WestJet Encore

WestJet Encore
IATA ICAO Call sign
WR WEN[1] ENCORE[1]
FoundedJune 24, 2013; 11 years ago (2013-06-24)
AOC #
  • Canada 17093,[2]
  • United States 5WJF451F[3]
HubsCalgary
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programWestJet Rewards
Fleet size47[4]
Destinations37
Parent companyWestJet
HeadquartersCalgary, Alberta, Canada
Key peopleLisa Davis (Vice President & General Manager)
Websitewww.westjet.com

WestJet Encore is a Canadian regional airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta that operates feeder flights for WestJet, owned by the same parent company WestJet Airlines, Ltd. In response to internal market studies about future growth limitations by WestJet Airlines operating only Boeing 737 aircraft, WestJet Encore was formed in 2013 to allow the increased frequency of flights by using smaller aircraft and to expand service to routes with less traffic. Originally launching as a feeder airline for the mainline WestJet network out of WestJet hubs in Calgary and Toronto (and providing other regional and commuter flights, e.g. Halifax to Sydney, NS or Edmonton to Kelowna), the airline was refocused on Western Canada in 2021, with all service east of Thunder Bay cancelled and all aircraft either repositioned or stored.

The airline operates a fleet of turboprop aircraft: the De Havilland Canada Dash 8. They operate 47 Q400NextGen aircraft, a variant of the original De Havilland Canada Dash 8.[4] WestJet Encore is the largest operator of the Q400 in the world, after the bankruptcy of Flybe and the retirement of the type by Horizon Air.

The airline was initially staffed with non-union employees, but the pilots and cabin crew have since unionized. Crew bases are maintained in Calgary and Toronto, with all Toronto-based crewmembers requiring deadheading to access the route network out west. WestJet Encore participates in the WestJet Rewards, a revenue-based frequent flyer program that offers flight discount rewards.

  1. ^ a b "ICAO Designators for Canadian Aircraft Operating Agencies, Aeronautical Authorities and Services" (PDF). Nav Canada. May 4, 2023. p. 8. Retrieved February 27, 2023. WestJet Encore: WEN, ENCORE
  2. ^ Transport Canada (2019-08-28), Civil Aviation Services (CAS) AOC. wwwapps.tc.gc.ca.
  3. ^ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: Quick Search Result for Westjet Encore". Transport Canada. Retrieved July 21, 2024.