(Rev-1-08/03)Finally, an alternative to Air Canada and its monopoly!
Written: Oct 26 '00 (Updated Jun 01 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: cheap, on time, friendly staff, easy online booking with discount
Cons: None at all
The Bottom Line: Westjet delivers superb customer service, on time flight schedules and provides easy to book online e-tickets with a discount.
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| maceyr's Full Review: WestJet Airlines |
Westjet is relatively a new regional airline available in Western Canada and slowly expanding to the mid and Eastern Canada. With the buyout of Canadian Airlines by Air Canada, air travelers in Canada are pretty much stuck with increases in air fare, decreases in flights and customer service thanks to the stupidity of the Canadian government to allow the monopoly of Air Canada to happen. I can't for the life of me understand why they would allow Air Canada to swallow the only other major airline in Canada and yet say that it's best for the consumer. I used to fly Canadian Airlines but now that they're Air Canada, I fly the alternative, Westjet Airlines.
I was originally hesitant about trying a smaller, regional airline such as RoyalAir (bankrupt), TransAT (also gone) and others because I've heard many horror stories of experiences of Canada 3000 (ex 2000 and now bankrupt) travelers and how they got stuck waiting a week to get back home due to flight availability, lost baggage, etc. But, after trying Westjet a few times, I was convinced that it is a better alternative to Air Canada.
I have only tried flying between Vancouver and Edmonton and between various BC destinations so I can't comment on other flights, namely to the east. Considering that they have limited flights compared to the bigger Air Canada, I was quite surprised to find that they were frequently on time, and even if they were late, it was only 15 minutes. I have actually arrived at my destination earlier than scheduled once, and I can't say I've ever been earlier on any other domestic flights before and I have flown both Canadian Airlines and Air Canada a number of times between Vancouver and Edmonton.
Most times, even if the previous WestJet flight is late or delayed, they will make every effort to get back on time and most times, I will arrive at my destination somewhat on time! I've encountered this several times when the previous flight was late coming in by 15 minutes or so but yet when I arrive at my destination that I actually am on time. I guess that Westjet does take extra time in between flights to compensate for delays so that the next leg will hopefully get back on time. I can't say that for Air Canada. Even now, when Air Canada is under the shelter of bankruptcy protection, they still haven't been able to be on time. There is nothing more irritating than finding out that your flight is delayed when you're depending on getting to your destination on time.
Westjet is much like the other domestic airlines in that they provide a complimentary beverage and snack during the flight. I don't believe they serve meals but who really likes airline food anyway? Personally, I'd much rather prefer to pay a little less for my flight than to pay more for the meal, which usually consists of a small sandwich or bagel with a bit of processed meat, maybe a bag of mini carrots or some other snack. Most times, the food doesn't taste very good anyways or you only get a snack, which consists of a bag of chips and cookies. The beverage, depending on availablity, may be either boxed apple or orange juice or water for cold beverages and coffee or tea for warm beverages. If you're lucky, they sometimes do serve carbonated beverages like Coke, Sprite, Ginger Ale and others. Usually the snack is a choice of cookies or dry munchy snack like pretzels.
As opposed to flying Air Canada or Canadian, Westjet uses 737s, which I prefer more than the usual DC 9s or Fokker 28. As the plane is a 737, the seats are roomier as it is a bigger plane. Unlike other major airlines, Westjet only has one class of seats meaning that there are none of those roomier business class at the front where wealthy passengers can flaunt their wealth and command the majority of service from the flight staff.
The flight crew were friendly and helpful, something I can't say for Air Canada. They truly seemed to be happy at their job which is a rare sight to see nowadays from airline staff. It may be because the staff or Westjet do get some kind of yearly bonus or a share of the profit if the company does well. And I'm sure the CEO lets his staff know that if they are happy, the customers are happy which in turn, means that they'll be repeat customers and the company will make a profit, and thus, the staff can expect a bonus.
I can't say how much of a difference it makes when you encounter helpful and happy flight crew. And one time on a flight, the flight crew had a "lipstick contest" in which participants provide a lipstick imprint on a napkin and the travelers were asked to vote on their favorite lipstick imprint. It was a one of the few onflight games I've ever witnessed. And every flight is a bit different. Sometimes you get a singing flight attendant. Other times they have other on flight games. It certainly breaks the monotony of a flight, even if it's a short one.
You can book flights online, check schedules and flights like most other airlines. You check in at their check in counters just like other airlines and since they can't afford those bar coded computer luggage stickers that most larger airlines attach to your luggage, they just put on their own elastic luggage tag with the destination on your luggage. That's fine with me, as long as the luggage arrives at the correct destination.
Their onboard ticket passes are just a cheap looking computer printed bar coded receipt printed at the check in counter similar to most sales receipts. But who wants to carry those big magnetic striped cards anyways? I don't mind the cheaper ticket alternative as long as I can get on my plane.
Overall, I would recommend Westjet Airlines for the price, on time flight arrivals, and friendly crew. Right now, the airline flies mostly to cities in Western Canada with a few mid and eastern cities like Ottawa, Hamilton, Thunder Bay, Moncton. Hopefully, they will expand and become a bigger competitor to Air Canada. But for now, I'm quite happy that I have an alternative.
********Updated Jan 11th 2002******************************
Since I last wrote, I have continued to fly with Westjet and still have found nothing wrong with the airline nor its staff. Everyone is still very happy and friendly. I guess it's because of the management and how they treat their staff. At a time of airline cutbacks, it seems like Westjet is thriving. Their destinations have greatly expanded. They now fly (BC) to Comox, Victoria, Vancouver, Abbotsford, Kelowna, Prince George, (Alberta) Fort MacMurray, Grande Prairie, Edmonton, Calgary, (Saskatchewan) Saskatoon, Regina, (Manitoba) Thompson, Winnipeg, (Ontario) Thunder Bay, Sault Ste Marie, Sudbury, London, Hamilton, Ottawa, (New Brunswick) Moncton.
Also, now, you can easily book your flight online via a secure connection (or non-secure if your browser doesn't support SSL). If you book online and register at their web site with a username, you can take an additional $5.00 off your return ticket ($2.50 per flight). That's nice. I'd rather have a discount than collecting those air miles anyways, especially now when Air Canada is a monopoly and it costs more points to book a flight with the air miles.
Booking online is very easy. Once you have registered at their site, you just sign in with your username and the page will show up with your name on it to indicate that you're logged in. You just select the date and destinations from their drop down menus and click the "Check Fares" button. You'll then be taken to the next page which will give you a list of flights available with their prices. You select the radio buttons and click "Continue" and then enter your information such as credit card and telephone number of your destination. If you click the confirm button, it will confirm your reservation. You can select to either receive your confirmation by email or fax. Once it's confirmed, you're done.
Because of the many things that Westjet offers such as online e-ticket booking, friendly staff, and online booking discount, I will continue to fly Westjet. If you haven't flown Westjet, it's about time you tried the little airline that could.
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Updated Jan 8 03
Nowadays, when booking online, they still give $2.50 discount per flight. You also have the option of registering with them with a login id (so they keep track of how much you book with them). Maybe sometime in the future, it translates to some sort of frequent flyer discounts or points. Also, you could opt for their discount Jetmail which gives out last minute discounts on flights.
And, beverages served inflight now only consists of 3 choices: coffee, boxed apple or orange juice. No pop. Sigh. And, they give out either almonds, or cookies. Although it's not a great choice of snacks and drinks, I'm still happy because their service is tops and I could always grab my snacks and drinks before getting on. And, they are still very much on time. My husband flew Air Canada over the holidays (and I via Westjet) and he ended up waiting over 5 hours at the airport for his flight (since his was cancelled and he had to wait for the next flight) going there and got delayed about 2 or 3 hours coming back. I, on the other hand, had no problems.
Their destinations have climbed up to 22 from 21 a year ago. Alphabetically, they are: Abbotsford, Calgary, Comox, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Halifax, Hamilton, Kelowna, London, Moncton, Ottawa, Prince George, Regina, Saskatoon, Sault Ste Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg.
Although there are still a lot of destinations they aren't going to, I'm glad that they are not rapidly expanding like other airlines before them and get into problems. They are doing everything right in making sure they concentrate on what works with the company and their customers and to slowly venture and expand. Westjet is definitely here to stay and I am one glad traveller.
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Thanks for taking the time to read and rate my review
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
maceyr
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Location: Canada
Reviews written: 129
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I hardly have time for Epinions anymore but do try to read and rate.
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