Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links below. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
Back in November, I wrote about WestJet’s plans to add 3x weekly flights between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). These were supposed to start on May 11th, but WestJet has cancelled the route before it started due to demand cratering.
NBC’s KXAN reports that WestJet made the decision to pull the plug based on a “downward shift in demand” for travel between Canada and the United States. WestJet says that it will “review opportunities” to bring the route back in the future, but demand is not currently there. The airline currently offers flights between Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS).
This is hardly surprising given the current political situation. In March, I shared that OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited released some rather startling statistics that showed that there had been a drop of around 70% in passenger bookings when compared to the same time in 2024.
Airlines have cut capacity by 3.5% for the busiest travel months (July and August). Every month through September sees bookings down by 70% or more. If the political situation does not improve, we can expect to see the airlines cut more capacity and even drop routes altogether. Bookings from Canada to the United States (especially Florida) are huge moneymakers for the airlines and if the Canadian snowbirds don’t book those seats, we can expect those aircraft to be sent elsewhere.
Anthony’s Take: I fear this route will be one of many casualties as Canadians are staying outside of the United States and demand to travel North has also dropped significantly. Canada just elected a new Prime Minister and it doesn’t seem like he’s going to play nice with the Trump administration, which is warranted given the comments around statehood and other insults made by the President.
(Featured Image Credit: WestJet.)
(H/T: ATXJetsetter.)
User Generated Content Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
