WestJet, the Canadian low-cost airline, revealed plans to create a subsidiary regional airline that will fly to short-haul destinations. The proposed airline will hopefully launch by the end of 2013.
WestJet CEO Gregg Saretsky said the proposed subsidiary will still use the WestJet brand, but will have a separate operating certificate. To keep costs down, it will operate a single-type fleet of either Bombardier Q400s or ATR 72-600 turboprops.
“We’re trying, to the degree possible, to replicate exactly how WestJet was started in 1996: single fleet, low cost, highly productive, good utilization, a seating configuration that provides us with a cost advantage over other operators,” said Saretsky.
