Calgary-Kamloops service begins December 15
June 25, 2008 – Sun Peaks, BC – WestJet Airlines announced today that it will be servicing Kamloops and Sun Peaks Resort year round starting December 15, 2008. The Calgary-Kamloops flight coincides with the start of the Sun Peaks Resort ski season and the peak traffic months for Kamloops Airport.
“WestJet’s announcement immediately changes our North American business plan for the coming year,” explains Christopher Nicolson, President of Tourism Sun Peaks. “There are market segments such as ski clubs and conference group traffic that we can now target because we have the appropriate equipment flying into Kamloops. The flight also opens up a new geographic market for our sales teams. For example, the Prairies, Eastern Canada and new US destinations become much easier to access.”
WestJet currently operates flights from Toronto, Montreal and Las Vegas direct to Calgary, allowing skiers and snowboarders to make easy connections to Sun Peaks.
WestJet’s Boeing Next Generation 737-600 holds 119 passengers and will provide significant benefits to passengers and Kamloops’ based tourism operators. Sun Peaks and Kamloops immediately become a more competitive destination for ski clubs, conferences and corporate meetings with the ability to carry large groups. The large cargo capacity allows passengers to carry sports equipment such as skis, snowboards and golf clubs with ease.
“This is great news for a community that has certainly got behind air services in Kamloops and allowed to us to grow,” says Fred Legace, Managing Director of the Kamloops International Airport. “The addition of service with WestJet will take us to the next level and make it easier to market the region to other air services.”
The Calgary-Kamloops flight will operate once daily starting December 15th, arriving in Kamloops at 12:54pm and departing back to Calgary at 1:30pm.
WestJet’s announcement comes as a result of an extensive cooperative effort between Tourism Sun Peaks, the City of Kamloops, Kamloops Airport Society, Tourism Kamloops and Venture Kamloops.
About Sun Peaks
Sun Peaks Resort is a four season destination resort located in the interior of British Columbia near Kamloops. In winter, Sun Peaks is British Columbia’s second largest ski area with three mountains surrounding an intimate ski-in, ski-out village. In other seasons, Sun Peaks offers a diverse range of leisure activities including 18 holes of golf as well as numerous events and festivals. Sun Peaks Resort was the first ski resort in North America and is the only resort in Canada to receive the ISO 14001 designation recognizing the resorts environmental policies and practices. Sun Peaks can be accessed by two airport gateways - Kamloops (45 minutes) and Kelowna (2 1/2 hours) and by car, only a 4 ¼ hour drive separates Sun Peaks and Vancouver, B.C.
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For further information please contact:
Christopher Nicolson
President
Tourism Sun Peaks
Direct: 250-319-1158
tsppresident@sunpeaksresort.com
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