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DALLAS —WestJet (WS), Canada's second-largest carrier, has announced today that it will add five new Boeing 737-8s to its fleet. According to the press release, these 737-8s are expected to be delivered in early 2025, adding to the multi-billion-dollar investment in the MAX aircraft.
Three Boeing 737-8s will be leased from CBD Aviation (China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Ltd.), while the other two will be leased from Dublin-based Avolon Aerospace Leasing. With these additional five 737-8s, WS has the most extensive narrowbody order book among Canadian airlines, as the Calgary-based carrier is scheduled to take delivery of up to 22 new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Moreover, before the end of 2028, this number will increase to 62 additional MAX jets.
In celebration of the announcement, WestJet Group Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Mike Scott stated, "We are adding these five aircraft to our 737 MAX family very soon and look forward to this additional capacity enhancing our already forecasted fleet expansion, further enabling our execution of providing affordable and diverse air travel options for our guests. As Canada's coast-to-coast leisure champion and western home carrier, the continued expansion of our fleet in tandem with our low-cost foundation is a key accelerator of our growth strategy."
Today, WS boasts a fleet of 123 aircraft, comprising 39 Boeing 737-700s, 43 Boeing 737-800s, 32 Boeing 737-8s, three Boeing 737-800s Boeing Converted Freighters (BCFs), and six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. Moreover, the airline is awaiting the delivery of 48 Boeing 737-10s and 14 Boeing 737-8s.
Unmatched Canadian Growth
Since the airline's founding in June 1994, WS has become Canada's second-largest airline, just behind flag carrier Air Canada (AC). Over the past 27 years, the airline has played an immense role in cutting airfares and increasing the flying population in Canada to over 50%. Today, the airline serves over 100 destinations across 26 countries and continues to grow as it recently announced plans to begin flights to Seoul Incheon (ICN) in South Korea in May 2024.
This winter, the airline has had a better supply-to-demand balance compared to prior years as they are flying almost half of the seats to sun destinations in part due to the acquisition of Canadian leisure carrier Sunwing (WG). In May 2023, WestJet Group, the parent company of WS, announced that it acquired Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines (WG).
The WestJet Group anticipates that by October 2024, WG will be fully integrated into WestJet Airlines. Since both WG's and WS's narrowbody fleet solely consists of the Boeing 737, WS plans to align the 737s from both airlines under the same Air Operator Certificate (AOC). Moreover, WS will merge Sunwings brang under its name as part of the carrier's consolidation plans.
Featured image: C-GAMQ, WestJet Boeing 737-8 MAX. Photo: Nick Sheeder/Airways
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