Perhaps lost in the hoopla of its approved takeover of Sunwing and tentative agreement with staff at Pearson airport (though not pilots), WestJet’s conducted its first-ever flight to Asia, with WS80 from Calgary arriving at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport on Monday.

The service will operate three times per week through Oct. 28 on the airline’s 787 Dreamliner and will return in Spring 2024.

“We are thrilled to see our new service to Tokyo, Japan take flight as we welcome our newest destination to our 787 intercontinental hub at YYC,” said John Weatherill, WestJet Executive VP and COO. “Not only does this new route increase opportunities for business, leisure and cargo customers to expand their horizons in Asia, it also provides an exceptional opportunity to welcome transpacific leisure and business travellers direct to Calgary and Alberta.”

David Goldstein, CEO of Travel Alberta added, “For decades, Japanese travellers have had a special relationship with Alberta. The Calgary-Tokyo flight represents an important opportunity to rebuild that bridge. This new flight will deliver approximately $1.1B in potential tourism income and 24,000 passenger seats. We look forward to welcoming back this important international market to our beautiful province.”

Shae Bird, CEO of Indigenous Tourism Alberta noted that one in five Japanese travellers express indigenous offerings, thus providing “direct access for cultural learning, meaningful connections and lasting relationships with the Japanese market.”

WestJet’s non-stop flight to Tokyo is one of several new direct services launching this spring. Guests travelling out of WestJet’s hub in Calgary can also connect to Barcelona, Edinburgh and five other European nonstop destinations as part of the airline’s already robust international offerings.