WestJet is set to resume flights to Amsterdam, marking a return to the Netherlands with a new approach. Starting in May, the airline will operate flights from Halifax using the Boeing 737 MAX 8, which will be the first non-stop service from Nova Scotia’s capital to Amsterdam. This move is part of WestJet’s strategy that contributes to over 100 daily narrowbody flights between Canada and Europe this summer.
The inaugural flight on this route will leave Canada on May 29, with the last Europe-bound departure scheduled for October 23. During peak summer months, WestJet plans six weekly flights, making it a significant addition for a market that has not been served before transatlantically. The frequency will decrease to four or five times weekly during less popular periods.
“By reducing flights, loads and yields should improve,” noted WestJet’s strategy, ensuring the route’s viability and increasing the chance of returning in 2026.
The journey covers approximately 2,652 nautical miles (4,912 km) each way. Flights from Halifax to Amsterdam are set as WS70 departing at 23:45 and arriving at 11:00+1 local time after a block time of 6 hours and 15 minutes. The return flight WS71 departs Amsterdam at 14:00 and arrives in Halifax at 16:20 local time with a block time of 7 hours and 20 minutes.
This schedule allows passengers easy connections to Toronto, Calgary, and Winnipeg with short waits. However, connectivity from Edmonton is less favorable due to timing issues.
Booking data indicates around 8,000 point-to-point passengers traveled between Halifax and Amsterdam from June to October last year. “Onward connections will still be critical,” according to WestJet’s analysis.
This summer marks a record for WestJet with plans for 17 European routes from four Canadian airports. Eleven of these routes will use the Boeing 737 MAX 8 exclusively. In comparison, during the pandemic summer of 2022, WestJet operated only 15 routes when it focused primarily on its Calgary hub.
Only two out of eleven MAX-operated routes face direct competition. Including their Boeing 787s increases this number to three out of seventeen routes overall.
WestJet’s longest European MAX-operated route is Dublin back to Toronto with a maximum block time of seven hours and fifty-four minutes daily. The new Halifax-Amsterdam route follows closely behind with a maximum block time of seven hours and twenty minutes starting in May.
