WestJet Encore

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WestJet Encore

A Bombardier Q400 at Yellowknife Airport
IATA ICAO Callsign WR WEN[1] ENCORE[1]
Founded	June 24, 2013; 10 years ago (2013-06-24)
AOC #	Canada 17093,[2] United States 5WJF451F[3]
Hubs	Calgary
Focus cities	Edmonton Vancouver
Frequent-flyer program	WestJet Rewards
Fleet size	47[4]
Destinations	37
Parent company	WestJet
Headquarters	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Key people	Lisa Davis (Vice President & General Manager)
Website	www.westjet.com

WestJet Encore is a Canadian regional airline headquartered in Calgary, Alberta that operates feeder flights for WestJet, owned by the same parent company WestJet Airlines, Ltd. In response to internal market studies about future growth limitations by WestJet Airlines operating only Boeing 737 aircraft, WestJet Encore was formed in 2013 to allow the increased frequency of flights by using smaller aircraft and to expand service to routes with less traffic. Originally launching as a feeder airline for the mainline WestJet network out of WestJet hubs in Calgary and Toronto (and providing other regional and commuter flights, e.g. Halifax to Sydney, NS or Edmonton to Kelowna), the airline was refocused on Western Canada in 2021, with all service east of Thunder Bay cancelled and all aircraft either repositioned or stored.

The airline operates a fleet of turboprop aircraft: the De Havilland Canada Dash 8. They operate 47 Q400NextGen aircraft, a variant of the original De Havilland Canada Dash 8.^[4] WestJet Encore is the largest operator of the Q400 in the world, after the bankruptcy of Flybe and the retirement of the type by Horizon Air.

The airline was initially staffed with non-union employees, but the pilots and cabin crew have since unionized. Crew bases are maintained in Calgary and Toronto, with all Toronto-based crewmembers requiring deadheads to access the route network out west. WestJet Encore participates in the WestJet Rewards, a revenue-based frequent flyer program that offers flight discount rewards.