Sun Peaks and WestJet -- Working Together

WestJet Airlines announced this morning it will expand its service to Kamloops and Sun Peaks with a Vancouver flight connection beginning November 1, 2009.

The new service will have WestJet departing Kamloops at 10:45am each morning, arriving at Vancouver International Airport at 11:41am. For golfers and skiers heading to Sun Peaks, the flight leaves Vancouver at 12:30pm, arriving in Kamloops at 1:19pm.

The new WestJet schedule also changes the times of the Calgary-Kamloops flight to allow an easy connection for passengers departing from Toronto at 7:15am. The aircraft connects through Calgary at 10:05am and arrives in Kamloops at 10:12am, allowing skiers and snowboarders to be on the slopes of Sun Peaks that afternoon. The return flight departs at 2:00pm daily, and will arrive in Calgary at 3:57pm.

The President of Tourism Sun Peaks, Christopher Nicolson, says air access is critical to Sun Peaks’ success. “The wide-bodied jet service provided by WestJet gives Sun Peaks an opportunity to target new market segments,”

“WestJet’s ridership has proven to bring incremental air traffic for both Kamloops and for Sun Peaks. The new Calgary times also allow for same day travel and skiing for Albertans and Ontarians."

“Expanding service is a key goal identified by our Air Service Working Group strategy,” says Kamloops Airport Manager Fred Legace. “This is great for business, golf, and ski in our region.”

WestJet began servicing Kamloops and Sun Peaks Resort in December 2008 after extensive efforts 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.