WestJet to add surcharge to some bookings and combine flights due to fuel costs

CALGARY - Calgary-based WestJet says it will be introducing a temporary $60 surcharge for certain bookings and has consolidated numerous flights due to skyrocketing fuel prices.

The airline says in an email the additional charge will be included with all bookings made with a companion voucher after this Wednesday.

It has also combined some flights on lower demand routes, reducing the number of flights by approximately one per cent in April and three per cent in May.

It says most clients have been provided accommodation options due to the consolidations.

Fuel is one of the largest operating costs airlines face and WestJet says the recent changes help it manage the surge in the cost of a barrel.

Wayne Smith, a hospitality and tourism professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, says WestJet is among multiple Canadian airlines that have been scrambling to cover costs since the war on Iran began and created a fuel shortage.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2026.