95% of Airline Companies Suck

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by NuclearFart

I'm a big fan of Westjet myself, and absolutely loathe Air Canada. If the price difference is less than 30$, I'll always go with WestJet.

Westjet is always friendly and actually willing to help if there is ever an issue. AirCanada? I'd say 90% of my customer experience with them has been downright terrible, bordering on rude, and it feels like they really take my business for granted. I also suspect they are cancelling/rescheduling flights at the last minute if they don't have enough passengers/cargo to make it worthwhile for them. I've never had that happen with Westjet, ever.

Ya I pretty much agree, however to be fair AC has slowly been improving their customer service, communication and ability to ensure your bag gets on the same plane as you do.

That of course assumes you are not flying to or through Toronto I suppose.

[HotHotHeat]

I feel like bragging, I just bought a flight to Toronto from Vancouver for $360. I know. For that price I can't complain about airlines.

[moon]

Originally Posted by NuclearFart

I'm a big fan of Westjet myself, and absolutely loathe Air Canada. If the price difference is less than 30$, I'll always go with WestJet.

Westjet is always friendly and actually willing to help if there is ever an issue. AirCanada? I'd say 90% of my customer experience with them has been downright terrible, bordering on rude, and it feels like they really take my business for granted. I also suspect they are cancelling/rescheduling flights at the last minute if they don't have enough passengers/cargo to make it worthwhile for them. I've never had that happen with Westjet, ever.

I have flown a lot over the past 3 years and, although I am different from seemingly everyone else, I have had nothing but good service from AC.

Personally, I find that people look for good things with WJ because it has some sort of rep as having good Customer Service and look for bad things for AC because of the opposite.

I find Westjet commercials and BS "attitude" that they portray to be annoying to the point that it turns me off of ever flying with them again. The fact they only have economy (I think?) doesn't make me want to fly with them either.

[photon]

Originally Posted by HOOT

This is why you should read the small print when paying for anything. I have worked in a few different industries all involving contracts and it use to blow my mind that would just sign away without even knowing what they were really signing.

This.

Originally Posted by Clarkey

I booked this flight based on the schedule first and the price second, I think there were other cheaper flights.

I didn't read the small print. I'll admit naivete on my part, I assumed that in purchasing a ticket from point a to point b at a specific time, I would be guaranteed to get that or get my money back. If I go to Walmart and buy a vacuum but then open the box to find a toaster I am going to return it for my money back, obviously the airline industry doesn't work that way.

What are the good airliners? I've had good luck with WestJet domestically and Cathay overseas.

Well you know what they say about assuming..

Just imagine the complexity of the air travel system, imagine booking a flight 45 days out, and then imagine the millions of things that could happen that could cause your flight to have to change. Everything from 5 pilots all quitting at once to physical damage to a terminal to who knows what else.

It's impossible to have an airline that has never had a delayed or canceled flight, it's just not possible, there are too many variables outside the airlines' control (not even considering how poorly some airlines are run).

A good travel agent would have notified you of this problem and encouraged you to purchase travel insurance. If you used an agent and they didn't tell you about insurance I'd definitely have a chat with them. If you didn't use an agent, and didn't read the fine print of the flight... well again you know what they say about assuming. A good agent usually knows the rules around what's being sold and can let you know when there's potential problems.

Originally Posted by fotze

Would travel insurance cover this?

Depending on the details and what kind you buy it depends but in general yes. If a change in schedule causes you to miss connections (or miss a cruise, or tour or whatever) then the insurance should step in to remedy things.

[Clarkey]

Originally Posted by photon

It's impossible to have an airline that has never had a delayed or canceled flight, it's just not possible, there are too many variables outside the airlines' control (not even considering how poorly some airlines are run).

I fully understand that there are going to be changes. My thing is that if they have to change that's should be their problem not mine. It's fine print I should have educated myself on, but it's fubar policy nonetheless.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

So.... I want to know which airlines belong to the 5% that don't suck. They will have all my business from now on.

Because my strategy of always buying the cheapest ticket is partly predicated on the knowledge that 100% of Airline companies suck. I go in with low expectations, and usually I'm not wrong.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

I fully understand that there are going to be changes. My thing is that if they have to change that's should be their problem not mine. It's fine print I should have educated myself on, but it's fubar policy nonetheless.

I guess in theory.. but even Walmart and Costco had to eventually change their return policies due to costs associated with them.

Sure airlines could just eat the costs of stuff like this, but then ticket prices overall would increase, or service levels would go down further as wages were lower, or whatever.

As Claraen pointed out, consumers are driven mostly by the absolute price, so they have to compete primarily on that point... having a nicer set of rules around a ticket but having a higher price doesn't mean anything when Joe Traveler goes on expedia and sorts tickets by price.

[photon]

Then they'd just have an URL to their policy

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by moon

I have flown a lot over the past 3 years and, although I am different from seemingly everyone else, I have had nothing but good service from AC.

Personally, I find that people look for good things with WJ because it has some sort of rep as having good Customer Service and look for bad things for AC because of the opposite.

I find Westjet commercials and BS "attitude" that they portray to be annoying to the point that it turns me off of ever flying with them again. The fact they only have economy (I think?) doesn't make me want to fly with them either.

I've also flown a fair bit over the past 3 years as well. While I used to absolutely hate Air Canada, they have definitely gotten better. I find that Air Canada is a lot better with overseas flights than they are with their domestic flights.

I would say the playing field is still leaning towards WestJet at this point. While their service is nearly on par... WestJet is still a little bit cheaper than Air Canada.