Air Canada, WestJet reducing flights from Sask. this summer

Air Canada, WestJet reducing flights from Sask. this summer

It could mean busier cabins, but a more optimized schedule for airlines

Anyone making summer travel plans that involve flying out of Saskatchewan might want to consider buying their tickets sooner rather than later.

That’s a direct suggestion from Regina Airport Authority CEO James Bogusz.

A recent announcement said WestJet and Air Canada will reduce the number of flights leaving the province, starting in July.

Saskatchewan is far from the only province that will see this decrease; pullbacks are happening all across the country. But passengers using smaller airports like the ones in Regina and Saskatoon may find it a bigger cause for concern.

Bogusz said the primary routes affected will be those going to Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto.

WestJet's bi-weeky Halifax flight will also be reduced to once a week starting in July.

This is a return to the schedule the airport had last year, Bogusz said.

A daily Minneapolis flight that has been running for over two years will instead run six days a week by July.

The changes are a result of the significant increase in the price of jet fuel due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The higher costs are causing airlines to make capacity adjustments.

Cabins can be expected to be a bit busier, and flights will run less frequently, but Saskatchewan airport authorities say the changes should not affect flyers too significantly.

Bogusz said he expects the number of seats available will drop by five to six per cent.

Base ticket fares are also expected to increase.

Using WestJet’s UltraBasic fare class, “A one-way fare to Calgary, I just looked this morning [May 29] … traditionally we'd see that around $100 to $110. Now I'm seeing them around $130 to $135, depending on the day you pick,” Bogusz said.

He suggests travelers book early and watch for sales on airline mailing lists.

Nolan Lea flew into Regina from Edmonton with his family on Friday. He said he's a fairly frequent flyer, but that could change.

“Everything’s just become more expensive. It makes it harder to travel … There’s going to be less flights, so doing these domestic ones are going to be harder to get to,” he said.

“It’s going to be forcing us to drive more.”

Leanna Batty was heading to Toronto to see her daughter. She said finding a flight was not an issue for her, but the costs are a point of worry.

“Honestly, traveling to Toronto is so expensive … Traveling in one direction, north or south, is a lot less expensive than it is traveling east and west. And I wish that would change for us as Canadians," she said.

Saskatoon International Airport expects similar schedule adjustments. Its daily flight to Minneapolis last summer was reduced to three times a week this year.

Despite the changes, it reports an increase in both passengers and seat capacity this summer compared to last, unlike Regina. The usual summer rush is not expected to be largely affected.

“Most of those changes are really around just creating efficiencies and schedules," said CJ Dushinski, the airport's vice president of business development and service quality.

"It’s more about different frequencies, or the type of aircraft that you may be used to flying might be different this time,” Dushinski said.

“So in terms of being able to get where you need to go, the right day, the right time, I don't see those impacts really translating at this point.”

Bogusz said while the Regina airport saw an increase to its seat capacity over the past year, because of recent events it's back to what it was in 2025.

“We're really seeing the same activity, basically business as usual, just a few less flights to pick from during this slight retrenchment by the airlines,” he said.

The schedule changes are expected to begin in Regina starting in July and continue through August.

Hannah Scott is a journalist with CBC Saskatchewan. She has a bachelor's degree in Indigenous journalism from the First Nations University of Canada. Hannah can be reached at hannah.scott@cbc.ca