Above: St John’s (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Calgary-based WestJet has launched its twice-weekly service from Canada to Antigua and Barbuda.

The carrier’s first such flight arrived on Sunday, adding 7,000 seats to air travel between Canada and Antigua for this tourist season.

“The Canadian tourist market has proven to be a reliable one, as it has weathered the economic recession and shown double-digit growth of arrivals year after year,” said Antigua Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister John Maginley. “Research has shown that the Canadian market has not reached its full performance potential — therefore securing additional airlift from Canada provides a means of ensuring that the destination is poised to take full advantage of the performance of this market.”

WestJet flies more than 420 flights each day across Canada, the Americas and the Caribbean.

“It was through successful negotiations and diligence that we were able to bring WestJet Airlines on board as an official carrier to Antigua and Barbuda,” said Erica Henry-Jackman, Antigua’s director of tourism for Canada. “The Canadian market is one of our key growing source markets and WestJet Airlines is giving us the opportunity to further capitalize on this.”

WestJet’s flights leave Toronto at 9:30 AM on Sundays and Wednesdays. They return from Antigua at 3:05 PM.