West Jet to Offer Service to Canada

WestJet, a Canadian low-cost carrier, will reinstitute its service between Tampa and Canada starting Oct. 29.

The airline will fly three times a week to Montreal from Tampa International Airport, three times a week to Ottawa, and will have a daily service to Toronto.

This is in addition to Air Canada service, which provides daily service to Toronto from TIA, airport director, Louis Miller said.

The seasonal service comes at a time when most Canadians come down to Tampa to escape the freezing temperatures up north.

Canada accounted for approximately 35.5 percent of the total number of international visitors who came to Hillsborough County in 2005. Toronto and Montreal are Tampa Bay's top source markets for visitors in Canada.

"This new service is an exciting development for Tampa Bay's tourism and hospitality industry, as Canada is our number one international market for visitors," said Karen Brand, vice president of communications for the Tampa Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Last year, 324,682 Canadians visited the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area, according to the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Convention and Visitors Bureau.

WestJet's seats are available for sale immediately and can be booked online at westject.com or through travel agents.

"WestJet is extremely pleased that our strategic plan of expanding into the United States is working so well," said Sean Durfy, WestJet's executive vice president of marketing, sales and airports, in a statement. "With these new enhancements to our schedule, almost one quarter of the capacity in our network will be going south of the border this winter."

Other WestJet U.S. destinations added to its schedule include West Palm Beach, Phoenix, Palm Springs, and Orlando.

WestJet travels to 33 cities in North America, offering live seatback television on most of its flights.