Westjet is terrible.

[Bigtime]

Hmm, I was wondering if anyone had flown on the planes that have had the new seating configuration installed for WestJet. I believe sacrificing seat pitch on the rest of the seats is something they had to do to offer a "premium" economy to have even a shred of hope of attracting some of the business flyers (especially those that would be connecting from flights with their 30+ partner airlines now).

Unfortunately SeatGuru.com doesn't show the new configurations yet.

[Maccalus]

Don't worry everyone, Air Canada is also in the process of reducing their seat pitch and bringing in premium economy as well.

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelin...omy_cabin.html

We will be back to equivilent service in the Duopoly again.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Maccalus

Don't worry everyone, Air Canada is also in the process of reducing their seat pitch and bringing in premium economy as well.

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelin...omy_cabin.html

We will be back to equivilent service in the Duopoly again.

It will be interesting to see if they expand this beyond the 777's in the fleet. Like I mentioned before the 3-4-3 seating in economy has quickly become the standard configuration for most new 777 orders now. Funny enough the airline that pioneered this? Emirates.

[MRCboicgy]

Here's a take on AC's plans for seats
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalk...an-physiology/

[DoubleK]

$25 seat selection fee = 3 empty rows at the front of the plane.

There new fare system is confusing and nonsensical.

WestJet is becoming the airline they said they weren't.

[Bigtime]

I wonder if Air Canada or WestJet would look at introducing "slimline" seats like Lufthansa in economy class to help with the reduced legroom?

http://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/com...ate=2010-12-17

[SeeBass]

Originally Posted by Maccalus

Don't worry everyone, Air Canada is also in the process of reducing their seat pitch and bringing in premium economy as well.

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelin...omy_cabin.html

We will be back to equivilent service in the Duopoly again.

I took the premium economy on BA and that was worth every extra dollar.

Business class is too much to justify but a prem economy will be the only way I will fly in the future.

[Maccalus]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

I wonder if Air Canada or WestJet would look at introducing "slimline" seats like Lufthansa in economy class to help with the reduced legroom?

http://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/com...ate=2010-12-17

Maybe in the future when they phase out the entertainment systems for other options, but as of now I believe the entertainments systems will be too wide for those seats.

I have heard rumors of Air Canada phasing out the seat back entertainment systems in favour of an option to stream movies and TV shows onto a users personal Tablet or smart phone. As I said, this is just rumors and most definately at least 5 years away.

[Kybosh]

I have less of an issue with leg/shoulder room than with the crazy prices we pay here. I was in Toronto last week and paid just about $800. Vancouver a little while before that for almost $400. Thank god I could expense those.

[Maccalus]

People always seem to forget that on a purchasing power level there are few times in history that air travel has been as cheap as it is now.

http://evansparks.wordpress.com/2007...past-20-years/

Let’s look at airfares for a minute. Whenever people moan about the cost of flying, I think of that old American Airlines ticket that sits on my bookshelf. It’s a flea market find, and it dates from 1946. That year, somebody named James Connors paid $334 to fly one-way from Ireland to New York — roughly the same that you’d pay on Aer Lingus today. Using the Consumer Price Index conversion, that $334 is equivalent to well over $3,500 in 2007

Also the price difference we see in Canada compared to the states is mostly due to differences in fees at the airport. These fee diferences are due to different levels of government subsidies to airports at the various locations.

[TorqueDog]

This is a good thread for me to see, as I'll be flying a LOT for work.

Aside: If you ever fly KLM, it will RUIN air travel for you on any other carrier. Even in plain ol' Economy Class, their service is brilliant.

[rotten42]

I find it funny how many people trump the entertainment system for AC as such a bonus. I always bring my own device for entertainment and when I look around the cabin a good majority of people on the plane do the same. The entertainment system on the plane is such a non factor.

That said I generally like the planes with AC better but I hate their staff. No so much the air waitresses but the "customer service" ticket agents. I often wonder how it is possible that so many of their employyees start the day with someone sh&tting in their Corn Flakes!

As for the isle seat or special seating. Most airlines already charge for that. When I fly American Airlines I always upgrade to the Economy Plus section. I don't need the extra leg room as that isn't really a problem for me; it's that nobody likes to pay for it so when the rest of the plane is full quite often I will have a row to myself. I love it. Completley woorth the $20-$30.

[jammies]

I wonder what would happen if I got on the plane and flat-out couldn't sit in the seat due to lack of leg room. Could I sue the airline for selling me something they could reasonably forsee me not being able to use? I could be on the news, like that French guy who wanted to order a soda en francais!

On the other hand, I've always felt they should charge more for fatties who spill over their seats and invade my personal space. However that is somewhat under personal control; I can't help it that I'm tall, handsome, and get all the bjs fotze missed out on.

[calumniate]

Last year I was on a WJ plane from Vancouver to Calgary. For some reason during the landing speech one of the attendants decided to do his best 'Jamaican' accent. Leaving the plane we were asked to tell them if it was good or bad.

A friend of mine from New Jersey was on the plane as well and he was completely offended by it, as was I. Had this been a plane in the states or had their been an actual Jamaican on the plane, the optics would have been very, very bad. Can't wait for them to start imitating Cree or Chinese. Jerks.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Hmm, I was wondering if anyone had flown on the planes that have had the new seating configuration installed for WestJet. I believe sacrificing seat pitch on the rest of the seats is something they had to do to offer a "premium" economy to have even a shred of hope of attracting some of the business flyers (especially those that would be connecting from flights with their 30+ partner airlines now).

Unfortunately SeatGuru.com doesn't show the new configurations yet.

Business travelers will only try connecting on Westjet once, most likely. I've flown on them twice in the last year, both on codeshare's connecting. (I never would have booked the 2nd one, but Delta changed my flight after I booked it to include a Westjet leg). The experience is terrible. Their IT systems aren't up the task, which really hurts the customer service.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

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.

This.

I frequently fly from Toronto to Calgary/Saskatoon/Edmonton and the fares are consistently cheaper with AC. Usually around $30-50 each way. In addition, the flight times are much more convenient on AC flights than WJ and I find there are often more direct flight options.

As for round trip fares between Calgary/Toronto? If you get $550 you're doing extremely well.

[r00t]

Only the 800s had a change in seat pitch ... there were NO changes to the pitch for the 600s or the 700s. So, unless people were only flying 800s, there has been no change to seat pitch.

In relation to the fare bundles (including premium pitch), all I can say is, there was a rather significant and profitable market segment that was demanding that product. We've been told the pitch is at the high end of the industry standard at 32" in the 600s and 700s and 31" in the 800s.

As a 6' 3" semi-monthly flyer who also happens to be a WestJetter, I've paid twice now for the bulkhead seats ($45+tax) and quite enjoyed the extra legroom. I've also flown standby many, many times and been stuck in middle seats or even jump for that matter.

Having been here for 6 and a half years, I have certainly seen a culture change but that's to be expected as any organization grows as quickly as we have.

I have to disagree that things have gone "downhill" since Sean left though. The share price has increased 112% since January 2012, loads are consistently high, we add new codeshare partners almost quarterly, we're starting a new regional carrier, and there's a vision to continue growing the company while returning value to its shareholders all while continuing to provide an exceptional guest experience.

Guest experience certainly suffered after the reservation system change but there has been a significant focus on improving that measure and all WestJetters are measured against it, including us back-office folk.

Certainly we can always improve but the playing field is not level in this country and we've managed to thrive in spite of it. When the government intervenes to stop a strike, that impacts our competitiveness ... when the government allows the competition to extend their pension deficit for another 7 years, that impacts our competitiveness.

Changes are coming. The inflight entertainment will change, an app will come, but through it all we will continue strive to provide a great guest experience while operating a profitable airline.

I may get dismissed as drinking the teal kool-aid but take my perspective for what it's worth.

[Ozy_Flame]

Didn't Porter say recently they're going to start flying into Calgary? I hope this is the case. We need more than two options.

[Maccalus]

Porter is going to expand west, but they are waiting on delivery of the bombardier C-Series jets which aren't in production yet. It will be a few years before they make it out here.

[STeeLy]

But for that, they also need to extend the runway at Billy Bishop in downtown Toronto, which may run into some resistance (Unless they only fly their C-series jets out of other airports)