WestJet continues service to Deer Lake with new Toronto, Calgary flights

WestJet has resumed operations at Deer Lake Regional Airport and now offers seasonal direct flights to Toronto and Calgary. Airport CEO Tammy Priddle said the Calgary flight marks the airport's first direct connection to Alberta. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)

WestJet has officially returned to Deer Lake Regional Airport, bringing a new direct flight to Toronto and the airport's first direct connection between Alberta and western Newfoundland.

The airline launched its first flight to Toronto on Thursday and will begin flights to Calgary on Saturday. Seasonal flights operate twice a week in May, three times a week in June, and four times a week in July and August before Labor Day.

“Everyone is very excited to have WestJet back. Lots of smiling faces, of course. … We're enjoying the moment,” Deer Lake Airport CEO Tammy Priddle told CBC Radio on Thursday.

“Obviously, we have high hopes for both of these flights to do well this season.”

WestJet left the airport last year, but some routes have continued through Swoop – a now-defunct subsidiary that has been reintegrated into the parent company.

Priddle said the airport kept the lines of communication open with the airline, which he believes led WestJet to reconsider the market.

“We were really able to present to them the importance of coming back to western Newfoundland and connecting with Toronto and, of course, Alberta because we have such a strong historical relationship,” Priddle said, referring to the province's statement. A history of laborers traveling between Newfoundland and Alberta.

Priddle said the airport has opened up tourism in western Newfoundland and said the region will continue to deliver a must-see product for those in Ontario and Alberta.

Priddle says more airport destinations and more competitive ticket prices for travelers in western Newfoundland. (Colleen Connors/CBC)

The announcement of flights, new routes from Flair Airlines to Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo, and a daily flight from Porter Airlines to Halifax will increase Deer Lake regional capacity by 20 percent in 2019 compared to 2019, according to Priddle. .

He said the airport is still recovering from the impact on passenger numbers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the competition and new routes are good for all parties.

“Any time there are new airlines in the market, new service routes, it helps create competition. It benefits the customer because it helps reduce some of the cost,” Priddle said.

“People … may not have been able to make that trip to Calgary before. But now it's very competitive, so I think that will help stimulate demand.”

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