WestJet is building on its relationship with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. New codeshare arrangements will offer WestJet's passengers connecting through Amsterdam seamless transfers onto KLM flights to 18 cities across eight European countries.The working relationship between the two airlines on opposite sides of the Atlantic dates back a decade. Now, with transatlantic traffic showing signs of life, WestJet and KLM are deepening their longstanding ties.

WestJet's new flight to Amsterdam starts in August

Canada's second-biggest airline will establish a new link between Canada and the Netherlands. Twice weekly flights between Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport (AMS) will begin on August 5. The flights, operated by a Boeing 787-9, will increase to thrice-weekly on September 9.

Calgary-based WestJet made a concerted push into Europe over 2019 using their own metal. Cities like London, Paris, Dublin, Glasgow, and Rome began to pop up in WestJet's timetables. The 2020 travel downturn saw those flights put on pause.

Now, as the prospects for transatlantic flying brighten, WestJet is cautiously moving back into the market. WestJet's Chief Commercial Officer, John Weatherill, said in a statement;

"Our Dreamliner service to Amsterdam combined with convenient connections on a world-class partner like KLM is an exciting step as we work to support the safe restart of international travel."

Flying on Thursday and Sunday (and adding Saturday from September 9), WS20 will depart YYC at 20:55 and land in Amsterdam the following day at 13:30. The 4468 mile (7190 kilometer) flight will take eight and half hours to complete.

The Calgary-bound flights will initially push back from Amsterdam on Friday and Sunday and add a Monday departure from September 10. Leaving at 15:30, WS21 will touch down in Calgary at 16:15 on the same day.

"This is an exciting development for inbound travel and tourism to Alberta from key European markets via Amsterdam,' said Travel Alberta's CEO, David Goldstein.

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Codeshare connections to 18 European cities across eight countries

KLM aircraft will fly ex-Calgary passengers to Vienna (VIE) in Austria and Brussels (BRU) in Belgium. Codeshare connections to five cities across the United Kingdom will also become available, including Glasgow (GLA), Edinburgh (EDI), Manchester (MAN), London City (LCY), and London Heathrow (LHR).

Easy connections to Germany include KLM flights to Frankfurt (FRA), Berlin (BER), Hanover (HAJ), and Munich (MUC). Pending regulatory approval, codeshare flights to Toulouse (TLS), Lyon (LYS) and Montpellier/Mauguio (MPL) will also commence.

WestJet passengers out of Calgary can seamlessly connect to Madrid (MAD) in Spain and Lisbon (LIS) in Portugal. In Italy, codeshare flights to Milan (MXP) and Venice (VCE) will also be on offer.

"Through this expanded codeshare relationship with KLM, our guests will benefit from new opportunities to travel between Europe and Canada," said Mr Weatherill.

WestJet Amsterdam Connections
KLM flies to 92 destinations around Europe. Photo: KLM

KLM has flights to 92 European destinations from its Amsterdam hub. This new codeshare arrangement targets 18 routes. But KLM will happily welcome WestJet passengers onboard any of their forward flights, even if they aren't codesharing flights.

WestJet is resuming some other previously abandoned transatlantic routes as barriers to travel are beginning to come down in North America and Europe. In August, in addition to the Amsterdam flights, WestJet flights to Glasgow and Frankfurt are restarting - a series of small steps in WestJet's reboot of its international network and pre-downturn flying.