Canadian Airport Thread II

[hollywoodcory]

Originally Posted by thenoflyzone

Most of them make sense.

MAD, CPH, GLA, wanting LIS, etc...

PDL is a bit out there....but then again, so is MDE.

Yes, TS started MDE (via CTG) on Nov 2. They will do the same with YUL as of May.

Wonder if WS will be doing the same? A tag via CTG that is. Like i said, a non stop to MDE alone is bit wild for Westjet. BOG should be served first and foremost one would think.

WS getting into LIS would make JetBlue's blood boil . Unless they both managed to get slots. I wonder if WS got an edge cause they are starting a routing not currently served.

Is BOG slot controlled? Perhaps they couldn't get slots.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by thenoflyzone

Most of them make sense.

MAD, CPH, GLA, wanting LIS, etc...

PDL is a bit out there....but then again, so is MDE.



Yes, TS started MDE (via CTG) on Nov 2. They will do the same with YUL as of May.

Wonder if WS will be doing the same? A tag via CTG that is. Like i said, a non stop to MDE alone is bit wild for Westjet. BOG should be served first and foremost one would think.

Expats and business are more focussed on MDE than BOG, no?

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Expats and business are more focussed on MDE than BOG, no?

Drug cartels too,

[thenoflyzone]

Originally Posted by hollywoodcory

WS getting into LIS would make JetBlue's blood boil . Unless they both managed to get slots. I wonder if WS got an edge cause they are starting a routing not currently served.

Perhaps. An unserved destination certainly has priority compared to a route that is already served by another carrier. So that means if WS did get a LIS slot from YHZ, they couldn't just transfer it to YYZ. They would need to keep it at YHZ, or shuffle around the dreamliners, to make one available to fly YYC-LIS.

Originally Posted by hollywoodcory

Is BOG slot controlled? Perhaps they couldn't get slots.

Yes, BOG is a level 3 slot controlled airport. But based on the number of aircraft movements last year (360,000), it seems to me that getting access to BOG wouldn't be too difficult. Certainly not as difficult as LIS. Ten years ago, BOG handled 100,000 more movements, apparently.

LIS handled 225,000 movements last year on a single runway. That's more than YUL or YYC.

[hollywoodcory]

WS announcing its summer schedule tomorrow
https://westjet.mediaroom.com/2025-11-17...-destinations-and-routes-for-Summer-2026

[RomanR27]

Originally Posted by hollywoodcory

WS announcing its summer schedule tomorrow
https://westjet.mediaroom.com/2025-11-17...-destinations-and-routes-for-Summer-2026

Interesting they seem to be centering it around Toronto rather than Calgary. Perhaps they'll be trying to re-establish a larger presence on the east coast?

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by thenoflyzone

Perhaps. An unserved destination certainly has priority compared to a route that is already served by another carrier. So that means if WS did get a LIS slot from YHZ, they couldn't just transfer it to YYZ. They would need to keep it at YHZ, or shuffle around the dreamliners, to make one available to fly YYC-LIS.



Yes, BOG is a level 3 slot controlled airport. But based on the number of aircraft movements last year (360,000), it seems to me that getting access to BOG wouldn't be too difficult. Certainly not as difficult as LIS. Ten years ago, BOG handled 100,000 more movements, apparently.

LIS handled 225,000 movements last year on a single runway. That's more than YUL or YYC.

Another thing to consider is B6 would want into LIS with a minimum of 3x weekly but probably more like daily service. I could see WS launching YHZ-LIS with as little as weekly service to get their toe in the door.

YWG-KEF I can see happening tomorrow to connect to FI’s network.

[hollywoodcory]

Originally Posted by RomanR27

Interesting they seem to be centering it around Toronto rather than Calgary. Perhaps they'll be trying to re-establish a larger presence on the east coast?

There’s a a similar event happening in Halifax too:
https://westjet.mediaroom.com/2025-11-17...-Halifax-Stanfield-International-Airport

This should confirm that most of the new destinations are from YYZ/YHZ.

They can’t really expand YYC as they aren’t getting any new 787s for a few years. They may still do a media event, as I believe they still will add at least one new route, giving them 100 non-stops from their YYC hub.

[thenoflyzone]

Originally Posted by Dominion301

Another thing to consider is B6 would want into LIS with a minimum of 3x weekly but probably more like daily service. I could see WS launching YHZ-LIS with as little as weekly service to get their toe in the door.

YWG-KEF I can see happening tomorrow to connect to FI’s network.

WS and FI don’t even codeshare. Without that, the route won’t amount to much….

As for LIS, I’m eager to see what they will announce. Flight times and frequencies will be interesting. There’s a very real chance it’s an early afternoon departure from YHZ and a late night arrival into LIS.

If I had to bet, i'd say YHZ-LIS is a sunday only flight, with an arrival time in LIS of 10pm.

[thenoflyzone]

In other news, looks likes Canada and Qatar's bilateral has a phased increase to 14x weekly per country, which kicks in for October 2026.

QR will most likely increase YUL back up to daily around that time.

https://tc.canada.ca/en/corporate-servic...ansportation-canada-2024/modal-overviews

Connectivity

Canada negotiated new and expanded Air Transport Agreements (ATAs) with key aviation partners in 2024, significantly enhancing international connectivity for both passenger and cargo services. New agreements with Argentina and Australia allowed an unrestricted number of flights and provided substantial operational flexibility for airlines. An expanded agreement with Qatar introduced phased increases in capacity, enabling each side to allocate 14 passenger flights per week among its airlines by October 2026. Throughout the reporting period Canada maintained positive relations with a wide variety of partners, laying the groundwork for future negotiations that will further improve Canada's international connectivity, and offer greater choice for travellers and shippers.

[Alexcaban]

^^ 5x weekly at YUL seems so strange from my point of view. Wouldn't mind seeing them back up to daily.

Also noticed that AC's 2nd daily ATH split between YYZ (4X) & YUL (3x) seems to be getting the 77W for next summer. The 777 comes from YUL-BCN which will now operate A333. Greece is hot!!!!

[Dominion301]

Originally Posted by thenoflyzone

WS and FI don’t even codeshare. Without that, the route won’t amount to much….

As for LIS, I’m eager to see what they will announce. Flight times and frequencies will be interesting. There’s a very real chance it’s an early afternoon departure from YHZ and a late night arrival into LIS.

If I had to bet, i'd say YHZ-LIS is a sunday only flight, with an arrival time in LIS of 10pm.

Ah yes WS merely has an interline agreement with FI and not a codeshare.

[hollywoodcory]

As expected, the LIS slots are not great. 23:55 arrival and 06:00 departure. Looks to be 4x weekly.

[LO 044]

WestJet NS26 International Network Changes – 17NOV25

WestJet as of Monday 17NOV25 evening (Mountain Standard time) filed planned European network expansion for Northern summer 2026 season, including 6 Trans-Atlantic routes. Reservations for these new additions (including service resumption) will be available by Tuesday (18NOV25) morning.

Halifax – Copenhagen 28MAY26 – 27SEP26 4 weekly 737 MAX 8
WS044 YHZ2230 – 1010+1CPH 7M8 x135
WS045 CPH1145 – 1415YHZ 7M8 x246

Halifax – Lisbon eff 01MAY26 4 weekly 737 MAX 8
WS032 YHZ1400 – 2355LIS 7M8 x246
WS033 LIS0600 – 0840YHZ 7M8 x357

Halifax – Madrid eff 15MAY26 4 weekly 737 MAX 8
WS014 YHZ2305 – 1020+1MAD 7M8 x247
WS015 MAD1140 – 1400YHZ 7M8 x135

Toronto Pearson – Cardiff 22MAY26 – 11SEP26 4 weekly 737 MAX 8
WS092 YYZ2210 – 1015+1CWL 7M8 x246
WS093 CWL1135 – 1430YYZ 7M8 x357

Regular nonstop service between Canada and Cardiff was last served by Zoom until summer 2008 season.

Toronto Pearson – Glasgow 15MAY26 – 18SEP26 4 weekly 737 MAX 8 (Last served until September 2022)
WS064 YYZ2205 – 0940+1GLA 7M8 x146
WS065 GLA1100 – 1310YYZ 7M8 x257

Toronto Pearson – Ponta Delgada 12JUN26 – 25SEP26 4 weekly 737 MAX 8
WS076 YYZ2255 – 0840+1PDL 7M8 x246
WS077 PDL1000 – 1235YYZ 7M8 x357

Separately, the airline will operate 7 weekly Toronto Pearson – Edinburgh flights when seasonal service resumes on 14MAY26, instead of initially filed 11 weekly.

WestJet also removed following international routes for Northern summer 2026 season (from May 2026, based on schedule filing comparison 28SEP25 vs 16NOV25). This includes selected service suspensions:
Calgary – Fort Lauderdale (operates until 25APR26)
Calgary – Punta Cana (operates until 25APR26)
Edmonton – Nashville
Edmonton – Orlando (operates until 19APR26)
St. John’s NFLD – Orlando (operates until 25MAY26)
Vancouver – Nashville (suspended 01JUL26 – 06SEP26)
Vancouver – Tampa (Previously reported)
Winnipeg – Atlanta (Previously reported, last flight on 24APR26)
Winnipeg – Nashville (service tentatively scheduled from 11SEP26)
Winnipeg – Orlando last flight 24APR26)

Toronto Pearson – Nashville service is scheduled 5 weekly from 28APR26 for summer season, instead of 7 weekly.

Reported on 28OCT25 on AeroRoutes, the airline has extended following routes to into summer season in 2026:
Calgary – Guadalajara 1 weekly
Calgary – Mazatlán 1 weekly
Toronto Pearson – Puerto Plata 1 weekly
Winnipeg – Cancun 1 weekly

https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/251117-wsns26int

[casper]

Originally Posted by hollywoodcory

As expected, the LIS slots are not great. 23:55 arrival and 06:00 departure. Looks to be 4x weekly.

Those are crappy times, especially if you want to connect onward on a train to Oporto or Faro.

Aircraft also sits on the ground in Lisbon for an extended period of time. However its probably not a big loss as WS would have no shortage of 737 idle overnight back in Canada.

TAP air Portugal is rumored to be up for sale with Air France/KLM being a buyer. If that happens there would some interesting codeshares out of Lisbon that WS could setup. However that is a year or two out, not next summer.

[thenoflyzone]

Originally Posted by hollywoodcory

As expected, the LIS slots are not great. 23:55 arrival and 06:00 departure. Looks to be 4x weekly.

It's a foot in the door, but it's not pretty. And it won't get any better for a while. New airport isn't slated to open until 2034.

Knowing this, it will be interesting to see if they tough it out on the route, or pull out due to the 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 timings.

Full credit to them for attempting the route, however, unlike B6.

With these latest additions, WS pretty much maxes out it's potential 737 destinations list in Europe from YHZ. Not much else they can add, besides maybe Porto or Faro, once they realize those LIS times aren't going to cut it.

[RomanR27]

WestJet launching a weekly YEG-KEF flight in late June: https://westjet.mediaroom.com/2025-11-18...service-to-Iceland-beginning-this-summer

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by RomanR27

WestJet launching a weekly YEG-KEF flight in late June: https://westjet.mediaroom.com/2025-11-18...service-to-Iceland-beginning-this-summer

NICE!

[hollywoodcory]

Also 1x weekly YWG-KEF too

Full summer schedule isn’t coming until January.

[RomanR27]

Originally Posted by hollywoodcory

Also 1x weekly YWG-KEF too

Full summer schedule isn’t coming until January.

Is it possible that January's update will contain new routes? Or was the purpose of today new routes, and that January will be the update that posts the final frequencies for the rest of the network?