WestJet is lining up nine new international routes for the 2026-27 winter season, spread across six Canadian airports and aimed squarely at travelers looking for sun between December and April.
The new flying was set out by Simple Flying on October 11 using schedule data from aviation analytics company Cirium. Most of the additions are short- and medium-haul leisure routes to Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America, flown with Boeing 737 MAX 8s and 737-800s, plus one long-haul link to Brazil on the Boeing 787-9.
Canada's second-largest airline
According to Cirium, WestJet has 14,669 flights scheduled to depart Canadian airports this October. That puts it well ahead of Porter Airlines, with 6,750, but behind Air Canada, which has 24,883. Calgary International Airport (YYC) is WestJet's largest base, with 4,881 departures this month.
John Weatherill, WestJet's executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, said: "We are excited to offer more ways for guests to trade their snow boots for sandals in the destinations that matter most to them, and we look forward to the travel stories that will take off from these exciting new options."
Calgary: MΓ©rida joins the map
Calgary gains two of the nine routes. The long-haul addition, Calgary to SΓ£o Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) on the 787-9, was announced earlier and runs for 27 rotations between December and January at up to three flights a week.
The other Calgary route is new to the map: weekly flights to MΓ©rida International Airport (MID) on Mexico's YucatΓ‘n Peninsula. The season runs from December until early April, with 16 round trips planned on the 737-800.
Winnipeg: Puerto Plata and Belize City
Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport (YWG) gets two new international links. Weekly flights to Puerto Plata (POP) in the Dominican Republic run from December to early April on the 737 MAX 8.
Winnipeg will also be linked weekly with Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport (BZE) in Belize City from December until mid-April. The 737 MAX 8 is scheduled on all but one rotation, with a 737-800 covering a single December flight.
QuΓ©bec City: RoatΓ‘n, then SamanΓ‘
QuΓ©bec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) also gains two routes, but they do not overlap. WestJet plans weekly 737 MAX 8 flights to RoatΓ‘n (RTB) in Honduras from December to early April, then switches the flying to SamanΓ‘ in the Dominican Republic until at least September.
London, Regina and Saskatoon
Three more Canadian airports each get one new international route:
- London, Ontario (YXU) to Montego Bay (MBJ), Jamaica: weekly from mid-December to early April. Most rotations use the 737 MAX 8, with one January flight on a 737-800. Both versions seat 174 passengers in WestJet's layout.
- Regina (YQR) to Los Cabos (SJD), Mexico: a shorter season from December to late March, using the 737-700 once, the 737-800 twice and the 737 MAX 8 13 times.
- Saskatoon (YXE) to MazatlΓ‘n (MZT), Mexico: weekly from mid-December to early April on 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s.
Why it matters
The list shows how WestJet uses its Boeing 737 fleet in winter. Instead of adding frequency on its busiest trunk routes, it is spreading weekly leisure flights across mid-sized Canadian cities such as Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, QuΓ©bec City and London, Ontario. That gives travelers in those cities a nonstop option to a beach destination without first connecting through Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver.
The trade-off is frequency. Almost all of the new routes run once a week, and most stop in March or April once demand for winter sun fades. Travelers will need to plan their trip around WestJet's schedule rather than expect a daily departure.
The SΓ£o Paulo flights stand out as the exception. They put the 787-9 on a long-haul leisure and visiting-friends market from Calgary over the Christmas and New Year peak, a different kind of seasonal flying from the weekly 737 routes.
As always with seasonal flying, schedules and aircraft assignments can change before the first departures, so passengers should check the latest timings with WestJet before booking.
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