WestJet has unveiled exciting news for travellers with a passion for exploring Europe. Starting today, WestJet passengers will enjoy access to an impressive array of 31 additional cities across 11 European countries through an expansion of their successful codeshare partnership with Air France. This development marks a significant milestone in a fruitful 10-year collaboration that has brought the world closer for millions of passengers.
The heart of this expansion lies in Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), a global aviation hub that opens doors to a multitude of European destinations. Under the previous agreement, WestJet and Air France offered seamless connections to 22 cities through CDG. With this enhancement, that number has soared to an impressive 53 onward destinations in Europe, all accessible within the WestJet network.
Chris Avery, WestJet’s Vice-President of Commercial Development, expressed the airline’s enthusiasm for this groundbreaking expansion. “WestJet is thrilled to more than double our current destination offerings through our Air France codeshare agreement, significantly expanding opportunities for Canadians to turn their dream European getaways into a reality.”
One of the standout highlights of this announcement is the extension of WestJet’s seasonal service between Calgary and Paris to a year-round operation. This route, which was once limited to specific travel seasons, will now be serviced by WestJet’s state-of-the-art 787 Dreamliner aircraft, ensuring travellers can enjoy a seamless and comfortable journey to the “City of Love” throughout the year.
Avery also noted that this extended service would serve as an ideal connecting hub for passengers looking to explore these additional European destinations. “As we prepare for our first year of winter flying to Paris, today’s announcement marks an important milestone in our partnership with Air France, that will bolster seamless connectivity between Canada and desirable destinations such as Nice in the south of France, Helsinki in Finland, and sunny Valencia in Spain.”
Fahmi Mahjoub, Air France KLM Senior Vice-President, Alliances, expressed his excitement about the expanded cooperation between the two airlines. “Air France and WestJet have a long-standing and extensive relationship with already more than 23 destinations offered across Canada under the Air France code. With this development, we are expanding the cooperation further and are honoured to welcome WestJet’s guests onboard our European network.”
Improbable strategy from WestJet. They pull back to Calgary as the origin of all their international long haul flights, claiming that they are building a hub to bring in transfer passengers from cities all over the west. Now they think that by having a partner in Air France and a transfer hub at CDG they are going to attract lots of passengers willing to transfer TWICE to reach their destination in Europe.