Thebean Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 http://blog.westjet.com/flights-to-london/Ahh.....but from where? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaEH Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 YYC or YYZ are obvious but YYZ already has plenty of options. YEG or YWG? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
better4me Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Skyteam here comes Westjet knocking on your door. And if you think I'm crazy, no way you go to LGW if you wanted to get closer with Oneworld. Can always get AMS slots from your new friends at Skyteam. Also, lets drop the pretentious concept of working with Canadian airport operators to find the best origins for the LGW destined flights. There is an IATA slot conference coming up and WS was going to be outed in less than one week anyway. The slot conference is the only reason LGW is being announced today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proview Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Forgive my cynicism, but but when the man says they want to "work with our Canadian airport partners over the summer to determine which Canadian cities best meet the needs of our guests and our operations." I see this as a rather blunt statement that the job is out for bidding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaEH Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 No different than cities vying for Encore service. Long lineup for that pre-launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon The Loon Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Ye Olde Six Bells - worth the trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinair Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 ...and the walk back to the hotel through the 800 year old graveyard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Forgive my cynicism, but but when the man says they want to "work with our Canadian airport partners over the summer to determine which Canadian cities best meet the needs of our guests and our operations." I see this as a rather blunt statement that the job is out for bidding.Sure, and AC will be egging them on, because "me too" is another way to cut costs. Then again, the major airports might see the folly of subsidizing new entrants - soon, everyone wants the same breaks - and that would be healthy for the marketplace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manwest Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Way To Go WestJet Post 1500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebean Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 I'll bet there are some people at Transat who wish they'd spent 20 years slowly and steadily building a domestic feed network with 130+ tails. That's the difference: feed. Transat has to rely on pure O&D traffic year round. WJ will feed flights from countless different locations. I don't think any of Transat's flying to France is at any risk, but it's probably safe to say margins to the UK are going to get interesting next summer. There are a couple of obvious locations from which they operate flights, but I'm hoping they are creative and operate some exclusive n/s weekly, summer seasonal flights as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Just imagine the ad potential. Fly WestJet to / from London Ont to London England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.O. Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 If I were going to start overseas flights out of London, ON, LGW wouldn't be my first choice. Try further south, to a place that's shaped like a giant boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
internet Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 I think YWG is about to see the return of trans-Atlantic flying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zan Vetter Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 I thought it was a huge faux pas to release your route plan so far in advance, or without the ability to sell tickets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Regarding Slots, does WestJet have any at LGW? Airport Coordination Ltd has published its Start of Season Summer 2015 Report for LHR. It includes, as before, the number of slots allocated to each airline. However this year the reporting format is different to that used for the previous 12 years. And for the first time it includes details of failed applications for new slots. Below is a summary of the published weekly slot data. The total number of weekly LHR slots (arrival + departure) has increased from 9,564 to 9,618 (thanks to previously announced changes in ATC procedures). The five largest LHR weekly slot holders for Summer 2015 are: British Airways: 4,921 (51.5 per cent)Lufthansa: 508 (5.2 per cent)Virgin Atlantic: 446 (4.6 per cent)Aer Lingus: 318 (3.5 per cent)SAS Scandinavian: 272 (2.8 per cent) Rejected applications for new slots were: Aer Lingus: 3 (sic) slotsAeroflot: 6Air Serbia: 10Alitalia: 2Arik Air: 14Biman Bangladesh: 2British Airways: 1Bulgaria Air: 2El Al: 2Etihad: 14Garuda Indonesia: 14KLM Royal Dutch Airlines: 4Oman Air: 14Qatar Airways: 28Royal Jordanian: 2SAS Scandinavian: 14Swiss International: 42Virgin Atlantic: 4 No data on new or surrendered slots awarded has been published. However at least a partial picture can be obtained by comparing this Start Summer 2015 report with the Start Summer 2014 report. Below is a list of the number of weekly slots operated at the start of the current new season, at the start of the 2014 Summer Season and the net change but only for those airlines where a change has occurred.http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/6358607/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super 80 Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebean Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 I thought it was a huge faux pas to release your route plan so far in advance, or without the ability to sell tickets.What's the route plan? London to where? Anyone trying to attempt a preemptive strike would be undertaking a very expensive exercise in chasing ghosts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 ...and the walk back to the hotel through the 800 year old graveyard Never a problem. The voices in my head were always louder than any of the ghosts on the way back to the hotel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zan Vetter Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Doesn't matter, yet. Competitive strategy doesn't spring fully formed from a womb, it is pieced together as new bits of information are uncovered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homerun Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 LGW is very unimaginative IMO. It's not like the greater London market is underserved from Canada or lacks competition.Surely WJA could have come with another city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I think the UK market is in decline. If there is a place on the planet that taxes air travellers more heavily, it's the UK, and land costs in greater London are outrageous. Government air taxes alone are $100 higher, per person, for a RT ticket from Canada than to continental Europe. ($270 vs $170 for a June/July 2015 economy booking, UK compared to Germany).AC used to operate a lot more capacity - its biggest aircraft - to London. Now, the gauge and total capacity has been adjusted downward. Virgin hasn't been able to conquer the Canada-UK market. If BA didn't have a vast network behind it, I wonder if it would operate out of the number of Canadian cities that it does. Total UK travel to Canada rose 4.7% last year, and the UK is Canada's largest inbound market, but China will pass it by 2016 - Traffic from China rose 29% last year. Almost every other country on Canada's top 15 inbound list had higher growth rates than the UK.Moreover, I expect Are Lingus, now that it's owned by BA, to become a Rouge-like competitor that takes away some of that UK origin VFR traffic.Outbound travel to the UK will be impacted by the weaker dollar. It looks very much like a bunch of dogs fighting over the same meatless bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 One Expert Says:Lower airfares to Europe? WestJet’s move signals discounts on horizon JamieSturgeon- By Jamie SturgeonConsumer Affairs Reporter Global NewsNew non-stop service to London could be the 'tip of the iceberg' for WestJet's ambitions to open new routes to Europe, experts say.The Canadian Press /Bayne StanleyCanadian travellers to London are likely to see lower airfares across the board beginning next spring. That’s when WestJet said this week it plans to begin non-stop service to the city’s Gatwick airport. A growing assortment of "ancillary fees" are helping to lift Canadian airlines' bottom lines. More fees, less leg room: a new normal at Canadian airlinesThat’s good news for more than just those headed to London — it could be the start of a trend that could lower airfares to other European centres, too, experts say, if the Canadian carrier continues to open up new routes that challenge Air Canada’s slice of the international market. “What we believe WestJet is trying to do in London is the same thing that it has done since its inception in all other markets that it has entered,” analyst Ben Cherniavsky at financial services firm Raymond James said in a note to clients on Wednesday. That is: “lower fares [and] stimulate demand” at the expense of Air Canada, Cherniavsky said. Stealing customers The analyst suggested the London route as well as WestJet’s two other transatlantic routes (to Dublin and Glasgow) represent “the tip of the iceberg” for WestJet, which appears to be pursuing a broader push into airports in Europe. There isn’t a ton of growth among new flyers crossing the Atlantic, which is considered a mature market by experts. That means WestJet must win customers away from Air Canada, which it will do by undercutting airfares. It’s a game that Air Canada and WestJet have been playing for years as the latter has moved into the former’s turf. And Air Canada typically responds by matching WestJet’s lower airfares, Cherniavsky said. “These threats to Air Canada’s incumbent position always elicit a fierce response,” the analyst said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boestar Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I wish AC serviced LGW Far better Drive to my destination and saves 2 hours on the motorway.LHR Sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MD2 Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 I'd say it is Toronto to London. For better or worse, Toronto would have the largest market. Congratulations to WestJet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moeman Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 How long until rouge takes over Heathrow flying too...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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