CALGARY — Canada’s ultra low-cost carrier race is heating up, now that WestJet has thrown its hat into the ring.

Expected to begin service later this year, the ******* has announced its intention to launch a brand new ULCC, subject to agreement with its pilots and any required regulatory approvals. The initial fleet will include 10 high-density **********-800s designed by the ******* and will provide Canadians with no-frills, lower-cost travel options.

On the impact the new ULCC will have on the company’s overall growth, Clive Beddoe, co-founder of WestJet and Chair of the Board of the Directors, said: “Launching a ULCC will broaden WestJet’s growth opportunities and open new market segments by offering more choice to those Canadians looking for lower fares.”

Beddoe also lauded WestJet’s “low-cost, regional roots” and explained how the ******* is now focused on “disrupting at the price-sensitive end of the market.”

Gregg Saretsky, WestJet President and CEO, added how current trends in the ******* industry has carved out a completely new niche, that of the ULCC.

“The complete unbundling of services and products in order to lower fares for the price-sensitive traveller has created the ULCC category and our new ******* will provide Canadians to pro-competitive, cheap and cheerful flying experience from a company with a proven track record,” he said. “The worldview on low-cost airlines has changed since the launch of WestJet in 1996 and we are responding.”

The yet-to-be-named ULCC will be in direct competition with NewLeaf, which launched early last year with ultra-low fares between several Canadian cities for as low as $89. WestJet, together with regional carrier WestJet Encore, now offers scheduled flights to more than 100 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe.