Been on both WestJet and Air Canada on the past few months on a short flight and can honestly say I preferred Air Canada, seats were a bit better and in flight entertainment was FAR better. I think they both had Coke Zero so it's a sawoff there.
Service was equally pleasant in different ways.
But I do think WestJet has eroded away the clear advantage they had customer service wise.
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Been on both WestJet and Air Canada on the past few months on a short flight and can honestly say I preferred Air Canada, seats were a bit better and in flight entertainment was FAR better. I think they both had Coke Zero so it's a sawoff there.
Service was equally pleasant in different ways.
But I do think WestJet has eroded away the clear advantage they had customer service wise.
I am not a fan of Westjet for their lack of a decent points program and the non-stop blabbering which they frame as "fun."
However, Air Canada, with it's tiered status tickets, the cheapest of which doesn't qualify for status miles, is all indicative of what happens when competition is not allowed.
Not sure if anyone remembers but years ago, the Canadian government had a chance to allow the bankrupt Canadian Airlines to be purchased by an American company - which would have brought some competition into the airline industry - but instead, chose to have Air Canada absorb Canadian Airlines.
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WestJet is just pissing me off lately because they keep spamming the hell out of my email, particularly when I never signed up for their crap to begin with. I've 'unsubscribed' and thought I blocked this poop but it's still getting through. Fack off.
Before I was uncomfortable in their seats. Now it is to the point where it is almost unbearable, so unless I pay money, I'll suffer.
Sorry if I'm not willing to bend over like some people are for almost a 20% increase in the cost of flying for me, just to be slightly more comfortable.
Well, a lot of people are willing to pay the extra cash. Why wouldn't the airlines do it.
The airline business is incredibly costly and it is hard to turn any kind of profit.
I honestly think they should charge 15 bucks for every extra carry on as well, will stop the cheap #######s from overflowing the overhead bins.
Last edited by Bonded; 04-24-2013 at 09:57 PM.
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In a nutshell, a guy spends $50,000+ to fly his family of five to Australia over Christmas in Executive Class. One of the seats doesn't recline at all, which essentially makes it pointless to have spent $10,000 on the seat. He asks for a refund or some recompense. All Air Canada gave him was a future travel voucher for $500.
Have fun on Air Canada
Someone will be fired over this. Airlines will lineup around the block to get a customer who is prepared to shell out his kind of money and they end up insulting him. For an airline who cant break even, this is a disaster from a PR perspective. The failure to maintain the luxury seat is a huge issue in itself, and this result has bought widespread attntion to it.
Goodbye customer, and i predict whomever made the decision will be unemployed inside 120 days.
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"OOOOOOHHHHHHH those Russians" - Boney M
Drive... about 3 days by yourself. average gas costs about $450.00. add another $60.00 for food,you can eat potato chips if your cheap and make sure you find a shower before you talk to anyone after you arrive. But before you try this please remember this is one way and likely you'll want your car back home.
Greyhound...55 hours of comfort and wonderful smelling people for the low cost of $220.00, another bonus is the truck stop food (not free though)
Westjet...3 hours 30 minutes. as low as $300.00 if you shop. and free pretzels!
Moral of the story...stop friken bitching about extra fees and your long legs.
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Westjet is like the Interac business model. Offer a great convenient service for cheap for many years to get a customer base, then claw back services and increase fees and try to balance the increased profits with lost customers. When your competitor are all giant dooshes in their own special ways, its probably not a hard line to walk. They are certainly approaching AC in overall dooshness.
This is incredibly well articulated. Westjet has pissed away every bit of goodwill from me and I fly ac now any chance I get.
Quote:
Originally Posted by T@T
There are choices
From Calgary to Toronto
Drive... about 3 days by yourself. average gas costs about $450.00. add another $60.00 for food,you can eat potato chips if your cheap and make sure you find a shower before you talk to anyone after you arrive. But before you try this please remember this is one way and likely you'll want your car back home.
Greyhound...55 hours of comfort and wonderful smelling people for the low cost of $220.00, another bonus is the truck stop food (not free though)
Westjet...3 hours 30 minutes. as low as $300.00 if you shop. and free pretzels!
Moral of the story...stop friken bitching about extra fees and your long legs.
300 dollars return to Toronto and back? Please. Try 500. Also there's no such thing as shopping for airfares in canada. The price is the price. This is a duopoly; not a bazaar in Calcutta selling spices.
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Originally Posted by puckluck2
Well, deal with it. I wasn't cheering for Canada either way. Nothing worse than arrogant Canadian fans. They'd be lucky to finish 4th. Quote me on that. They have a bad team and that is why I won't be cheering for them.
I will add... Why the hell don't they have an app? Air Canada's app is super convenient and east to use. Seems like a huge mistake to not have an answer to that.
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Westjet has really taken a dive over the past several years. When they started out, they were always cheaper than AC. A couple years ago they seemed to start moving towards matching prices of AC instead of setting their own. Now I find them more expensive 80% of the time.
The only benefits I see from flying Westjet currently are not charging for the 1st bag to the US, and you can watch playoff hockey while flying (If the system is working, and if you're in their ever shrinking satellite service are). I wasn't aware of the shrinking of their legroom, but that is another knock against them for future trips.
My new hate for west jet comes from their inability to code share in any reasonable way. On AC I check in the night before online, show up, drop my bag which gets checked through to my final destination on their partner. On west jet, I can't check in online on a code share, can't seat select on a code share, and can't get my boarding pass for my next flight on their partner.
I did enjoy my two middle seats in the back on a westjet/delta combo flight where I had to wait in a huge line in Calgary and at my connection because their systems are garbage.
I'm coming to Calgary for a conference this summer. In the past, I was always told that if you were heading west, always take Westjet. I've not had anyone recommend them lately.
So I was checking prices this morning. Ottawa to Calgary June 4th to 10th. Air Canada = $505. Westjet = $707.
I was already leaning Air Canada. Now it's a no-brainer.
I always fly Air Canada.
Prefer the planes, prefer the entertainment devices. Westjet is now a casualty of its success and doesn't offer that differentiated a service with an inferior product.
I always tend to pick the cheapest flights which usually end up being with Air Canada. I haven't been very impressed with West Jet the last few times I've flown with them. I still think it's ridiculous that the cost to fly from one end of Canada to the other is the same as the cost to fly to Europe.
