TORONTO — Winnipeg and Abbotsford – two long-standing destinations for WestJet – will soon be connected with the addition of new service between the two markets.

Starting April 30, the airline will add Abbotsford as its 13th nonstop destination from Winnipeg and will increase frequency on routes to Edmonton and Hamilton. WestJet has served Abbotsford since 1997 and Winnipeg since 1996.

The airline will increase its number of nonstop flights between Abbotsford and Edmonton from 13 per week to 20, and service between Winnipeg and Edmonton will increase from 21 flights per week to 24 beginning April 30. Daily service between Winnipeg and Hamilton begins May 1.

With these additions, WestJet will operate 60 weekly departures from Abbotsford and 204 departures from Winnipeg by May 2017.

“WestJet has built its reputation as Canada’s low-fare leader since 1996 and these flights further solidify this position,” said Brian Znotins, WestJet Vice-President, Network Planning, Corporate Development and Alliances. “WestJet has proudly and consistently served the people of Abbotsford, the lower mainland and Winnipeg for more than 20 years while many other airlines have come and gone. Our reputation as Canada’s low-fare leader is a position we will maintain as competition increases. We are pleased to connect two important WestJet markets this summer.”

The airline also announced it will increase seasonal capacity on a number of other existing routes. Starting May 2, Edmonton and Hamilton will add six weekly flights for a total of 10, and on May 6 flights between Hamilton and Halifax will increase from seven to eight weekly flights.

All flights will be operated onboard WestJet’s Boeing 737 aircraft featuring Plus seating and WestJet Connect, the airline’s inflight entertainment system accessed directly through smartphones, tablets of computers.