Low-cost carrier flies into T&T

(Trinidad Guardian) Another low-cost air carrier is flying into T&T. This time, it’s WestJet from Canada. The airline began flying from Piarco to Toronto on Saturday, WestJet’s public relations manager, Robert Palmer, said at the launch yesterday. Declining to say what the cost of tickets would be, Palmer said it was the only Canadian airline that offered daily, non-stop scheduled service.

Asked why they chose T&T, Palmer said they did their homework and discovered there are 150,000 T&T citizens living in Canada and, roughly, 6,000 expatriate Canadians living in T&T. He said WestJet is hoping to make it easier for both sets of people to travel back and forth.

Tourism Development Company (TDC) CEO Leon Lue Yat, who spoke at the launch at Piarco, said Canadians made up only about 12 per cent of the total number of tourists who visit this country, but the TDC believed WestJet would support its initiatives to increase arrivals from Canada.

Caribbean Airlines spokesman Clint Williams, asked if the airline was worried about new competition, said, “We have seen competition in the past. “We believe we have an excellent product and people will trust us and respect us.” Palmer said airlines with lower fares will stimulate the market and cause more people to travel. He said this will result in competition appreciating, in a greater way, who are the most important people in the business.