WestJet held a roundtable on Wednesday, mostly with those part of the business community. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

By Eli J. Ridder

Fill seats to increase WestJet frequency to Medicine Hat, airport chief says

Oct 3, 2024 | 10:01 AM

Medicine Hat’s airport manager says people need to fill up the flights out of Medicine Hat Regional Airport so WestJet’s service can expand from one daily departure and arrival.

“We do need to put those bums in seats,” Logan Boyd, the manager, said Wednesday after WestJet held a roundtable with members of the community in the Super T Aviation hanger.

“In order for WestJet to allocate more resources to this route, they need to see a higher load factor.”

WestJet has transitioned its Medicine Hat-to-Calgary service from Link to Encore, cutting down the number of outbound and inbound flights from three to one each.

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That also includes a switch from an older 34-seat Saab 340 aircraft to the newer 78-seat De Havilland Dash 8-400.

As of Oct. 1, flights started departing and arriving in the afternoon.

Starting on Oct. 27, WestJet Encore will complete a permanent transition to its new service with departures scheduled for about 7 a.m. for Calgary with a scheduled arrival for about midnight.

In 2019 and before the pandemic struck, Medicine Hat’s airport had 75,000 passengers a year filing through its doors with two carriers and seven departures a day.

That number has dropped to about 30,000 passengers annually.

“There is the demand, we just need to get back there and then that’s when we’re going to see some growth in the air service,” Boyd said.

WestJet first revealed the change earlier this year, sparking concern among Medicine Hat’s frequent flyer business community.

Reporters were barred from listening in during the roundtable discussion with WestJet executives. Many of those in attendance were members of Medicine Hat’s business community who have previously expressed concerns about the diluted service.

WestJet and City of Medicine Hat officials pose at the roundtable event in an airport hanger. Courtesy/Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce.

WestJet’s alliances and airport affairs director Jared Mikoch-Gerke acknowleged the new departure and arrival times “aren’t necessarily optimal.”

“But we know that the majority of users who are traveling are connecting to somewhere else,” Mikoch-Gerke told CHAT News during a media availability.

It’s not only the ability to connect to the larger network that WestJet wanted to improve but also reliability, which the Encore service can provide.

“We want to make sure that we’re not cancelling those flights. And the other side of it is the on-time performance and making sure that we’re not cancelling those flights,” Mikoch-Gerke added.

Boyd said the airport is working to build back the service level it had five years ago.

“We’re working hard on that, we meet with WestJet really often,” he said.

“We’re also meeting with other carriers to try and compel them to come and serve our region.”

Premier Danielle Smith said earlier this year that Medicine Hat has the potential to be a remote work hub as Canadians flee high costs of living in larger cities.

But easy access to an international airport like those found in Calgary and Edmonton is essential.

Smith, who also serves as MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat, said in May her United Conservative government wants to improve air access to medium and small cities across Alberta, including in Medicine Hat.

She floated the idea of government-subsidized flights that could help grow rural service.

Correction: The airport manager’s name is Logan Boyd. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated his first name.