WestJet

[Tinkerman]

CWL and GLA both showing on the route map this evening. Presumably something in the mix !

This would be anazing news for CWL, and great news for Wales to get a direct link to YYZ.

 

[fly4gigs]

Great news.

Summer seasonal I would have thought?

 

[Jerry]

Really great news!

 

[Em0866]

The last time I flew to YYZ from CWL was on AirTransat. So if this will happen next year I'd be very tempted to use it. And with WestJet there is excellent connectivity to other parts of Canada, US and beyond from YYZ

 

[Jerry]

Even though the route hasn't been confirmed yet i see the online reaction to Cardiff attracting such a route has already started!

 

[Nuffsaid]

It is sad that so many people are talking this route down, especially on the dried plum. Comparing it to Doha which was beginning to greatly increase its loads until Covid hit does not help. Canada has always done well from CWL and like all other routes it is a use it or lose it situation.
Let’s await the announcement and wish the route success.

 

[Aviador]

Even though the route hasn't been confirmed yet i see the online reaction to Cardiff attracting such a route has already started!

I wouldn't get any hopes up as it's highly likely they'll do what the others do and fly to London and Edinburgh.

I know Breeze operates a little different and serves a lot of the US regional market but fundamentally they're still going to want to target the main destinations for American travellers which is London and Edinburgh and of course London they have multiple option. I would be shocked if they went anywhere else. For airports like LeedsBradford and Cardiff i think for most long haul the focus should be expanding on European hub routes that just seems more realistic to me than chasing a random US airline.

Because surely it's about realism. Those people only have so much resources so surely they should concentrate on airlines and routes that would be more realistic for LeedsBradford?

@Jerry Only a few weeks ago you were saying LBA (and Cardiff) shouldn't bother chasing routes like this. I said that smaller aircraft such as the A321XLR and B737MAX were making routes such as this a distinct possibility as expensive to operate wide-bodied aircraft weren't always necessary to operate longer routes now.

Fingers crossed for the official announcement soon if it hasn't already happened.

 

[Jerry]

It is sad that so many people are talking this route down, especially on the dried plum. Comparing it to Doha which was beginning to greatly increase its loads until Covid hit does not help. Canada has always done well from CWL and like all other routes it is a use it or lose it situation.
Let’s await the announcement and wish the route success.

I suspect the scepticism comes from CWL being a small airport, publicly owned and some online have questioned why bigger airports weren't picked. CWL is a unique airport, it's a small UK regional airport with a big neighbour close by but it's also a national airport and full credit has to go to the airport team in using the latter to finger's crossed attracting a route to North America that can facilitate inbound tourism as well as connecting Wales to North America and fingers crossed they can get the Middle East connection back.

 

[Aviador]

Ye of little faith! So indeed yes every opportunity should be perused. With smaller aircraft will come reduced risk. There's no requirement for freight to make it work although a split cabin with some premium or premium economy seats might be required to optimise the routes yield.

 

[Jerry]

@Jerry Only a few weeks ago you were saying LBA (and Cardiff) shouldn't bother chasing routes like this. I said that smaller aircraft such as the A321XLR and B737MAX were making routes such as this a distinct possibility as expensive to operate wide-bodied aircraft weren't always necessary to operate longer routes now.

Yep and I'm glad to admit I was wrong in this case and now eating humble pie but tbf WestJet do already fly to London and Edinburgh whereas Breeze doesn't.

 

[Aviador]

Yep and I'm glad to admit I was wrong in this case and now eating humble pie but tbf WestJet do already fly to London and Edinburgh whereas Breeze doesn't.

Yes I know the conversation at the time was about Breeze but if I didn't make it clear, I was referring to any new routes from the smaller regional airports. The 737-MAX and A321XLR are going to shake up the industry with all the smaller airports looking to do similar.

 

[Jerry]

Yes I know the conversation at the time was about Breeze but if I didn't make it clear, I was referring to any new routes from the smaller regional airports. The 737-MAX and A321XLR are going to shake up the industry with all the smaller airports looking to do similar.

Even with the possibility of WestJet at Cardiff I'm still a bit sceptical that it will. I suspect Cardiff might be an exception but I would be happy to be proven wrong.

 

[Samdorob]

CWL and GLA both showing on the route map this evening. Presumably something in the mix !

Although I did see it myself, I’ve noticed that route map has vanished off the website. I assume they realised that the new airports were exposed before the announcement.

Sean M has hinted that they’ll be on sale in the coming week.

 

[Jerry]

It looks like Cardiff and Glasgow will be part of a bigger release with other European routes.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1990180147975360540

 

[fly4gigs]

Maybe get some World Cup traffic as well. Even if Wales doesn't qualify... fingers crossed though!

 

[fly4gigs]

Announcement tomorrow:

MEDIA ADVISORY - WestJet announcing new destinations and routes for Summer 2026

Media are invited to join WestJet and partners for the announcement of the airline's 2026 summer schedule when new destinations and routes for Toronto and other Canadian cities will be revealed....

westjet.mediaroom.com

 

[Tinkerman]

4 weekly too, perfect frequency in my opinion. Great news for CWL !!!

Flights CWL-YYZ on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (Good timings). Flights YYZ-CWL on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Begins on the 22nd May 2026 (Summer Seasonal).

 

[Severn]

What fantastic news for CWL, and for Wales!

WestJet’s decision to launch Toronto–Cardiff is less about attracting Europeans to Canada and much more about serving where Canadians themselves now want to travel.

Over the past couple of years, Canadians have been moving away from U.S. holidays. A weaker CAD/USD rate, stricter border experiences, and the “Trump effect” have all pushed demand towards Europe, Mexico, and Central/South America instead. With the U.S. softening, Canadian airlines are shifting capacity to markets that still have strong pull.

In that context, CWL and GLA make more sense than they might at first glance:

• CWL works as a direct gateway to Wales, attractive for VFR and for Canadians who want an easy alternative to London.
• GLA is a long-established entry point to Scotland with strong name recognition in Canada.

From a UK perspective it may seem surprising that WestJet chose CWL/GLA instead of Manchester or Birmingham. But Manchester already has Air Canada and Air Transat to YYZ, and WestJet’s strategy here isn’t about building inbound tourism to Canada—it’s about opening new, low-competition options for Canadians heading outbound.

Here’s the latest list of WestJet’s summer 2026 additions (All 737 MAX8):

• Halifax – Copenhagen / Lisbon / Madrid (all 4x weekly)
• Toronto – Cardiff (4x weekly)
• Toronto – Glasgow (4x weekly)
• Toronto – Ponta Delgada (4x weekly)

Toronto – Edinburgh has been reduced from 11x to 7x weekly.

US city and sun routes have been reduced or cut in S26 to make way for the new European routes (A clear reflection of falling U.S.-bound demand):

• Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Nashville, Tampa, Atlanta etc. dropped from various Canadian cities

Other leisure routes now operating into S26:

• Calgary – Guadalajara / Mazatlán (1x weekly each)
• Toronto – Puerto Plata (1x weekly)
• Winnipeg – Cancun (1x weekly)

Bottom line: these new European routes (CWL included) are being launched primarily because Canadians are choosing Europe over the US, not because WestJet expects big inbound numbers from Wales or the UK. For WestJet, this is about giving Canadians more alternatives less about tapping deep UK–Canada demand.

 

[Foxlimayankee]

No doubt some big involvement from WG or Visit Wales. About time they started promoting Wales better.
Whats needed now is a seamless link from CWL to Cardiff Centre. Not sure that passenger numbers are sufficient for a regular bus service but I wonder if something to meet the timings of this flight would work. A few buses each way in the morning would serve the morning KLM flight and the second TUI wave of flights as well.

 

[Tinkerman]

Undoubtedly Visit Wales and WG are both involved in this, and is exactly the form of service they’ve been targetting for some time - Inbound tourism to Wales as faultlessly put by Severn above.

Of course it also provides the opportunity for people to also travel the other way. Transport and connectivity is key, if you’re promoting tourism and people can’t get from the airport to the City Centre and beyond you’ve got a serious problem just as you’ve begun.