WestJet has been granted licenses by the Canadian government to operate code share service from Canada to Nigeria, South Africa and the Maldives.
In a series of decisions listed on the Canadian Transportation Agency website, the CTA states that WS asked for licences to operate, through code sharing, a scheduled international service to all three destinations.
The licenses don’t mean WestJet is about to launch code-share flights, but it does suggest such action could be imminent.
The agency said it’s satisfied that WestJet “meets all the applicable requirements,” and that it was issuing the licenses.
The CTA noted that Canada has air agreements with both Nigeria and South Africa. For the Maldives, it states that no such program exists.
“The authority requested by the applicant is extrabilateral because there is no agreement or arrangement between Canada and Maldives in force, which provides for the operation by a Canadian air carrier of a scheduled international air service between Canada and the Maldives,” the agency states in its decision.
“Pursuant to subsection 78(2) of the CTA, the Agency may issue a licence, on a temporary basis, for international air services that are not permitted in an agreement, a convention or an arrangement relating to civil aviation to which Canada is a party.
“The Minister of Transport has designated the applicant as eligible to operate the applied for service.”
The CTA said the Maldives licence will terminate on 30JUN, 2027.
The Calgary-based airline has code share deals in place with nearly two dozen airlines, including joint venture partners Delta, Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic as well as Emirates.
A WestJet spokesperson said the airline has no comment on the CTA decisions.
Robert Kokonis, president of AirTrav Inc., told Open Jaw that both South Africa and Nigeria are popular in VFR markets, but that the Maldives would be a small and geared to high-end leisure travellers.
Air Canada has publicly mulled over the ideas of flights to Nigeria and other countries in West Africa, but no announcements have been made.
