Who owns WestJet?
WestJet is owned by WestJet Group (Canada).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: WestJet history. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- WestJet Group reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Origin
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- Founded
- 1996
- Category
- Travel & transport › Airlines
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About WestJet
WestJet is the main airline of the WestJet Group. Its history page says its inaugural flight took place on 29 February 1996, and its 'Who we are' page says it began with about 200 employees and three aircraft serving six destinations. It now operates nearly 200 aircraft to over 100 destinations across North America, Central America and the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. It was purchased by Onex in 2019.
Ownership timeline of WestJet
Where WestJet sits in WestJet
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full WestJet ownership tree →
See the full WestJet brand portfolio (2) →
Other brands owned by WestJet
WestJet controls 2 brands on Brandtree, 2 of them in travel & transport.
Also in travel & transport
- WestJet Encore (2013)
Other brands in airlines, and who owns them
The 509 brands in airlines on Brandtree belong to 341 owners. The largest is Lufthansa Group, with 10; WestJet has 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Air Dolomiti | Lufthansa Group | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| China Southern Airlines | China Southern Airlines | 🇨🇳 China |
| Air China | Air China | 🇨🇳 China |
| Aer Lingus | IAG | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| LATAM Airlines Brasil | LATAM | 🇨🇱 Chile |
| Air France | Air France-KLM | 🇫🇷 France |
| AirAsia | AirAsia X | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| Calm Air | Exchange Income | 🇨🇦 Canada |
About the owner: WestJet
WestJet is a privately held company headquartered in Canada. Brandtree records 2 brands under its control.
Canadian airline group. WestJet's own history page records that WestJet was purchased by Onex in 2019. The group's 'Who we are' page describes it as the parent company of WestJet Airlines, WestJet Encore and Sunwing Vacations Group. WestJet bought Sunwing in 2023 and, per its 2025 announcement, has since unified all narrowbody operations under WestJet Airlines; Swoop was absorbed into WestJet in October 2023. Sunwing Airlines and Swoop are therefore not listed as separate carriers.
🇨🇦 WestJet and other Canadian brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 174 brands that began in Canada. 41 of them (24%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; WestJet is not one of them.
- Air Canada — Air Canada 🇨🇦
- Air Transat — Transat 🇨🇦
- Algoma Central — Algoma Central 🇨🇦
- BC Ferries — BC Ferries 🇨🇦
- CN — CN 🇨🇦
- CPKC — CPKC 🇨🇦
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of WestJet?
The parent company of WestJet is WestJet Group, a privately held company headquartered in Canada.
Is WestJet Canadian?
Yes. WestJet originated in Canada in 1996 and its owner, WestJet Group, is also headquartered in Canada.
Is WestJet still owned by WestJet Group?
Yes. As of 4 October 2026, WestJet is still owned by WestJet Group. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] WestJet history — WestJet, Official document; retrieved 4 October 2026.
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