Air Canada too dominant in the East for WestJet to compete, experts say

Industry watchers expect WestJet to remove routes from the Toronto-Montreal-Ottawa triangle as part of the airline’s new strategy to focus future growth on Western Canada. But far from being a downsizing, experts say WestJet’s latest move is actually a “growth story” that will see the Calgary-based airline bulk up its fleet and add service to more communities across the West. On Thursday, the WestJet Group — which is owned by Onex Corp. — announced a plan to shift its resources in the wake of a strategic review of the company’s operations. CE Alexis von Hoensbroech, a former Austrian Airlines CEO who assumed the helm at WestJet in February, said the airline is at a turning point as it grapples with pent-up travel demand in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, spiking oil prices and staffing shortages at airports. Von Hoensbroech said to ensure its future success, WestJet has decided to focus its future investments on Western Canada, where it has a large portion of the market share and enjoys a reputation as the “home-team carrier.” “We will deploy our aircraft where they can be of greatest service to Canadians,” von Hoensbroech said. “While we will be investing the majority of our fleet in the West, as a national airline we will maintain a significant presence in the Eastern provinces, primarily through direct connections to our Western cities.” The announcement comes after WestJet has spent more than a decade adding routes to central and Atlantic Canada in an effort to go head-to-head with Montreal-based Air Canada.<br/>