WestJet announced its 2025 summer schedule on Monday and the airline’s planes will have a significantly increased presence at Edmonton International Airport compared to last summer.
In terms of the airline’s total seat capacity, WestJet says Edmonton will see a 23-per cent increase.
“As your No. 1 carrier in Edmonton, we are proud to deliver another chapter in Edmonton’s and WestJet’s growth stories,” WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech told reporters at a news conference held at Edmonton International Airport on Monday.
The company announced two new routes from EIA for 2025. There will be five flights a week going from Edmonton to Salt Lake City between May 15 and Oct. 24, and three times a week a flight will head from Alberta’s capital to Chicago between June 4 and Oct. 22.
“Chicago is just one of the important unserved routes that Edmontonians have always asked for and we are delivering this now,” von Hoensbroech said.
EIA officials told Global News that the airport is currently operating at about 94 per cent in terms of flight activity compared with pre-pandemic levels.
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Myron Keehn, the president and CEO of EIA, said he believes the airport could see a record year for passengers in 2025 and welcomed Monday’s announcements by WestJet.
“Any connectivity to our Edmonton metro region is really important, and WestJet doubling down on Edmonton and investing in this region is great for business,” he said. “And it’s great for tourism.”
Edmonton’s is not the only airport in Canada that will see its total seat capacity increase in the summer of 2025. Nine other airports will see increased WestJet traffic: Ottawa (36 per cent), Montreal (31 per cent), Regina (23 per cent), Winnipeg (19 per cent), Saskatoon (19 per cent), Victoria (18 per cent), Kelowna (15 per cent), Vancouver (12 per cent) and Calgary (11 per cent).
“WestJet’s expanded summer schedule reflects our continued commitment to connecting Canadians by increasing our domestic and international capacity,” John Weatherill, WestJet Group’s executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, said in a news release.
“In Canada alone we are growing capacity by 12 per cent, operating to 41 airports with over 3,000 weekly departures.”
–With files from Jasmine King, Global News
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