WestJet coming to Brandon
- Details
- Published on Monday, May 13, 2013
By: Lanny Stewart
myWestman.ca
After more than a year of lobbying, petitions and sales pitches, WestJet will officially be bringing its air service to the Wheat City later this year.
It was announced on Monday the launch of the new, daily, non-stop WestJet Encore service in Brandon, which will consist of departures and arrivals from the city to Calgary.
The air service will begin Sept. 3 and will be operated by WestJet's Encore fleet of Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft.
"It just made absolute sense for us," said WestJet Encore president Ferio Pugliese at a press conference at McGill Field. "This is a market that we'd like to serve. It has a lot of good business and leisure travellers that fit into our market."
Pugliese says the outcry of support from the Westman community played a large part in WestJet's decision to come to Brandon. A petition to get WestJet air service to Brandon reached more than 10,000 people online in late March.
"It (support) certainly influenced us -- no question," he said. "Because it gave us the opportunity to size up the market. That obviously factors into the business decision as well."
He says he expects Brandonites and people from the Westman area to fill the planes on a regular basis.
"We'll have to see how the market sizes up, but we expect those flights to be full. We don't see any reason why this market couldn't support that."
The decision to have the flights from Brandon to Calgary was business-based, however Pugliese didn't rule out the possibility of the flights extending past Calgary at some point in the future.
"At the end of the day, it comes down to the amount of ridership thats a we get on these airplanes," he said. "The network could grow and expand. If the demand is there, we are certainly in a position to put service in."
Brandon Mayor Shari Decter Hirst says approximately $1 million (number not finalized) in improvements will need to be made to the existing McGill Field before flights take place. This includes a lot of re-design of the current space at the airport. She says the city and WestJet are working closely to meet all needs of both parties prior to opening.
"This airport was designed and supported in a pre-911 era and so we have to bring security features up to speed. Simple things like long-term parking because WestJet has some workable vacation opportunities, so if you need to leave your farm for a week while you're lying on a beach somewhere, we'll look after it for you," she said with a smile.
Introductory one-way base fares begin at $99 before taxes, with several bookings already made, according to WestJet's official Twitter account. The flights depart from Calgary at 9:50 a.m. each morning and arrive in Brandon at 12:50 p.m. A half-hour later, flights depart Brandon at 1:20 p.m. and arrive in Calgary at 2:35 p.m.
In photo: WestJet Encore president Ferio Pugliese and Brandon Mayor Shari Decter Hirst shake hands during a press conference on Monday afternoon at McGill Field.
Photo by Lanny Stewart
