In advance of its return to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) in late May, Canada’s WestJet unveiled an expanded codeshare agreement with Air France-KLM that will allow passengers to connect to destinations throughout Europe via KLM flights.
WestJet on May 29 will open service between Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) in eastern Canada and AMS, a market the Calgary-based carrier has not served in over two years. WestJet will use a Boeing 737-8 to fly the exclusive route 6X-weekly.
WestJet passengers flying from YHZ will be able to connect at AMS on a single itinerary to 14 airports in Europe via KLM, including six in France. The French destinations include Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Rennes and Toulouse.
The WestJet-KLM codeshare from AMS also includes Italian destinations Bologna, Florence and Milan Linate, as well as Portuguese cities Lisbon and Porto. WestJet passengers will also be able to transfer to KLM flights from AMS to Brussels, Helsinki, Finland, and Prague.
WestJet last served AMS in early 2023 from Calgary using a 787-9. Amsterdam will become the fourth European destination served by the airline from Halifax. The carrier has already commenced summer seasonal service from YHZ to Dublin, Edinburgh, Scotland, and CDG. WestJet is also serving CDG for the summer from St. John’s, the capital of the eastern Canadian province Newfoundland and Labrador. The airline said the expanded codeshare agreement adds four more European destinations from CDG via Air France, including Bucharest, Budapest, Prague and Bologna, Italy. WestJet noted those four cities bring to more than 50 the destinations in Europe passengers can access via CDG on Air France as part of the carriers’ codeshare accord.
Jared Mikoch-Gerke, WestJet’s director of airport affairs and alliances, called the added codeshare destinations from AMS and CDG “a game changer offering [passengers] traveling from or through Halifax and St. John’s more destinations, fewer layovers and convenient access to Europe.”
Additionally, WestJet announced two regional domestic routes to be opened from Edmonton International Airport (YEG) in western Canada in July. The airline will fly 2X-weekly from YEG to both Prince George (starting July 5) and Kamloops (starting July 6). The routes will be flown by regional affiliate WestJet Encore using De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft.
WestJet has said it is focusing more on domestic growth with services to the U.S. curtailed this summer because of political tensions. “Restoring service to Kamloops and introducing service to Prince George is a direct reflection of Canadians’ interest in exploring their own backyard this summer,” WestJet CCO John Weatherill said.