Murray Wood: The 'write' thing to do
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We’re reaching the tail end of summer, but travellers will be able to keep warm this winter with more flights to sunny destinations from the Regina Airport.
James Bogusz, CEO of the Regina Airport Authority, said there are even more WestJet flights to Mexico coming this winter, including daily flights to Cancun, flights five days a week to Puerto Vallarta, a weekly flight to Mazatlan returning to the roster and even a new flight to Cabo.
Read more:
- Travel takes off at YQR: More passengers, bigger gates and a look ahead to winter
- Nearly 30 per cent more people flew from Regina to U.S. in 2025: Airport CEO
- WestJet to offer Regina-Minneapolis flight starting in April
During an appearance on The Greg Morgan Morning Show on Tuesday, Bogusz said there is even a boost for Calgary, with 20 per cent more winter seats. Meanwhile, flights to Phoenix are increasing to three days a week for much of the winter and the daily service to Minneapolis is also making a return.
Listen to the full interview with Bogusz, or read the transcript below:
The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
GREG MORGAN: Were you busy this past month of July?
JAMES BOGUSZ: Yes. We actually just got our passenger numbers for July, and even though the fuel was incredibly high and we were concerned about what that might do, we saw an 8.3 per cent year-over-year increase. This now marks five consecutive months of growth at YQR. Unbelievable.
I know WestJet also came through with some big news. Our winter destination list just got longer, didn’t it?
BOGUSZ: It sure did. Yesterday, WestJet just pushed out news about their winter schedule for us, Saskatoon and Winnipeg, so basically the prairies. The big news for us is massive capacity growth. I think the listeners are going to remember that we have that new flight to Cabo that starts in December, but even more important are the top destinations, places like Cancun and Puerto Vallarta. For the first time in the nine years I’ve been here, we’re going to see Cancun on seven days a week during peak winter, meaning starting December 14. It’s on a lot before that and a lot after that too. We’re also going to see Puerto Vallarta on five days a week, so pretty much you can pick when you want to go and pick when you’re going to come home, and you’re going to get a nonstop flight.
That is a lot of flights. Can we sustain that?
BOGUSZ: Cancun, by a margin, is the number-one winter destination. Last year we saw over 100 people a day on average go each way, so it’s something that WestJet’s capitalizing on, and good on them because that nonstop stuff is absolutely the way to fly if you can.
Are there any other destinations outside of those locations that we’re getting? I know people want to go to Phoenix.
BOGUSZ: Absolutely. Mazatlan, of course, is back on the menu as well. That’s going to be operating on Fridays for the winter season. Then, when it comes to the states, as we know from the last interview, Las Vegas is not going to be offered as a nonstop. The popularity is not there, but they’re bumping up their Phoenix service. They’re going to be actually moving to three days a week for a good chunk of the winter. We had it twice a week last year, and we’re going to see Minneapolis go back to seven days a week, so lots of connections available through Minneapolis. Last thing I want to mention is a massive uptick for Calgary. We’re going to see almost a 20 per cent winter seat increase. So if you don’t have the nonstop you want, or you don’t want to go to Mexico or Phoenix, you can connect to pretty much anywhere in the world from WestJet’s big hub.
Are there any flights WestJet left out that you wish we could have had?
BOGUSZ: We’re going to keep working on new sun destinations with them in the winter. As we know, it gets very, very cold here, and for us, December and January are very similar to the midsummer for peaks. We’re hopeful that we’ll continue to see growth there, and obviously connections. You mentioned Denver already – great hub to get away and a great opportunity to connect to places like Vegas, but also the continent of the U.S. in general. Lots of opportunity in the winter. And to check for best prices, you’ve got to sign up for that mailing list. WestJet keeps pumping out sales. You want to make sure you book early and get the price you like.
