WestJet today announced a summer schedule that includes new routes out of 91原创: to Atlanta, and to Nashville.
The Atlanta route is to run four times weekly, starting May 17, with red-eye flights leaving 91原创 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 10:25 p.m. and arriving in the capital of Georgia at 6:05 a.m. the next day. The return flights leave Atlanta on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 9 a.m. and aim to arrive in 91原创 at 11:23 a.m.
The route is part of WestJet's partnership with Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL), which counts Atlanta as one of its hubs.
"We already have a strong codeshare network with WestJet, and extensive reciprocal benefits for our frequent flyers," said Perry Cantarutti, Delta's senior vice-president of alliances and international.
WestJet's 91原创-Nashville flights launch May 19 and are twice weekly, leaving 91原创 on Mondays and Fridays at 10 a.m., and arriving in the Tennessee hub at 4:19 p.m. The return flights are also on Mondays and Fridays. They leave Nashville at 5:05 p.m. and arrive in 91原创 at 7:55 p.m. That scheduling could be good for those with mid-week business and tourists who want to visit Nashville for an extended weekend.
Another WestJet announcement today was that it will continue to fly non-stop flights between 91原创 and Orlando once per week on Saturdays, as it has been doing during the winter. The flights leave 91原创 at 11 a.m. and aim to arrive in Orlando at 7:54 p.m. Return flights are likely on different planes, given that they are listed as leaving Orlando at 8 p.m. and arriving back in 91原创 at 11:04 p.m.
When WestJet launched those flights in 2015, they were the .
Air Canada does not fly non-stop between 91原创 and Atlanta, Nashville or Orlando.
It had two big route launches out of 91原创 in December.
One was a relaunch of . Air Canada had flown non-stop between 91原创 and Miami until 2004, when it stopped flying the route. No other airline flew regular flights on that route in the 18-year interim.
The airline's biggest news related to its 91原创 hub in December was launching the .
Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah told BIV that her airline plans to resume three other routes out of 91原创 in the coming months. That includes flying three times per week to Austin, Texas starting May 1, flying once daily to Anchorage starting May 1, and flying once daily to Boston, starting June 17.
WestJet's news of new 91原创 routes was part of a larger announcement of 20 new routes and three new destinations throughout its network.
Cantarutti said that a key aspect of WestJet's news for Delta was "increased flights to Delta's hubs in Atlanta and Seattle, as well as new WestJet flights to our hubs in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Detroit. We look forward to growing our partnership, offering new travel and connection options to more customers, and increasing competition."
