WestJet and Qatar Airways announced a codeshare partnership on Monday, and it makes a big difference if you live in Canada outside Toronto or Montreal. The two airlines will sell seats on each other's flights, so someone in Calgary, Vancouver or Halifax can book a single ticket to Doha, and through Doha to much of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, with their bags checked all the way through.
A codeshare means an airline puts its own flight number on a flight another airline operates. For travelers, the practical upside is one booking instead of two separate tickets. If your first flight is late, the airlines are responsible for getting you on the next connection, which isn't the case when you stitch together your own itinerary.
How It Works
The connection happens in Toronto or Montreal, the two Canadian cities Qatar Airways flies to. WestJet is putting its flight number on Qatar's nonstop flights from both cities to Doha, and Qatar is putting its code on select WestJet flights that feed into them. Qatar's partner cities include Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon and St. John's.
The timing lines up with more flights, too. Qatar Airways went from 12 to 14 flights a week to Canada on Oct. 25, so it now flies daily from both Toronto and Montreal.
WestJet + Qatar Airways · Announced Oct. 26
One Ticket From Across Canada to Doha and Beyond
Contrail
Why This Partnership Is Unusual
Most airlines belong to one of three global alliances, Star Alliance, SkyTeam or oneworld, which let members share flights, lounges and frequent flyer perks. Canada is lopsided. Air Canada, by far the country’s biggest international airline, is in Star Alliance, and oneworld hasn’t had a Canadian member airline since Canadian Airlines was folded into Air Canada at the start of the 2000s. WestJet isn’t in any alliance at all and instead signs deals with airlines one by one.
That’s what makes this deal stand out. Qatar Airways is one of oneworld’s biggest members, alongside American Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific, so it gives a oneworld airline a domestic Canadian partner to feed travelers from across the country. For Qatar, which flies to just two Canadian cities, it’s a way to reach the rest of Canada without adding a single new route of its own.
What It Means for Your Points
If you collect WestJet Rewards, this is the part to know. WestJet says its guests can earn WestJet Rewards on the entire trip, including the Qatar Airways flights, when it's booked as one itinerary. WestJet Group's chief commercial officer, John Weatherill, said the deal builds on "a trusted relationship that has spanned more than a decade."
Neither airline has said anything yet about earning Qatar's Privilege Club points on WestJet flights, using each other's lounges or getting status perks across both airlines. Until that's announced, assume your WestJet elite benefits stop once you board the Qatar flight.
WestJet also says it plans to add its code to Qatar flights beyond Doha, which would let you book cities like New Delhi or Nairobi directly through WestJet. It hasn't given a timeline. For now, if you're flying from a smaller Canadian city to the Gulf or beyond, it's worth checking whether a WestJet and Qatar itinerary beats the connections you'd usually take through Europe.
