REGINA – Changes are coming for travellers flying out of Regina International Airport to sun destinations this upcoming winter season.
On the positive side, July saw the announcement by WestJet of a new direct flight linking Regina to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, capitalizing on the continued interest in Mexico by Saskatchewan travellers. Those once-a-week flights start Dec. 14 and continue to March.
But less positive was news confirmed by Regina Airport Authority CEO James Bogusz that the once-a-week WestJet direct flights from Regina to Las Vegas will not be back next winter.
Bogusz attributes it to the route simply not being as popular as it used to be.
“This is frankly due to demand, and the demand just isn't there to support a nonstop flight,” Bogusz said.
At the Regina Airport Authority’s spring Annual General Meeting, Bogusz had mentioned Las Vegas had declined in popularity over the years and he repeated those sentiments again in speaking to SaskToday last week.
“Las Vegas used to be a fairly popular destination from YQR and frankly many Canadian cities,” Bogusz said. “But we've seen a little bit over 25 percent reduction in demand from where it was back in 2019.”
The depressed demand for Vegas is not limited to Saskatchewan. YouTube and social media have been full of stories about travel being down to Las Vegas, with complaints about higher prices all over the Strip for food and meals as well as rising resort fees. The challenges have caught the attention of mainstream media as well.
“If you look at some of the headlines out of Las Vegas, they've actually had some declines in airport traffic,” Bogusz said. “There's been some challenges attracting tourists and a lot of talk about the higher prices and other issues related to lack of demand.”
Another factor for why Vegas is down, Bogusz noted, is less business and convention travel to that destination.
“We used to go to conferences and events. That's really pared back as well.”
What that means for WestJet, he said, is “they're not as profitable on these routes. And previously, for many years actually, we've had either a single weekly winter flight that goes between Regina and Las Vegas. And this year, WestJet is no longer going to be offering that.”
What the Regina airport is seeing, he said, is a shift in demand to other winter destinations and to other countries such as Mexico.
“Obviously, flights to Cancun and Puerto Vallarta have become increasingly popular in recent years. And we've been seeing increases to capacity on those routes.”
But Bogusz acknowledged this is coming “really at the sacrifice of people not going to some of the U.S. destinations.”
He also pointed to a few years ago when WestJet stopped their flights to Orlando. “So it's just more shift in demand to other locations.”
While the Orlando route is gone, and Vegas has now also bitten the dust because of less demand, one U.S. winter direct route that Bogusz says is still popular is Phoenix.
Bogusz said Phoenix has seen “quite a considerable growth in that area in the wintertime” from Canadians.
What we might see for the full 2026-27 winter schedule for WestJet is still to be confirmed. The full WestJet winter schedule is set to be released next week and there is great anticipation from the airport about what it might contain.
Bogusz said that schedule release will give them a look at the frequency on some of these flights, as well as all of the flight capacity they intend to sell will be available on WestJet's website.
But he said he “wouldn't be surprised to see capacity increase on the routes that are working well for them,” pointing to the direct Phoenix and Mexico routes from Regina.
As for Mexico, Bogusz said interest and demand in Mexico from Saskatchewan travellers has been on the rise.
“We're seeing a heightened demand to other countries like Mexico,” said Bogusz.
“And WestJet announced for the first time a new flight between Regina and Cabo. This is on the western side on the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. It's an exciting destination. A lot of people know the resort town or they've heard of it, Cabo San Lucas. This is a great opportunity to get away to a new spot."
Also on the rise is interest in Cancun. Bogusz pointed to the airport’s data for last year’s winter season, which showed "more than 100 people a day go to Cancun or return each day, on average, from the Regina Airport.”
“It is by far the most popular sunspot,” said Bogusz. “And that has grown. I think for a lot of people, it's an easy getaway.”
He said that having the direct service has been “super helpful,” and pointed to many direct flights available.
“You jump on a plane. You land in a nice warm spot. A lot of people love those all-inclusive hotels. There's some great deals to be had. I think when you add all that up together, it's a nice way to get away for a week, enjoy some time with yourself, your family. And it's just such an easy vacation that in these days, still a reasonable price point.”
Bogusz also pointed to Puerto Vallarta being very popular, as well as the new Los Cabos flight. He wants to see residents of southern Saskatchewan embrace it.
“We'd love to see WestJet put this on as a yearly service,” said Bogusz. “And we're hopeful that people will take WestJet up on the new offering and make it a success.”
For those still interested in hitting the Las Vegas casinos or visiting the theme parks in Orlando this winter, all is not lost according to Bogusz.
“We've got flights to Denver, flights to Calgary, flights to Vancouver,” said Bogusz, pointing to connections in those hubs to United, WestJet or Air Canada.
“If you want to get away to Las Vegas or Orlando, great and easy connections are available through both Canadian (hubs) and that major U.S. hub in Denver. Lots of opportunities to connect literally every day.”
