The two dominant national airlines are increasingly focusing less on offering nationwide service and more on their regional strengths as they try to improve their financial performance — and also fend off soaring competition.

Those pressures are why experts say WestJet is focusing heavily on Alberta, while Air Canada is prioritizing markets in the east, such as Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. 

Those strategies are resulting in many service cuts in different parts of the country. 

It really is carri…