WestJet regional airline boosts Brandon petition

WESTJET confirmed Wednesday it will launch a low-fare, no-frills regional airline, and already a petition to get WestJet air service in Brandon has shot down the runway like a turboprop airplane.

"We're trying to get to talk to everyone and get the petition in front of as many groups of people as we can," Brandon Mayor Shari Decter Hirst said.

The petition, started by the City of Brandon on Wednesday, had already garnered more than 1,000 signatures less than 12 hours after hitting the Internet.

The marketplace in Brandon is well-defined, but Decter Hirst hopes the petition will demonstrate to WestJet the interest there is across the country for people who want to fly into the city.

"These are people who would and want to fly into Brandon," Decter Hirst said. "We always think of our population base as the ones that would like to fly out of Brandon... Our universe of the people that would like to fly to Brandon is quite large."

The petition encourages those who "regularly fly for business, board and committee work, event attendance or leisure travel" to add their name to the online document.

WestJet's move intensifies competition in smaller domestic markets with rival Air Canada (TSX:AC.B) for business and leisure-class travellers.

"It's the next logical step in WestJet's evolution," president and CEO Gregg Saretsky said in a conference call Wednesday.

WestJet is considering either Bombardier's Q400 NextGen 70- to 80-seat aircraft designed for short hauls or Italian-French company ATR's 72-600 series, Saretsky said after the airline reported profits fell 4.3 per cent in its fourth quarter.

Saretsky said he expects WestJet's regional airline will be up and running before the end of 2013 and the Calgary-based airline will place an order with either Bombardier or ATR later this year.

"Both are excellent aircraft that would fit seamlessly into our current fleet. I want to emphasize that the regional fleet will consist of just one type of aircraft to maintain operational efficiencies and flexibility similar to the successful single-fleet approach we use in our current operations."

Saretsky said he couldn't yet say when the fleet will be delivered, nor announce market destinations or an exact launch date.

"We believe the short-haul turbo prop aircraft combined with WestJet's brand, strong balance sheet and low-cost structure will allow us to strengthen our domestic network for both leisure and business guests."

Saretsky said employees of WestJet (TSX:WJA) voted 91 per cent in favour of launching the regional carrier.

Air Canada has said it wanted to introduce a low-cost carrier to help trim costs, but hasn't been able to get it in the air yet.

Chorus Aviation's Jazz operates regional flights for Air Canada under contract.

"This is the biggest game-changer in Canadian aviation since WestJet was founded in 1996, which is ironic," said Robert Kokonis, president of airline consulting firm AirTrav Inc.

But it's also good for travellers, who will have more choice, he said.

"The biggest winner clearly, upfront, is the consumer," he said.

Brandon economic development officer Sandy Trudel has been in constant contact with WestJet, helping the company define the marketplace in Brandon. A strong petition will only aid in showing WestJet Brandon is ready for air service.

Those looking to support the petition can go to change.org and enter WestJet in the search bar.

-- Brandon Sun / The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 9, 2012 B5