The airline’s 787-9 will fly daily to the city in Alberta, a gateway to Banff National Park.

Daily flights will depart Gatwick at 1.30pm, arriving Calgary at 3.40pm. Return flights depart Calgary at 7.20pm, arriving Gatwick at 11.00am (+1).

“The London market has quickly become an important one for us with service from six cities across Canada,” said Arved von Azur Muehlen, WestJet’s chief commercial officer.

“It is no accident the first transatlantic flight on the Dreamliner is to our largest international market from our largest hub and home in Calgary.”

Gatwick chief commercial officer Guy Stephenson said the Dreamliner launch would add around 24,000 additional Calgary-Gatwick seats a year using the same number of aircraft, and would reduce the route’s environmental footprint due to the aircraft’s greater fuel efficiency.

“The three years since WestJet’s inaugural flight from Gatwick have been a real success story, with thousands of business and leisure passengers enjoying the vital low-cost connections between the UK and Canada that these services have provided,” said Stephenson.

“WestJet’s presence at Gatwick continues to grow, and it’s very exciting for us to be supporting the airline as it moves into this important new era.”

In May, WestJet will launch its first direct Dreamliner flight between Calgary and Paris. However, it will cease its Dublin service on 1 June.