Saskatoon and Regina Air Service

[Brutopian]

WestJet adds non-stop flights to sunshine destinations for Saskatchewan

By David Prisciak
CTV News
August 17, 2026

WestJet has announced an expansion of its flight offerings ahead of the 2026-27 winter holiday season.

The expansion, which includes increased flights for five cities across the Prairies, was announced Monday.

[........]

Read more:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/regina/article/we...tm_content=433738297&utm_source=hs_email

[Dino35]

But both YXE and YQR lost the direct Orlando and Las Vegas flights.

Originally Posted by Brutopian

WestJet adds non-stop flights to sunshine destinations for Saskatchewan

By David Prisciak
CTV News
August 17, 2026

WestJet has announced an expansion of its flight offerings ahead of the 2026-27 winter holiday season.

The expansion, which includes increased flights for five cities across the Prairies, was announced Monday.

[........]

Read more:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/regina/article/we...tm_content=433738297&utm_source=hs_email

[phone]

Originally Posted by Dino35

But both YXE and YQR lost the direct Orlando and Las Vegas flights.

I'd take the result as a market corrections

[Myst]

June 2026 statistics for MSP and DEN flights from Sask. (source - US bureau of transportation statistics data filings)

available seats - passengers flown - load factor

YQR-MSP: 2340 - 1169 – 50.0%
MSP-YQR: 2340 - 1459 – 62.4%
total: 4680 - 2628 – 56.2%

YQR-DEN: 1650 - 1038 – 62.9%
DEN-YQR: 1550 - 1114 – 71.9%
total: 3200 - 2152 – 67.3%

YXE-MSP: 1851 - 1122 – 60.6%
MSP-YXE: 1851 - 1153 – 62.3%
total: 3702 - 2275 – 61.5%

[EDM753Fan]

Originally Posted by Myst

June 2026 statistics for MSP and DEN flights from Sask. (source - US bureau of transportation statistics data filings)

available seats - passengers flown - load factor

YQR-MSP: 2340 - 1169 – 50.0%
MSP-YQR: 2340 - 1459 – 62.4%
total: 4680 - 2628 – 56.2%

YQR-DEN: 1650 - 1038 – 62.9%
DEN-YQR: 1550 - 1114 – 71.9%
total: 3200 - 2152 – 67.3%

YXE-MSP: 1851 - 1122 – 60.6%
MSP-YXE: 1851 - 1153 – 62.3%
total: 3702 - 2275 – 61.5%

With these kinds of numbers I think its not a question of 'if' but 'when' for the YQR-MSP route getting cut unfortunately.

[Dino35]

Not too often you see a 777 at YXE! BA265 LHR-SAN diverted for a medical emergency. Wish I would have seen that plane on the tarmac!

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by Dino35

Not too often you see a 777 at YXE! BA265 LHR-SAN diverted for a medical emergency. Wish I would have seen that plane on the tarmac!

crediteter Baran
https://www.cjme.com/2026/10/01/british-airways-flight-diverted-to-saskatoon-after-emergency/

[Brutopian]

Originally Posted by EDM753Fan

With these kinds of numbers I think its not a question of 'if' but 'when' for the YQR-MSP route getting cut unfortunately.

I am actually surprised at how robust these numbers are considering the current condition of the broader Canada-U.S. relationship. I know many people who outright refuse to travel to the U.S. right now, so the fact that these loads are at 50% and above is, to me, really quite remarkable. Not sure if anyone else shares this view?

[Stormer]

Originally Posted by Brutopian

I am actually surprised at how robust these numbers are considering the current condition of the broader Canada-U.S. relationship. I know many people who outright refuse to travel to the U.S. right now, so the fact that these loads are at 50% and above is, to me, really quite remarkable. Not sure if anyone else shares this view?

There are a lot of U.S. hunters and fishers on those flights. Also a lot Potash and Ag industry people on those flights from my experience.

[Brutopian]

Originally Posted by Stormer

There are a lot of U.S. hunters and fishers on those flights. Also a lot Potash and Ag industry people on those flights from my experience.

Good point.

[Myst]

July 2026 statistics for MSP and DEN flights from Sask. (source - US bureau of transportation statistics data filings)

available seats - passengers flown - load factor

YQR-MSP: 2106 - 1528 – 72.6%
MSP-YQR: 2028 - 1448 – 71.4%
total: 4134 - 2976 – 72.0%

YQR-DEN: 1600 - 1224 – 76.5%
DEN-YQR: 1600 - 1218 – 76.1%
total: 3200 - 2442 – 76.3%

YXE-MSP: 2013 - 1296 – 64.4%
MSP-YXE: 2013 - 1251 – 62.1%
total: 4026 - 2547 – 63.3%

One expects July numbers to be close to the peak for the year. But also these flights support more business travellers, which is less subject ot Canadians avoiding travel to the US.

YXE-MSP load factor looks very similar to July 2025, but capacity is down by about 65%

YQR-MSP capacity is down about 10%, with pretty much the same load factor as the previous July

YQR-DEN was just slightly higher capacity, about the same load factor