Why On Earth Is WestJet Flying To The UK's 19th Busiest Airport?

Prachi is a London-based journalist with extensive experience in the aviation industry. She has worked for several leading industry publications, covering a broad range of topics. Her expertise lies in aircraft maintenance, emerging technologies, and advanced air mobility. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Journalism, focusing on data journalism and its potential to transform conventional aviation reporting.

WestJet is the second-largest and second-busiest airline in Canada. The airline operates a fleet of nearly 150 Boeing 737 aircraft and seven Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. It is well known for using its single-aisle fleet to connect mid-sized and primary Canadian hubs directly to secondary international airports.

In recent years, the Calgary-based airline has opened several routes that raised eyebrows, including one to the UK's 19th-busiest airport, Cardiff International Airport (CWL). The route marked WestJet's debut in the Welsh market and restored a direct air link between Canada and Wales for the first time in nearly two decades.

WestJet Will Return To Cardiff In Summer 2027

On May 22, WestJet launched four weekly summer seasonal flights between Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and Cardiff, operating every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday on the Boeing 737 MAX 8. The service ended an 18-year absence of nonstop flights between Cardiff and Canada. Cardiff last had direct Canadian services in 2008, when Zoom Airlines operated flights to Toronto and a service to Vancouver via Belfast.

Before that, Air Transat served Toronto until 2004. In the intervening years, travelers from Wales seeking transatlantic connections have largely relied on airports such as London Heathrow, Bristol, and Manchester. The route's launch received a positive response, and Cardiff Airport said it would create "new opportunities for tourism, trade, investment and cultural exchange."

WestJet's inaugural summer season ended on September 12, and the Calgary-based airline is planning to resume the service next summer. According to scheduled data from aviation analytics provider Cirium, flights between Toronto and Cardiff are due to return on May 21, 2027.

Can WestJet Make Its Cardiff Route Work?

Cardiff Airport has struggled to establish sustainable long-haul operations, and WestJet is not the first airline to test the market. Qatar Airways launched flights between Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH) and Cardiff in May 2018. The Qatari flag carrier operated up to five weekly flights using the 787-8, but the service ended in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and has not returned.

At the time, many analysts and observers questioned the commercial rationale behind the decision. Perhaps the route was not driven by passenger demand alone. Multiple reports at the time suggested that the Welsh Government and Cardiff Airport made considerable efforts to attract Qatar Airways through financial incentives. The Welsh Government reportedly gave around $1.3 million (£1 million) to the Gulf carrier to market Wales internationally.

It is not clear whether the Canadian airline receives financial incentives to operate the Toronto route. The fact that flights are scheduled to return next summer suggests that the airline has a reason to continue the service. UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data, available up to July 2026, shows that WestJet carried 10,033 passengers between May and July, with a load factor of 73%. However, the average fare needed to achieve that load factor is unknown. Currently, WestJet's booking website lists one-way fares from Toronto to Cardiff at around $318 (£240) for next summer.

WestJet Drops Three European Routes Launched This Summer

It remains to be seen how WestJet's Cardiff route will perform next summer. For now, the airline's decision to bring the service back suggests that it sees enough potential in the market to continue operating it, even as it pulls out of other European destinations. Three of those markets are Glasgow, Copenhagen, and Madrid.

WestJet reinstated flights between Toronto and Glasgow International Airport (GLA) in May this year, having last served the Scottish city in 2022. The airline also launched flights from Halifax / Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) to Copenhagen Airport (CPH) and Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD) in May. However, all three routes are now being dropped. It seems that the routes did not perform as well as WestJet had hoped.

The airline already operates seasonal flights to Edinburgh from Toronto, Halifax, and Calgary. Given the lower yields on the Glasgow route, it makes sense for WestJet to consolidate its Scottish operations in Edinburgh and focus on the services it already operates there. Regarding Copenhagen and Madrid services, Simple Flying previously reported that more than 60% of passengers on both routes were connecting passengers. This may have limited the revenue the Calgary-based airline could generate from these services.