Airline WestJet launching flights from Gatwick Airport to six destinations in

In welcoming the announcement by WestJet, Garth Atkinson, President and CEO of the Calgary Airport Authority says the new service is another important milestone in growth for WestJet as it expands both domestically and internationally, and in the shared history between the airport and the airline.

In a media event held this morning, the discount carrier announced that new, non-stop routes to the United Kingdom’s capital city will be introduced for airports in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto and St. John’s, Newfoundland.

“Canadians have been paying far too much to fly to Europe for far too long”, said WestJet executive vice-president Bob Cummings in a statement.

A one-way fare departing Vancouver starts at $300, while a flight back from London will start at £230 (C$470). “We are offering nonstop flights at very low prices”.

Adding new routes across the Pacific would add another layer of complexity, Li said, not to mention the hefty cost of purchasing additional widebody aircraft.

With an average of 114 WestJet and WestJet Encore flights each day, YYC has more WestJet flights than any other Canadian airport.

A WestJet aircraft is pictured on the tarmac in Ottawa in July.

These wide-body planes have a range of approximately 9,500 kilometres or 11 hours and hold a capacity of 262 passengers. Return flights are also expected to operate direct from London to Winnipeg once per week.

The airline 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. The service will fly daily between airports.