Buoyed by new Boeing 767s, WestJet adds six routes to London Gatwick

Ben Mutzabaugh | USA TODAY

Canadian discount carrier WestJet unveiled a major expansion to the United Kingdom on Tuesday, saying it would add six seasonal new routes to London's Gatwick Airport.

Beginning this May, WestJet will begin flying to Gatwick from the Canadian cities of Calgary, Edmonton, St. John's, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg.

WestJet CEO Gregg Saretsky described the new London routes as "historic" and a major "milestone" for the carrier, the second busiest in Canada.

The routes will not be WestJet's first European destinations. The carrier already has offered seasonal Boeing 737 service from Atlantic Canada to both Dublin, Ireland, and Glasgow, Scotland.

But WestJet's London expansion is fueled by the addition of Boeing 767 widebody jets, which just began joining the airline's fleet last month. The 737s are geared more toward domestic routes, though they are able to fly some very short trans-Atlantic routes at typical passenger loads. But the 767 opens up long-haul overseas possibilities for WestJet. Routes like London-Vancouver and London-Calgary wouldn't be feasible with shorter-range 737s.

Saretsky suggested an even broader international push could be ahead.

"Today we're getting our feet wet with England this service to London Gatwick but … ultimately these aircraft have a lot more range than anything we've ever flown," he says to the Calgary Herald. "So we can reach Asia. We can reach Latin America. We can reach even North Africa. Lots of geography coming into play. We haven't put a timeline on it yet but you can expect future announcements."

For now, the new London routes seem certain to spark airline competition between Canada and London.

WestJet's introductory fares to London ranged from CDN $199 each way (about US $151) from St. John's to CDN $299 each way (US $227) from western Canada.

The National Post of Toronto notes Air Canada has "dominated" the Canada-London market "for decades," but suggests WestJet's six new routes could shake that up.

The Post writes WestJet "will be going head-to-head with Air Canada, which offers 77 flights a week to London's Heathrow Airport out of eight Canadian cities. It also plans to begin flying from Toronto to Gatwick next year using its low-cost Rouge service. The only city that will be served by WestJet and not Air Canada is Winnipeg."

"This is going to be happy, happy times for consumers because in a lot of markets there will be substantial competition," Robert Kokonis, an airline industry consultant at AirTrav, says to CBC News.

Despite the looming competition, WestJet struck a bullish tone about its new London service.

"Non-stop service between Canadian cities and London is a natural next step in the evolution of WestJet and for our trans-Atlantic service in particular," Bob Cummings, WestJet's Executive Vice-President – Commercial, says in a statement. "Canadians have been paying far too much to fly to Europe for far too long and … we're going to fix that."

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WestJet's planned schedule for London Gatwick

Calgary: Five weekly flights begin May 6 on Boeing 767 aircraft. Service runs through Oct. 20, 2016.

Edmonton: Two weekly flights begin May 7 on Boeing 767 aircraft. Service runs through Oct. 22, 2016.

St. John's, Newfoundland: Daily service begins May 7 on Boeing 737 aircraft. Service runs through Oct. 22, 2016.

Toronto Pearson: Daily service begins May 6 on Boeing 767 aircraft. Service runs through Oct. 22, 2016.

Vancouver: Six weekly flights begin May 6 on Boeing 767 aircraft. Service runs through Oct. 21, 2016.

Winnipeg: One weekly flight begins May 7 on Boeing 767 aircraft. Service runs through Oct. 1, 2016.