WestJet facts for kids
A WestJet Boeing 737 MAX 8
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| Founded | June 27, 1994 |
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| Commenced operations | February 29, 1996 |
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| Frequent-flyer program | WestJet Rewards |
| Subsidiaries |
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| Fleet size | 153 |
| Destinations | 104 |
| Parent company |
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| Headquarters | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Key people | Alexis von Hoensbroech (President & CEO) |
| Employees | 14,000 (May 2024) |
WestJet is a Canadian airline with its main office in Calgary, Alberta. It was started in 1994 and began flying in 1996. WestJet is the second-largest airline in Canada. It is also the eighth-largest airline in North America based on how often its planes fly.
When it first started, WestJet had 220 employees, three planes, and flew to five places. It was created to be a more affordable choice compared to other big airlines in Canada.
WestJet offers different types of flights, including regular flights, special charter flights, and cargo flights that carry goods. Each year, it transports over 25 million passengers to more than 100 places. These destinations are in North America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and Central America.
Calgary International Airport is WestJet's main hub for connecting flights around the world. Toronto Pearson International Airport is another important hub for the airline. WestJet also has two main companies that work with it: WestJet Encore and WestJet Cargo. WestJet Encore flies smaller planes, like the De Havilland Canada Dash 8, on routes in Western Canada. WestJet Cargo uses Boeing 737 planes that used to carry passengers but were changed to carry cargo.
WestJet is not part of big airline groups like Star Alliance or Oneworld. However, it works with many other airlines through special agreements called codeshare and interline agreements. These agreements help passengers connect to more places.
Contents
- History of WestJet
- How WestJet Started (1994–1999)
- Growing Across Canada (2000–2003)
- Flying Beyond Canada (2004–2006)
- More Growth and New Headquarters (2007–2009)
- Flying Across the Ocean (2010–2016)
- Becoming a Full-Service Airline (2017–2019)
- Dealing with the Pandemic (2020–2022)
- Focusing on Western Canada (2022–Present)
- Buying Sunwing
- How WestJet is Organized
- Where WestJet Flies
- Working with Other Airlines
- WestJet's Planes (Fleet)
- Plane Incidents
- See also
History of WestJet
How WestJet Started (1994–1999)
WestJet was founded on June 27, 1994, by Clive Beddoe, David Neeleman, Mark Hill, Tim Morgan, and Donald Bell. The airline was inspired by successful low-cost airlines in the United States, like Southwest Airlines. Its first flights were all in Western Canada, which is how the airline got its name.
On February 29, 1996, WestJet's first flight took off using a Boeing 737-200 plane. At first, the airline flew to Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Vancouver, and Winnipeg. By the end of that year, WestJet added Regina, Saskatoon, and Victoria to its flight map.
In 1999, WestJet started selling shares to the public for the first time. This helped the company grow even more. That same year, WestJet added flights to Thunder Bay, Grande Prairie, and Prince George.
Growing Across Canada (2000–2003)
After some big changes in the Canadian airline industry, WestJet started flying to Eastern Canada. It began service to cities like Hamilton and Ottawa, Ontario, and Moncton, New Brunswick. John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport became a key hub for WestJet in Eastern Canada.
In 2001, WestJet continued to grow, adding more destinations. By 2002, it added London and Toronto in Ontario. In 2003, WestJet expanded even more, adding flights to Windsor, Montreal, Halifax, St. John's, and Gander.
WestJet also had an agreement with Air Transat to help fill planes for vacation flights to places like Mexico and the Caribbean. This agreement ended in 2009.
In 2004, another airline, Air Canada, had a disagreement with WestJet about sharing information. WestJet later agreed to pay some money to Air Canada and donate to children's charities to resolve the issue.
Flying Beyond Canada (2004–2006)
In 2004, WestJet moved its main operations in Eastern Canada from Hamilton to Toronto. This helped the airline offer many more flights from Toronto Pearson International Airport.
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WestJet also started adding flights to cities in the United States in 2004. These included San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando. In 2005, Palm Springs and San Diego were added. Later that year, Fort Myers and Las Vegas also became WestJet destinations.
In 2005, WestJet began flying to Hawaii from Vancouver. In December 2005, flights started to Honolulu and Maui. WestJet's first regular flight outside of Canada and the United States began in 2006, to Nassau, The Bahamas. This was a big step for the airline's international plans.
More Growth and New Headquarters (2007–2009)
In 2007, WestJet added new flights to places like Deer Lake in Newfoundland and Saint John in New Brunswick. It also added seven new seasonal international flights to vacation spots like Saint Lucia, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. A third Hawaiian destination, Kona, was also added.
WestJet also built a new six-story main office building next to its hangar at the Calgary International Airport. This building was designed to be environmentally friendly. Employees started moving in during 2009.
By the end of 2009, WestJet had significantly increased its share of flights within Canada. In 2000, it had only 7% of the market, but by 2009, it had grown to 38%.
In 2009, WestJet added 11 new international destinations for its winter schedule. These included more flights to the United States, like Atlantic City, New Jersey, Lihue (Kauai), Hawaii, and Miami, Florida. New Caribbean destinations included Providenciales and Sint Maarten. Flights to Cuba (Varadero, Holguín, Cayo Coco) and more places in Mexico (Ixtapa, Cozumel) were also added.
Flying Across the Ocean (2010–2016)
In 2010, WestJet announced new flights to Santa Clara, Cuba, New Orleans, and Grand Cayman, bringing its total number of destinations to 71.
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In 2011, WestJet started flying to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. From 2012 to 2014, WestJet expanded further into the United States, adding flights to Chicago (O'Hare), Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Myrtle Beach International Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
On November 15, 2013, WestJet announced its first destination in Europe: Dublin, Ireland. These seasonal flights from St. John's, Newfoundland, began in June 2014.
In 2014, WestJet announced it would get four larger planes, Boeing 767-300ERs, to fly longer international routes. These planes started flying in 2015.
On June 16, 2015, WestJet announced flights to London's Gatwick Airport, starting in May 2016. This was the airline's third transatlantic destination after Dublin and Glasgow. Most flights to London used the larger Boeing 767-300ER planes.
Becoming a Full-Service Airline (2017–2019)
In 2017, WestJet announced plans to start a very low-cost airline called Swoop. Swoop began flying in June 2018, using Boeing 737-800 planes.
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WestJet and Delta Air Lines also planned to work together more closely, sharing flights and frequent flyer programs. However, they decided not to go ahead with this plan in 2020.
In 2018, WestJet announced it would add the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to its fleet. The first of these new planes arrived in January 2019.
On October 12, 2018, WestJet revealed its new look and slogan: "Love where you're going." It also announced that the new Boeing 787 planes would fly from Calgary International Airport to London Gatwick, Paris, and Dublin starting in April 2019.
In May 2019, WestJet announced that it would be bought by a company called Onex Corporation for $5 billion Canadian dollars. This deal was completed in December 2019, and WestJet became a private company.
Dealing with the Pandemic (2020–2022)
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a huge drop in travel demand. In March 2020, WestJet stopped all international flights and had to reduce its workforce. Many employees were temporarily laid off, but most were called back by February 2022 as travel started to recover.
In June 2021, WestJet decided to start a special cargo service using converted Boeing 737-800 planes. This was to help with the high demand for shipping goods during the pandemic. The first cargo plane was delivered in April 2022, and operations began later that month.
Focusing on Western Canada (2022–Present)
On June 16, 2022, WestJet announced it would go back to its roots as a low-cost airline. It decided to focus more on Western Canada and leisure travel. This meant some routes in Eastern Canada were stopped.
In September 2022, WestJet ordered 42 more Boeing 737 MAX 10 planes, making it the largest order for narrow-body planes in Canada.
In October 2022, WestJet and the Government of Alberta announced a big partnership. Calgary International Airport became WestJet's only global hub for connecting to international destinations. WestJet also decided to base all its Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes in Calgary, which could lead to new flights to Europe and Asia.
In December 2022, WestJet announced its first destination in Asia: Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan, with flights starting in April 2023. It also added new routes from Calgary to Barcelona–El Prat Airport and Edinburgh Airport.
In November 2023, WestJet announced it would restart transatlantic flights from Eastern Canada using its Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes. This included flights from Toronto, St. John's, and Halifax to places like Dublin, Edinburgh, and London (Gatwick). WestJet also planned new flights from Calgary to Reykjavík, Iceland, and Incheon International Airport in South Korea.
In June 2024, WestJet's aircraft mechanics went on a three-day strike, causing over 1000 flights to be cancelled. In October 2024, WestJet ended its agreement with Pacific Coastal Airlines for WestJet Link flights. These routes are now operated by WestJet Encore using larger planes.
In March 2025, WestJet decided to stop its dedicated cargo plane network and focus on carrying cargo in the belly of its passenger planes.
Buying Sunwing
On March 2, 2022, WestJet announced its plan to buy Sunwing, another Canadian airline known for vacation packages. The goal was to create a new "tour business operating unit" that would combine Sunwing Vacations and WestJet Vacations. This new unit would be based in Toronto.
The Canadian Competition Bureau reviewed the plan and had some concerns. They worried that buying Sunwing might reduce competition, especially for vacation packages to sunny places like Mexico and the Caribbean. They noted that WestJet and Sunwing together accounted for a large share of flights to these destinations.
However, on March 10, 2023, the Canadian government officially approved the merger. The government set several conditions for the merger to ensure that Canadians would still have affordable vacation options and good service. These conditions included:
- Offering Sunwing vacation packages to five new Canadian cities.
- Keeping a main office for vacation businesses in Toronto and a regional office in Montreal for at least five years.
- Improving how regional flights connect and how baggage is handled.
- Increasing the number of jobs at Sunwing's Toronto office.
- Slowly stopping the practice of leasing planes seasonally to protect jobs in Canada.
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On May 1, 2023, the WestJet Group officially completed its purchase of Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing. Stephen Hunter, who was the CEO of Sunwing Vacations, became the CEO of WestJet Group's Vacations Business. This new business combines WestJet Vacations and Sunwing Vacations.
In September 2023, WestJet announced that it plans to fully combine Sunwing into WestJet by October 2024. This means all of Sunwing's 18 Boeing 737 planes will join WestJet's main fleet, and over 2,000 Sunwing employees will become part of WestJet. This merger happened after WestJet also brought its low-cost airline, Swoop, back into its main operations in October 2023.
How WestJet is Organized
Ownership and Structure
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is part of the WestJet Group, which is a private company. Since December 2019, it has been owned by a company called Onex Corporation, based in Toronto.
On May 13, 2019, WestJet agreed to be bought by Onex Corporation in a $5-billion deal. This deal was approved by shareholders and regulators. After the purchase was completed on December 11, 2019, WestJet's shares were no longer traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
In May 2025, Delta Air Lines bought 15% of WestJet, and Korean Air bought 10%. Onex Group still owns the remaining 75%.
WestJet Encore
WestJet Encore is WestJet's regional airline. It started flying on June 24, 2013. WestJet Encore uses smaller, twin-propeller planes called De Havilland Canada Dash 8s. It was created to serve smaller communities across Canada.
WestJet Vacations
WestJet Vacations is a part of the Sunwing Vacations Group. It was created to offer complete travel packages to customers, combining flights with places to stay. This service started in June 2006, allowing WestJet to offer more than just flights.
WestJet Vacations provides different travel packages that include flights, hotels, and sometimes car rentals. These packages make it easier and often cheaper for customers to plan their trips. WestJet Vacations flies to popular tourist spots in Mexico, the Caribbean, the United States, and other places.
Sunwing Vacations Group
The Sunwing Vacations Group is a new part of the WestJet Group. It includes five major travel brands: Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations, Vacation Express (a U.S. tour operator), and travel sellers SellOffVacations.com and Luxe Destination Weddings. This group was formed after WestJet bought Sunwing in May 2023. Even though they are now part of the same group, each brand keeps its own unique identity. Together, they are some of the biggest vacation brands in North America.
Former Subsidiaries
WestJet Link
WestJet Link started in June 2018. It was an agreement with Pacific Coastal Airlines to operate flights for WestJet. This service connected passengers from WestJet's hubs in Calgary and Vancouver to smaller towns in Western Canada. It used Saab 340B planes. This agreement ended in October 2024, and most of these routes are now flown by WestJet Encore.
Swoop
Swoop was a very low-cost airline owned by WestJet. It began flying on June 20, 2018, using Boeing 737-800 planes. Swoop was fully combined with WestJet's main operations on October 28, 2023.
Where WestJet Flies
Hubs
WestJet currently has two main hubs:
- Calgary: This is WestJet's main global hub in Western Canada. All of WestJet's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner planes are based here.
- Toronto–Pearson: This is WestJet's hub in Eastern Canada. It connects to destinations across Canada and to sunny vacation spots.
Destinations
WestJet and WestJet Encore fly to over 100 destinations in 28 countries. These include 39 cities in Canada and 29 in the United States. WestJet offers the most flights from Canada to popular places like Cancún, Puerto Vallarta, Las Vegas, and Orlando. It has non-stop flights from many Canadian cities to these destinations. Since 2008, WestJet has been the largest international airline flying into Las Vegas. WestJet also serves 20 destinations in the Caribbean and seven in Mexico.
In January 2018, WestJet announced its first flight to mainland Europe, flying between Halifax and Paris starting in May 2018. This route used its new Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes.
In October 2018, WestJet announced new international destinations. Starting in 2019, WestJet began direct flights from Calgary to Dublin and Paris using its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes. The Calgary to London Gatwick route also started using the new Dreamliner planes. WestJet also added flights between Calgary and Atlanta in March 2019, and between Toronto and Barcelona in May 2019. In June 2021, WestJet added a new route from Calgary to Amsterdam, followed by Seattle in November 2021.
In 2022, WestJet changed its London service from Gatwick to Heathrow Airport in March. It also added Rome to its European flights in May.
In 2023, WestJet added new routes to the United States, including Detroit in May, and Minneapolis and Washington Dulles in June. Flights to Tokyo, WestJet's first destination outside of North America and Europe, began in April 2023. Bonaire was added as a vacation destination in December 2023.
In 2024, the airline announced upcoming services to Reykjavík, Iceland (Keflavík) and Seoul, South Korea, both starting in May.
Working with Other Airlines
WestJet works with many other airlines through "codeshare agreements." This means that WestJet can sell tickets on flights operated by another airline, and vice versa. It's like sharing a flight code. This helps passengers connect to more places around the world.
As of August 2025, WestJet has codeshare agreements with airlines like:
- Aeroméxico
- Air France
- Air Transat
- Cathay Pacific
- China Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Emirates
- Japan Airlines
- KLM
- Korean Air
- Qantas
- Virgin Atlantic
Interline Agreements
WestJet also has "interline agreements" with other airlines. This means that if you buy a ticket with WestJet that involves flying on another airline, your baggage can be transferred between the airlines, and you can usually check in for all your flights at once.
As of August 2025, WestJet has interline agreements with airlines like:
- Aer Lingus
- Air China
- Air New Zealand
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Etihad Airways
- Icelandair
- United Airlines
WestJet's Planes (Fleet)
Current Fleet
As of August 2025, WestJet's main fleet is made up entirely of Boeing aircraft. Its regional airline, WestJet Encore, flies Bombardier Q400 planes.
WestJet uses the following types of planes:
- Boeing 737-700: These are common planes for shorter flights.
- Boeing 737-800: These are larger versions of the 737, used for many routes. Some of these planes were transferred from Swoop and Sunwing.
- Boeing 737 MAX 8: These are newer, more fuel-efficient versions of the 737. Some were also transferred from Swoop, Lynx Air, and Sunwing.
- Boeing 737 MAX 10: WestJet has ordered many of these even larger MAX planes.
- Boeing 787-9: These are wide-body Dreamliner planes used for long-haul international flights.
WestJet Cargo also operates Boeing 737-800BCF planes, which are cargo versions of the 737. These are planned to be phased out.
How WestJet Chooses Its Planes
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WestJet started with Boeing 737-200 planes. Over time, it updated its fleet to newer, more fuel-efficient Boeing 737 Next Generation planes, including the 737-700, 737-600, and 737-800 models.
For a few years, WestJet temporarily leased some Boeing 757-200 planes during winter to fly to Hawaii. In 2013, WestJet decided to sell some of its older 737-700s and buy more 737-800s to make its fleet more modern and carry more passengers.
In 2014, WestJet decided to get wide-body aircraft for longer international flights. It acquired four Boeing 767-300ER planes. These planes were older and sometimes needed frequent repairs, which caused delays.
In 2017, WestJet announced it would buy up to 20 new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. These modern planes started arriving in 2019 and are used for long-haul international routes. WestJet ended up purchasing seven Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Past Planes WestJet Used
WestJet has retired some of its older planes over the years.
- Boeing 737-200: These were WestJet's first planes, used from 1996 to 2006. Some were donated to schools.
- Boeing 737-600: Used from 2006 to 2021, these were retired due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Boeing 757-200: These were temporarily leased from other airlines between 2011 and 2015 for seasonal flights.
- Boeing 767-300ER: Used from 2015 to 2020, these were retired due to the pandemic. Some were later bought by Amazon and converted into cargo planes.
Plane Colors and Designs (Livery)
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WestJet's planes are mostly white with blue and teal colors on the tail. The company's name "WestJet.com" is also on the wingtips.
In the past, WestJet had some special plane designs:
- In 2010, one Boeing 737-800 had a special design promoting its customer service promise, called "Care-antee."
- In 2013, the "Care-antee" plane was repainted in partnership with Disney. It featured Mickey Mouse from the movie Fantasia and was called the "Magic Plane."
- A second Disney plane was completed in 2015, called the "Frozen Plane," with characters Elsa and Anna. These Disney planes were repainted into the regular WestJet design in 2024.
In May 2018, WestJet introduced a new look for its planes. This included a new font for "WestJet" and the phrase "The Spirit of Canada" (or "L'esprit du Canada" in French) written along the side of the plane. It also featured an updated maple leaf design on the tail. Since August 2022, newer planes and repainted aircraft no longer include "The Spirit of Canada" titles.
WestJet's first Dreamliner plane, delivered in January 2019, was named 'Clive Beddoe' to honor one of the airline's founders.
WestJet Cargo's planes have the standard WestJet design but also have large "CARGO" titles on the side and "In partnership with GTA" to show its collaboration with GTA Aviation.
Plane Incidents
A few incidents have happened with WestJet planes, but thankfully, most did not result in injuries.
- February 17, 2008: A WestJet Boeing 737-700 landed too far down the runway in Ottawa and went about 100 feet into snow. No one was hurt.
- June 5, 2015: A WestJet Boeing 737-600 went off the runway into the grass at Montréal–Trudeau International Airport during heavy rain. The plane was not damaged.
- March 7, 2017: A WestJet flight to Princess Juliana International Airport descended too low in heavy rain and low visibility. The crew initially mistook a hotel for the runway. They safely pulled up and landed the plane on the second try.
- January 5, 2018: A WestJet Boeing 737-800 was hit by a Sunwing Boeing 737-800 that was being moved at Toronto Pearson International Airport. A small fire on the Sunwing plane's tail was put out. All 168 passengers and 6 crew on the WestJet plane were safely evacuated, and no one was injured.
- January 5, 2020: A WestJet Boeing 737-800 went off the runway into the grass while landing in Halifax during heavy snow. The plane was not damaged.
- August 9, 2023: A WestJet Boeing 737-700 collided with a military plane (CC-130H Hercules) while moving on the ground at Comox Valley Airport. No one on the WestJet plane was injured. The military plane was empty.
See also
In Spanish: WestJet para niños
