A rapidly expanding low-cost, no-frills option for the business traveller

Calgary-based WestJet has played a major role in Western Canada's short-haul market for more than four years. It began by operating flights to Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg in 1996, and has since added Victoria, Regina, Saskatoon, Abbotsford, Thunder Bay, Prince George and Grande Prairie to its service area.

While the airline's focus is leisure travellers, there has been increased use by cost-sensitive business travellers says company spokeswoman Siobhhan Vinish, particularly on certain routes.

With the merger of Air Canada and Canadian Airlines, WestJet's announcement in January that it would expand into Eastern Canada was encouraging news for anyone who believes in the benefits of competition. Using Hamilton International Airport as a hub, it launched daily service between Hamilton and Thunder Bay and Hamilton and Winnipeg in March, and to Moncton in April. Montreal and Ottawa are in the cards for the summer.

Reinforcing its expansion mode, WestJet also announced plans to purchase 20 new Boeing 737-600 and 737-700 jets, along with intentions to serve up to 12 more cities in Western Canada, and to increase connections between the eastern and western branches of its system.

The announcement was received with a flurry of excitement from both Hamilton and Ottawa-area companies, who contacted WestJet for further information even before it began to serve these markets. The fact that the airline does not 'do' business lounges was clearly not a deterrent.

The bottom line
WestJet's low fares are not unduly restricted. There is no Saturday stay-over requirement and its one-way ticket bookings give more flexibility on fares. If, for example, you booked a flight for tomorrow and returned three days later, you would pay the full fare for your outgoing trip, but a lower fare for your return journey. As with scheduled carriers, the further ahead you book, the less you're likely to pay.

WestJet is ticketless. Once a booking is made, you are given a reservation number that must be produced, along with your ID, upon arrival at the airport. Although the airline won't refund tickets, it will credit your ticket for future use provided you call up to two hours prior to your flight departure. The cost for changing a ticket is $40, or the difference on the fares, whichever is greater.

Once Eastern Canada's summer schedule is fully operational, there will likely be three daily flights to Winnipeg from Hamilton, two to Moncton, three to Ottawa, two to Montreal and one to Thunder Bay. A flight to Calgary would involve a stop.

So what kind of prices are we looking at? In June, a one-way fare starts at $129 on the Hamilton-Moncton route, $99 on the Hamilton-Thunder Bay route, $125 on the Hamilton-Winnipeg route, and $195 on the Hamilton-Calgary route. For business travellers in Ontario's Golden Horseshoe, the outlook is promising.

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