have throughout our
history, we will continue to lower airfares and make travel more
affordable."
Featuring a new teal and blue maple leaf-themed
logo that will eventually appear on all WestJet aircraft, the
airline's 767s seat 262 guests and have a range of approximately 11
hours. The aircraft will include a Plus cabin with 24 premium seats
in a two-by-two configuration, hot meals and all of the other
amenities associated with Plus. The main cabin has 238 seats, with
two seats on either side of the aircraft and three in the middle.
By next spring all four 767s will be equipped with WestJet Connect,
the airline's new inflight entertainment and wireless connectivity
system.
The four aircraft will arrive separately over the
next eight months. The aircraft that arrives today will begin
service in September and operate flights between Toronto and Calgary for the next several months. With the
arrival of two additional wide-bodies this fall, the 767s will be
flying from Alberta to
Hawaii and between Toronto and Montego
Bay, Jamaica beginning in December. The fourth and final
aircraft will arrive next spring just prior to the launch of
WestJet's new service to London
(Gatwick) in May 2016.
Following discussions over the summer with airports
across the country, the airline will announce the Canadian cities
from which it will operate its summer schedule, including to
London, in mid-September.
A computer-generated video featuring air-to-air,
exterior and interior footage of WestJet's new 767 aircraft is
available at youtube.com/westjet.
WestJet will host a live stream of the arrival of
the aircraft via Periscope tonight. Viewers wishing to tune in
should have a Periscope account and follow WestJet. The exact time
of the live stream will be announced later today on WestJet's
Facebook and Twitter feeds.
About WestJet
We are proud to be Canada's
highest-rated airline for customer service, powered by an
award-winning culture of care and recognized as one of the
country's top employers. We offer scheduled service to 100
destinations in North America,
Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. Through our regional airline, WestJet
Encore, and with partnerships with airlines representing every
major region of the world, we offer our guests more than 120
destinations in more than 20 countries. Leveraging WestJet's
extensive network, flight schedule and remarkable guest experience,
WestJet Vacations delivers affordable, flexible travel experiences
with a variety of accommodation options for every guest. Members of
our WestJet Rewards program earn WestJet dollars on flights,
vacation packages and more. Our members use WestJet dollars towards
the purchase of WestJet flights and vacations packages on any day,
at any time, to any WestJet destination with no blackout periods
ΜΆ even on seat sales. For more information about
everything WestJet, please visit westjet.com.
Recent recognition includes:
2015 Best Employers in Canada
(Aon Hewitt)
2014 Interbrand Canada's Best Canadian Brands (Rank #20)
2014 Brands of the Year (Strategy magazine)
2014 Canada's Most Preferred Airline (Ipsos)
2014 Value Airline of the Year (Air Transport World magazine)
2014/2013/2012 Canada's Most
Attractive Employer (Randstad)
2014/2013 WestJet RBC MasterCard ranked #1 in Canada (Money Sense magazine and
RewardsCanada.ca)
2014/2013/2012/2011 Highest equity score: airline, vacation package
supplier brands (Harris/Decima EquiTrend Study)
Connect with WestJet on Facebook at
facebook.com/westjet
Follow WestJet on Twitter at twitter.com/westjet
Subscribe to WestJet on YouTube at youtube.com/westjet
Read the WestJet blog at blog.westjet.com
SOURCE WestJet