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WestJet drops direct flights between Saskatchewan and Winnipeg
Meanwhile, competitor Air Canada is adding another daily flight
Last Updated: Thursday, April 30, 2009 | 4:00 PM CT

CBC News
WestJet and Air Canada are re-jigging their schedules between Saskatchewan and Winnipeg. (Canadian Press file photo)
People looking to fly WestJet from Regina or Saskatoon to Winnipeg will have to make a small side-trip, through Alberta.

The airline is dropping direct flights between Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The new route to Winnipeg will see passengers directed to Edmonton or Calgary first.

The change will add several hours to the flight time. On a direct route, the trip to Winnipeg is about one hour. Going through Alberta will add about five hours.

With the total time clocking in at roughly six hours, a trip to Winnipeg, from Regina, would be faster by car. Add in time for getting to and from the airports, pre-boarding security and baggage pick-up and the WestJet travel approaches the same time that a bus would take, which is 8 1/2 hours via Greyhound.

Robert Palmer, a spokesperson for WestJet, told CBC News there was not enough demand to support the direct service.

"There had been a flight that went through Winnipeg and then on Toronto, but the Winnipeg leg of that flight, the loads were very poor, very low. Very few people were using it," Palmer explained.

WestJet had been using a 737 Boeing aircraft on the route, which has room for 136 passengers.

Air travelers were not impressed with the airline's decision.

"It's not very efficient," Tamara Horechko told CBC News when asked about the change. "It's going to waste a lot of our time when we're flying back and forth."

In contrast to WestJet's move, Air Canada recently announced it would be adding another daily flight, connecting Saskatoon and Regina to Winnipeg, starting in May. Air Canada uses smaller aircraft than WestJet for its regional service.

"I'm coming to Regina every week," Winnipeg-based traveler James Stevenson told CBC News. He said his job has him in Regina for two days every week, and it would not make any sense to for him to spend much of the time in the air.

"It's nice and convenient to fly in, spend a full day [or two] and fly home," Stevenson said. He said the WestJet route would never work for him.

WestJet told CBC News that it will monitor the situation to see if there is demand for a different route.