west jet aircraft type

[Guest lupin]

With Westjet pulling out of sudbury and Sault-st-marie you have to wonder if that company will be able to keep growing at the current rate.A 737,with its capacity, needs cities of a fair size with considerable airport volume.You have to wonder if WJ's growt will slow down after they get their canadian network completed to most larger cities.The argument for single aircraft type works great for the larger cities but seems to falter for the smaller cities.

The transborder market seems like a likely next target for WJ (don't quote me but I beleive I read somewhere that westjet plans to fly to the states within the next year)but one has to wonder if the discount carrier will be able to compete with all the regionaljets already covering most of those routes.As cheap and efficient that it is, will the 737 prove to be the wrong A/C type? Its not close to being as efficient as an RJ. Southwest,Jetblue,Ryanair ,etc, have the advantage of a much larger market,with most cities being over a million people, the 737 is well suited to their style of operation.The carriers such as mesa,ACA and air wisconsin are already flooding the us/canada market.They have the advantage of being able to serve much smaller cities as well as the larger ones.Any speculation as to how Westjet will enter the u/s market?

[Moon The Loon]

I believe (as an outsider) that WJ's long-term goal is to be single type (-700), an extremely efficient short/long haul combination.

The -200 was always an interim aircraft for WJ. Even back in the early 90's, CAI could not make money flying YHZ-YYZ with a full load due to the cost of the longer haul (>1.5 hours) and the old JT engines.

Once again as an outsider, why ask your question when the long term plans of WJ have been common knowledge (i.e. exclusive -700) for so long?!

[Tango Niner]

Cross-border type will be B737-700, in copious quantities.

Cheers

T9

[Steam Driven]

WestJet's strategy has been to enter what we perceive to be an underserved market with attractive fares. The low fares and jet service will stimulate traffic and encourage people to fly when they perhaps would not have in the past.

By stimulating the market it is hoped that we can offer a service to a smaller comunity that perhaps would not have enjoyed jet service and make a profit doing so.

If Governments and Airport Authorities see this as a cash cow to fill their coffers, (AIF's, rent, user fees,) the price advantage is lost, traffic slows, we don't make a profit and we discontinue service.

There are many more cities in Canada that we will enter. Perhaps we will hit a home-run as with Montreal, perhaps some will be discontinued or re-entered on a seasonal basis. We will also go transborder and continue with the sun destinations of Mexico, the Carribean and the sun states of the U.S.

Don't worry, we'll have lot's of work for the NG 737's we've got coming.