Westjet dropping direct flights between Winnipeg and saskatchewan

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/WestJet-dropping-direct-flights-between-Winnipeg-Saskatchewan-44097152.html

I sure hope they mean Manitoba and Saskatchewan..

but whatever.. so like what you have to fly to Toronto do a 10 hour layover then catch a flight to Regina or something?

I take it they mean Saskatoon and not the province we can only hope .

Wpg to calgary via Westjet $49 each way plus taxes! Just bookes my wife a 4 day visit to our Grandson's 1st birthdau party. $49x2= $194!
God damn Albertan's multiplication and all the BS taxes !

the layover would be in calgary.

I think this is indicitive of the changes in business dynamics in the mid-west over the years. For many many years Winnipeg was the distribution centre for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Northern Ontario. It was logical then to also base mid-west regional offices in Winnipeg. The business levels between the two provinces more than satisfied the airlines.

As distribution was moved to Toronto and increasingly to the US the regional warehouses closed leaving behind sales offices. Now many regional sales activities are handled out of Calgary and Vancouver (and to a lessor extent Toronto and other centres).

With Saskatchewan having more in common with Alberta (oil for instance) I expect much of the travel is more Alberta - Saskatchewan than Saskatchewan - Manitoba.

It does not seem this has not had the impact on Manitoba one would expect. But we do need to consider what Manitoba needs to do to grow/develop a more prominent economy. The central corridor has promise. Bio-pharmacy is another.

This is unfortunate.

The organization I work for does a lot of Winnipeg-Saskatoon travel.

Yes I have flown it a few times to see freinds beats a long winter drive .

Overlooked in all this is the fact Air Canada will be adding a third direct flight between both Regina and Saskatoon and Winnipeg.

I never fly Air Canada but if they do I quess I will have to.

I usually prefer Westjet, but in this case, they have no sense of business and no commitment to Winnipeg. How is it that Air Canada is quickly willing to make the appropriate accomodations for aircraft for these routes, while Westjet simply cuts the routes out altogether? I've noticed over the last year how many new non-stop routes Westjet has added in almost every major Canadian city, including Regina and Saskatoon, while they pretty much flip the bird to Winnipeg with almost no expansion.

Westjet has no commitment to Winnipeg, and can ^(*%&*^%*&%(^% for all I care.

West jet only flies 737's. Part of their business model is to streamline costs by maintaining only one fleet. Air Canada has lots of types to choose from, so the appropriate type can be routed to Saskatchewan. Probably a Dash-8 or an RJ.

FlyingRat wrote:West jet only flies 737's. Part of their business model is to streamline costs by maintaining only one fleet. Air Canada has lots of types to choose from, so the appropriate type can be routed to Saskatchewan. Probably a Dash-8 or an RJ.

Perhaps, but overall based on what I've seen and read, I still say Westjet's commitment to Winnipeg and Manitoba in general is very lame. I am very dissapointed in how they have been servicing that province, and even though they have superior service compared to Air Canada, it makes me not want to fly with them as much, if at all.

Stewardesses servicing someone? Where do I sign up!

Deank wrote:Stewardesses servicing someone? Where do I sign up!

If they're Air Canada stewardesses, you can sign up at any old folks' home!

true.. sadly very true

EdWin wrote:

FlyingRat wrote:West jet only flies 737's. Part of their business model is to streamline costs by maintaining only one fleet. Air Canada has lots of types to choose from, so the appropriate type can be routed to Saskatchewan. Probably a Dash-8 or an RJ.

Perhaps, but overall based on what I've seen and read, I still say Westjet's commitment to Winnipeg and Manitoba in general is very lame. I am very dissapointed in how they have been servicing that province, and even though they have superior service compared to Air Canada, it makes me not want to fly with them as much, if at all.

We could turn that around to: Manitobans commitment to travel to Saskatchewan is very lame. The demand is just not there for West Jet level of service. If they were to introduce other (read smaller) planes to do those routes, maintenance costs go up. Continue those routes on 1/4 full 737's - waste of resources - costs go up. Costs going up = less people flying that airline.

FlyingRat wrote:

EdWin wrote:

FlyingRat wrote:West jet only flies 737's. Part of their business model is to streamline costs by maintaining only one fleet. Air Canada has lots of types to choose from, so the appropriate type can be routed to Saskatchewan. Probably a Dash-8 or an RJ.

Perhaps, but overall based on what I've seen and read, I still say Westjet's commitment to Winnipeg and Manitoba in general is very lame. I am very dissapointed in how they have been servicing that province, and even though they have superior service compared to Air Canada, it makes me not want to fly with them as much, if at all.

We could turn that around to: Manitobans commitment to travel to Saskatchewan is very lame. The demand is just not there for West Jet level of service. If they were to introduce other (read smaller) planes to do those routes, maintenance costs go up. Continue those routes on 1/4 full 737's - waste of resources - costs go up. Costs going up = less people flying that airline.

Yes, but as I mentionned, this isn't the only Westjet incident towards Manitoba that has me seeing red. It's as a result of cumulative effects.

Westjet is now supplying passengers on flights from Winnipeg to and from Calgary/Edmonton, heading for Saskatchewan, with parachutes...

At least that's better than being dropped off with nothing but a compass and knife!

So now Westjet has kaiboshed the non-stop seasonal flights to Orlando, Mazatlan and Puerto Vaillarta. What the F U C K is going on? I thought there was significant passenger growth? Isn't this why we are building a new terminal; to accomodate passenger GROWTH?

I'm so disheartened with non-stop service to Winnipeg. It gets put in and then yanked out. This is very concerning to me. How are we supposed to grow as a city if we can't get direct flights to popular destinations like Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver do? Why the hell should someone have to connect in Calgary for service to Los Angeles? Or connect in Toronto for service to Orlando? Are you meaning to tell me that we have very few people going south in the winter? Really? Something is very wrong with this picture.

No time for fishing today!

EdWin wrote:So now Westjet has kaiboshed the non-stop seasonal flights to Orlando, Mazatlan and Puerto Vaillarta. What the F U C K is going on? I thought there was significant passenger growth? Isn't this why we are building a new terminal; to accomodate passenger GROWTH?

I'm so disheartened with non-stop service to Winnipeg. It gets put in and then yanked out. This is very concerning to me. How are we supposed to grow as a city if we can't get direct flights to popular destinations like Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver do? Why the hell should someone have to connect in Calgary for service to Los Angeles? Or connect in Toronto for service to Orlando? Are you meaning to tell me that we have very few people going south in the winter? Really? Something is very wrong with this picture.

What do ya suppose it is? A conspiracy? Maybe today's economic realities are having an impact on how often people travel.

Has Westjet/Air Canada and other airlines canceled and scaled back travel. I'm willing to bet there have been more drastic cuts in other centres than Winnipeg.

EdWin maybe don't go looking for conspiracies or other dark signs that are simply not there. The WAA has enjoyed record flight growth in and out of Winnipeg for a few years now.

2008 Overview
2008 is the twelfth year WAA has operated the International Airport in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada. In this year, the Airport will be the busiest in the history of our City and Province. The number of passengers moved, tonnes of cargo carried and amount of construction activity achieved will be at levels this City has never before experienced.

Who needs West Jet when one can simply "fly off the handle"!!! :-)

What I'm saying is that both Edmonton and Calgary have seen a plethora of new non-stop routes in the last year, like to Palm Springs, San Fransisco, Orlando, Mexico City, New York, Halifax and an increase in non-stop services to London, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and the list goes on.

So somehow I don't think the recession has much to do with Winnipeg's scaled back services. I wish people would care about this. It may seem insignificant, but if we let too many of these "insignificant" issues just roll on by without batting an eye lash, the cumulative effects will be felt bigtime in the long run.