Canada’s second-largest airline, WestJet announced on December 14, 2023, that it will be launching flights from Calgary to Seoul Incheon Airport during the 2024 summer schedule. Continue reading to learn more about the upcoming route. Calgary – Seoul Incheon:...
Canada’s second-largest airline, WestJet announced on December 14, 2023, that it will be launching flights from Calgary to Seoul Incheon Airport during the 2024 summer schedule.
Continue reading to learn more about the upcoming route.
WestJet uses its 787s mainly on transatlantic flights out of Calgary.
Calgary – Seoul Incheon: WestJet’s Second Route to Asia
Assuming it gets the required approvals, WestJet plans to launch flights between its long-haul hub, Calgary Airport, and Seoul Incheon Airport in South Korea on May 17, 2024 (a day later in the Canada-bound direction). From then on, the flights will operate three times a week with the following schedule:
Calgary – Seoul Incheon / 5:55PM – 8:45PM+1 Seoul Incheon – Calgary / 10:45PM – 6:15PMThe flight numbers and the days of the weeks on which the flights will operate have not been announced yet. Given the launch dates, though, it appears the flights will operate on Fridays (westbound) and Saturdays (eastbound) among other days. The airline expects to start selling tickets on the flights from early 2024.
WestJet will use its sole widebody type – the Boeing 787-9 – on the route. With that, the airline will be able to accommodate up to 320 passengers on each flight. The aircraft are equipped with 16 reverse herringbone business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout, 28 premium economy class seats in a 2-3-2 layout, and 276 economy class seats in a 3-3-3 layout.
WestJet 787’s stylish economy class cabin.
The airline started operating intercontinental flights in 2019 when it put its 787 into service on transatlantic routes. If the flights launch as planned, Seoul will become WestJet’s second destination in Asia. Currently, WestJet has an up-to-daily seasonal route between Calgary and Tokyo Narita which was launched in April 2023.
I had a chance to fly on one of the first flights on the route earlier this year and had an enjoyable experience. You can read my review of the WestJet 787 economy class flight here.
WestJet’s 787 in Tokyo before my flight to Calgary earlier this year.
Seoul’s First Direct Link with Calgary
While there are some non-stop flights between Seoul (and South Korea in general) and Canada, they are limited to flights to two major cities – Toronto on the country’s east coast and Vancouver on the country’s east coast.
Both of those destinations are served out of Seoul Incheon by both Air Canada and Korean Air. Air Canada’s 787-9 flies to both cities daily. Korean Air serves Vancouver daily using its 777-300ERs and Toronto six times a week using its 787-9s.
WestJet’s route will be the first one to connect Seoul directly with a non-coastal city.
In addition to allowing passengers to travel efficiently between Seoul and Calgary, the new route will also allow for one-stop itineraries to WestJet’s other destinations in Canada and elsewhere (interestingly, the airline showed up as the cheapest option between Tokyo and London when I was looking for flights earlier this year…).
All Air Canada flights to Seoul are operated by the 787-9.
Korean Air uses the 777-300ER on its flights to Vancouver.
Summary
Traditionally, the transpacific market has been dominated by Air Canada and the flag carriers of the respective Asian countries served out of Canada. It was nice to see another option pop up with WestJet’s launch of Calgary – Tokyo flights in April 2023.
Just over a year after its transpacific debut, WestJet’s transpacific network is expected to expand to include Seoul. It will be interesting to see how the flights do.
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