WestJet at Gatwick: WestJet expands its long haul service despite competitor pressure

Attempts by WestJet's competitors to flood the London market with capacity in order to undermine the low cost airline's widebody experiment in the London Gatwick market have not produced the end result of driving WestJet from the trans-Atlantic space. WestJet is sending a clear message to its competitors that it plans to remain firmly entrenched on long haul routes. The company is currently examining options for more widebody aircraft, and is discussing further long haul expansion with its pilots.

After a rocky start to its highly anticipated long haul service to London, WestJet is posting load factors on its routes to Gatwick that are higher than system average, and concludes that the flights are delivering positive returns.

An interesting pattern in WestJet's passenger composition on the company's trans-Atlantic service to Gatwick is the number of US-originating passengers from large metropolitan areas that currently have nonstop service to London - a dynamic that the airline attributes to its lower fares. The US-originating customers are boosting WestJet's sixth freedom traffic flowing over Canada to long haul destinations.