Another airline is now offering direct flights between Prince George and Calgary.
WestJet announced Monday that it will provide same-day jet service round trip to the Alberta business city, using a 119-seat Boeing 737.
President and CEO of the Prince George Airport Authority, John Gibson says "business travellers can now fly to Calgary and return home the same day, as this flight leaves YXS at 6 a.m. and returns at 10:27 p.m., so it is geared toward the Prince George market. Business and leisure passengers now have more connection options for eastern Canada, the prairies, the USA and sunspot destinations."
Westjet's Prince George-Calgary flights compliment Hawkair / Central Mountain Air's flights to Calgary, which start in Terrace in late afternoon, stop for Prince George passenger pickup at 5:15 p.m., then arrive in Calgary at 8 p.m., before doing the reverse circuit in the morning.
Those flights favour the Calgarian traveller with business interests in northern B.C. whereas the new WestJet service is geared for the local traveller heading for Calgary and beyond.
"We see Central Mountain Air as a real solid partner, and we have a very good relationship with WestJet as well," Gibson said. "CMA says they are going to watch what happens to their numbers, that's just business, and I am watching them both. I think they are fairly complementary services. They each offer something good, but we don't know the exact economics of the marketplace. We will see how both airlines watch their numbers and proceed with their business plans, and we certainly want to hold on to both of them."
Gibson said he had been aggressive with airline companies about providing direct flights between Prince George and Calgary in previous years, but he had moved on to other key objectives, such as direct PG-Edmonton flights, another direct sun spot service to go with Puerto Vallarta already offered, and direct flights to Las Vegas again.
John Weatherill, director of network and schedule planning for WestJet, said their schedule "will allow Prince George residents to arrive into Calgary at 8:27 a.m. and conduct a full day of business before returning in the evening. The flights are also timed to provide convenient connections to and from destinations throughout WestJet's large network. We're confident the service will be well received."
Gibson said another benefit to this additional service would be price advantages that typically happen when service expansions like this happen.
