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Saskatonians may be pining for a direct WestJet flight to Toronto, but a company representative said Tuesday plans for such a route are not a priority.

That doesn't rule out any future non-stop flight additions to Canada's financial centre, said Reggie Lang, WestJet's manager of corporate sales for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. While the company is always lookng at expanding domestic flight service, he said WestJet is operating at a near capacity level and doesn't have any planes to spare for new routes.

The company is also focused on providing service to «sun destinations,» such as Montego Bay, Jamaica and Nassau, Bahamas. WestJet Vacations launched last year and is doing well, said Lang. He was in Saskatoon Tuesday to give a presentation about the company's history and success to the North Saskatoon Business Association (NSBA) as part of Small Business Week.

«Saskatoon is definitely on the radar and it is something our flight planning crew is looking at, but right now to utilize our fleet to get the best revenue is to (focus) on sun destinations at this current time. When will things happen for a direct flight to Toronto? I'm not exactly sure. It all depends on how big our fleet grows and when,» he said.

WestJet has 68 Boeing 737 airplanes and plans to bring its fleet to 100 by 2011, according to Lang's presentation. The company also plans to focus on more point-to-point trips in the future, and has a goal of holding 50 per cent of the national market share by 2010, up from the 35 per cent share it holds now.

«All of Canada is a focus for WestJet. There are a lot of opportunities, and we want to make our overall schedule commercial so that we can fill planes to capacity in all of our markets. It's going take time. We can only grow as fast as we can.»

NSBA executive director Shirley Ryan said air service is vital for the growth of the city's economy, and a direct WestJet flight to Toronto would have a huge impact on the Saskatoon business community.

«We need more air service. We've got people who are reluctant to come here because getting in and out is such a problem,» she said. «WestJet is moving to the future, it's a young airline, it's a great airline, but we want better service here.»

Bill Restall, president and CEO of the Saskatoon Airport Authority, said 2007 will be a record year for traffic at the John G. Diefenbaker Airport, with more than one million people expected to use the terminal by the end of the year. Restall said the authority has been speaking to airline carriers about the demand for flights in the city.

«Our message is very strong, we're telling all of them (airlines operating out of the airport) that we have a capacity here for them to expand,» he said. «And the first company here will take the market.»

The reason behind a shortage of flights, he explained, is due to a shortage of planes. As airlines started downsizing to save money a few years ago, the economy started to grow, increasing the number of passengers but leaving airlines without the ideal amount of planes.

The CEO points to the success of Saskatchewan-based airlines Transwest Air, Pronto Airways and Express Air as examples of local companies that meet customer demand. Through flexible schedules, all three airlines have been able to expand their capacities in a small, provincial market.

(Star Phoenix)