West Jet a Hassle Right Now

[driveway]

Heads up to anyone trying to book or change a flight with West Jet right now, they're implementing a new booking system and their website is down - there's just a message telling you to call them.

Also, having spoken to a source inside the call centre, hold times are ridiculous and frequently callers are getting bounced around from person to person.

And, just for good measure, they are not doing ANY standby at the moment. No idea when this is going to end.

[Sliver]

Probably still 10x better than Air Canada lol.

[Art Vandelay]

Yeah, they're going from what I've heard is a very user friendly reservation system to a much more complex one. The new one (Sabre) will allow them to do interline and codesharing with other airlines. Also, Sabre is not the best company for customer support out there. All part of becoming a big airline.

[fatso]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Probably still 10x better than Air Canada lol.

Man, you can say that again.

I called into WestJet on Saturday morning to change departure date of an upcoming flight. The automated system said I'd be on hold for 60 minutes; I think I was on hold for 45. The woman on the other end sounded pretty frazzled, but she took care of things for me. She had to put me on hold twice (a few minutes each time) during our convo to make the change. That seemed odd to me, but apparently such requests are processed 'elsewhere' in the system.

Anyway, it wasn't the best use of my time but I've spent afternoons on hold with Air Canada and still not gotten what I wanted, so this wasn't the worst experience ever.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Maybe the change in systems has something to do with their partnership with Southwest Airlines?

[Shazam]

Again?

They had terrible IT when I was working there. Looks like they still don't know what the hell they're doing.

[Fleury2005]

They could demand tickets be booked by telegraph and paid in cash and I would still use them over AirCanada every time.

[Jedi Ninja]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Again?

They had terrible IT when I was working there. Looks like they still don't know what the hell they're doing.

Yes, I found some Schadenfreude in this tidbit:

In 2007, WestJet took a C$32 million write-down after it was forced to abandon a project to design a new reservation system. WestJet was to be the launch customer for the aiRES project, but was unable to make the system compatible with its technology.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-...19-713680.html

[Dion]

A copy of an email I got from WestJet...

Friday October 23, 2009

On October 17, 2009 WestJet successfully implemented a new reservations system. This upgrade was made to allow us to expand the services and offerings we can provide. We anticipate that this new, state-of-the-art system will allow us to introduce many exciting initiatives that will be of great benefit to you, our guests, such as seamless connections to other airlines around the world.

While the system itself was successfully installed, there have been slowdowns at the airports this week and many of our guests have spent too long on the phone trying to get through to one of our agents. This is not the WestJet experience that you have come to know and expect from us and certainly not how we would like our airline to be recognized.

As the caring airline that values a great guest experience, we understand that this week has been hard on those of you who have been trying to call us, fly with us or connect to our websites. For those who experienced delays or less than stellar service this week, we offer our heartfelt apologies.

In the coming weeks, we anticipate that the system will be humming along and that it will enable us to provide you with the top-notch guest experience you have come to expect with WestJet.

On behalf of the 7,500 WestJetters who are working hard to create an amazing experience for you, we thank you for your patience and look forward to welcoming you aboard in the near future.

Sincerely,
Sean Durfy
WestJet President and CEO

[Bigtime]

I was wondering when SABRE was going to go on-line at Westjet.

[Galakanokis]

I was able to book online no problems.

Didn't think the prices were too bad either. coming back home to Calgary for Christmas only cost me $1000 for the two of us and a baby. Not to bad really.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

Maybe the change in systems has something to do with their partnership with Southwest Airlines?

its the move to the new sabre so they can offer similar pricing options like AC can with their website. It also allows them get into the more code sharing realm with international players.

The SWA deal has been put on hold for now.