Canadian carrier WestJet adding flights to Las Vegas

By Richard N. Velotta (contact)

Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011 | 12:27 p.m.

Steve Marcus

A WestJet plane prepares to land at McCarran International Airport.

As Las Vegans sweat out the dog days of summer, a Canadian discount air carrier with a major presence at McCarran International Airport is gearing to bring snowbirds to the city with an expanded slate of seasonal flights that began today.

WestJet, the busiest international carrier at McCarran, will bring an additional 1,760 seats per week to the market on flights from eight cities to Las Vegas. That’s 18 percent more than WestJet offered at the same time a year ago.

“WestJet is a phenomenal success story at McCarran and we are pleased to welcome more of its customers to Las Vegas in the weeks to come,” said Randall Walker, director of Clark County’s Aviation Department, in a release issued today.

WestJet, which brought 873,801 passengers to Las Vegas in the 12-month period that ended July 31, uses three models of twin-engine Boeing 737 jets with capacities ranging from 119 to 166 passengers.

A rundown of the cities, frequencies and schedule of service for the eight WestJet destinations:

Victoria, British Columbia. Flights began operating three times a week — Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays — through November and will revert to twice weekly Thursdays and Sundays December through April 26.

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Wednesday and Saturday flights run Sept. 7 through April 28.

Ottawa, Ontario. Thursday and Sunday flights will run Sept. 8 through April 26.

Hamilton, Ontario. Monday and Friday flights will operate Sept. 9 through Nov. 28.

Regina, Saskatchewan. Monday and Friday flights will operate Sept. 9 through April 27.

Prince George, British Columbia. Wednesday and Saturday service will run Sept. 10 through Nov. 26.

Kelowna, British Columbia. Tuesday and Saturday flights will run Sept. 9 through April 28.

London, Ontario. Thursday and Sunday service will operate Oct. 30 through April 26.

WestJet officials have been happy with the response the airline has received in Las Vegas.

“There is a very strong demand among Canadian travelers for the many unique attractions, sights and sounds of Las Vegas and we continue to offer additional opportunities from new and existing gateways to meet that demand,” said Hugh Dunleavy, executive vice president of strategy and planning for the airline.

At last week’s Boyd Group International aviation conference, Duncan Bureau, vice president of sales for WestJet, told a crowd of 300 that, “whenever we need a boost, we just point the plane to Las Vegas.”