WestJet has halved its small fleet of cargo plans due to “market conditions,” the latest chapter in the Calgary-based airline’s brief foray into the cargo space.The decision follows cutbacks by several airlines in the freighter business, with the easing of a pandemic-fuelled frenzy for air cargo driven at the time by heightened demand for goods and supply chain bottlenecks.
In early 2024, WestJet decided to trim its four-aircraft cargo fleet to two “due to market conditions,” it said in a statement to Postmedia. No further cutbacks are planned.WestJet initiated its entry into cargo transportation in 2022, converting four passenger jets into what the airline called Boeing Converted Freighters (BCFs). It is also continuing to transport cargo in the bellies of its passenger aircraft.
“It was a worldwide phenomenon,” Barry Prentice, head of the University of Manitoba’s transport institute, said of the speed at which airlines got into the cargo business.
In April 2022, WestJet announced it had hired longtime cargo airline executive Kirsten de Bruijn to head up the airline’s cargo division. Her previous experience included senior roles with Qatar Airways’ and Emirates Sky Cargo’s cargo divisions.