WestJet is upping its flight schedule 10 percent in August. Reintroduced routes include Calgary-London (Gatwick) and Calgary-Paris aboard the Dreamliner effective August 20, 2020.

The updated August schedule features more than 200 daily flights to 48 destinations across Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe—all supported by the carrier’s Safety Above All program as well as flexible booking, change and cancellation policies.

“With the many safeguards and procedures in place, we are certain Canadians can safely resume travel to destinations across our network,” said Arved von zur Muehlen, WestJet chief commercial officer. “We continue to adapt our schedule to meet the needs of our guests and through our continued investments economies can begin to recover with the support of domestic tourism driven by air travel.”

Between July 15 and September 4, 2020, the carrier will:

• increase frequencies to 39 destinations in Canada;
• reintroduce Calgary-London (Gatwick) and Calgary-Paris Dreamliner service;
• continue to serve five key transborder destinations (Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York (LaGuardia) and Orlando);
• offer service to Cancun, Mexico;
• and resume operations once-weekly to Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Von zur Muehlen explained WestJet is committed to ensuring air travel remains affordable and accessible to Canadians from coast-to-coast during the difficult times resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. “While an increase in flying is a positive sign, we are prudently monitoring our guest loads to ensure we are managing our airline and the health of our guests and crew responsibly.”

The carrier’s August schedule reflects approximately a 10 percent increase in flying from July, but a decrease of 75 percent from August 2019. It also includes select frequency reductions and temporary domestic route suspensions between stations across Canada due to continued border closures and provincial travel restrictions.

“The patchwork of domestic travel restrictions and quarantine periods that are currently in place within our own borders is severely limiting Canada’s economic recovery and putting hundreds of thousands of jobs in our critical industry at risk,” he said. “We must standardize intro-provincial travel advice to ensure Canadians can move safely and freely across our country.”