Canadians have new ways to visit three cool U.S. destinations.
WestJet on Friday celebrated the start of its nonstop flights between Calgary and Washington D.C., as well commencement of its nonstop service between Edmonton and Minneapolis.
Air Canada today (Saturday) will begin service between Toronto and the California capital of Sacramento.
WestJet celebrated the launch of its first-ever service between Calgary and Washington D.C., on June 2 with the departure of WS1618 at 11:30 a.m. MST. With the inclusion of Washington D.C. to WestJet’s Calgary network along with new service to Detroit and the restoration of service to an expansive list of U.S. destinations, WestJet is increasing its Calgary transborder capacity by 46% compared to Summer 2022, with direct service to 20 U.S. destinations across the country.
Cherry blossoms and the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. Ridwan Meah/Unsplash Photo
Washington is a fabulous city, with some of the world’s best museums, inventive cuisine, beautiful hotels, cool neighborhoods like Georgetown, and lovely outdoor spaces, including the wide expanse of the Potomac River.
“We are thrilled to be celebrating the inauguration of our service between Calgary and Washington D.C. forming yet another meaningful connection between our home hub in Calgary and our southern neighbors, that will provide newfound, seamless access to the world-renowned monuments in the capital city of the United States” said Chris Avery, WestJet Vice-President, Network Planning, Alliances and Commercial Development. “Whether our guests crave access to Western Canada’s Rocky Mountains or the historical sites of Washington D.C., this new route will unlock instrumental opportunity for our guests to travel for business and leisure, bolstering business and tourism opportunities in both cities.”
Growing Edmonton’s aviation pipeline, the new WestJet route to Minneapolis unlocks direct connectivity from Alberta’s capital to the Midwest United States and beyond. With the inclusion of Minneapolis to Edmonton’s network, WestJet has increased Edmonton’s transborder capacity this summer by over 150 per cent and its total network capacity by over 40 per cent marking the airline’s largest network expansion from a single city in its history.
The California Capitol Building is a handsome structure in surprising Sacramento. JIM BYERS PHOTO
“We are thrilled to be celebrating the departure of our third of five inaugural routes from Edmonton today, signifying our expanding commitment to the capital of WestJet’s home province,” said Avery. “Through our new service connecting Edmonton and Minneapolis, WestJet is doing our part to further enhance the economic success of the communities we serve through the implementation of strategic routes that serve to stimulate vital business and tourism opportunities.”
Air Canada today (June 3) launches a route connecting Toronto Pearson (YYZ) with California’s Sacramento International Airport (SMF). The year-round route will offer flights four times per week.
Flights between Toronto and Sacramento will be carried out on the airline’s Airbus A220 aircraft. These 137-seat aircraft also feature business and economy class seating.
Sacramento is a cool and underrated American destination. Here’s a story I wrote about the city a few years ago.
AIR CANADA DELAYS CONTINUE
The website Flight Aware reports Air Canada is still having delay issues, but that cancelled flights aren’t bad today. As of 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 3, the site reported 24 cancelled AC flights (4%) and 134 delays (25%). For Air Canada Rouge it was 15 cancellations (10%) and 49 delays (33%). For Jazz, it showed 28 cancellations (6%) and 56 delays (12%).
On Friday, Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge both had 50% of flights delayed, while Jazz was at 37%.
