Westjet is terrible.

[Deelow]

Originally Posted by 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.

I was on that same route a couple months ago, same thing happened. It was probably the same guy...so i guess they haven't stopped. I was more annoyed by the fact that he was trying to be a comedian every time he had something to say. I could tell the rest of the crew was annoyed with him too. I'm all for them being bubbly and pleasant, but sometimes it's like they're having too much fun.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by r00t

I have to disagree that things have gone "downhill" since Sean left though.

I don't think that poster was referring to Sean leaving, probably Clive Beddoe (and yes I realize he is still around and a presence, I've seen his office there in the new building).

[oilyfan]

Originally Posted by Deelow

I was on that same route a couple months ago, same thing happened. It was probably the same guy...so i guess they haven't stopped. I was more annoyed by the fact that he was trying to be a comedian every time he had something to say. I could tell the rest of the crew was annoyed with him too. I'm all for them being bubbly and pleasant, but sometimes it's like they're having too much fun.

I agree, it seems like it takes away from the professionalism in the airline. Not everyone flying is going for a vacation.

[tvp2003]

Curious -- what is your expectation of an airline? Granted, I only travel a couple of times a year, but in my opinion, air travel is utilitarian. No different than riding the bus. It's funny (to me) to see people complain over a $1.50 can of pop or bag of snacks -- is this a big deal? I sort of understand issues with seat comfort, but this isn't a lounge or massage chair; anytime you have to sit still for 1-5 hours, I would think there's a bit of "suck it up" involved.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Curious -- what is your expectation of an airline? Granted, I only travel a couple of times a year, but in my opinion, air travel is utilitarian. No different than riding the bus. It's funny (to me) to see people complain over a $1.50 can of pop or bag of snacks -- is this a big deal? I sort of understand issues with seat comfort, but this isn't a lounge or massage chair; anytime you have to sit still for 1-5 hours, I would think there's a bit of "suck it up" involved.

I dont' care about any of that, except the seat. Even then if it's 31" pitch within N. America I'm usually ok, and I'm a couple inches over 6 feet. I pay for a drink/snack everywhere else I go if I want one, so I don't know why a plane would b e different. Basically, get me from point A to point B with a minimum amount of hassle and discomfort. I don't like checking in twice and not being able to check in online/select a seat in advance (even though I was willing to pay).Westjet's codeshares are great in the short term, but they're delivering a terrible experience to the new customer's they're generating in terms of inconvenience, so those customers are unlikely to come back.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Curious -- what is your expectation of an airline? Granted, I only travel a couple of times a year, but in my opinion, air travel is utilitarian. No different than riding the bus. It's funny (to me) to see people complain over a $1.50 can of pop or bag of snacks -- is this a big deal? I sort of understand issues with seat comfort, but this isn't a lounge or massage chair; anytime you have to sit still for 1-5 hours, I would think there's a bit of "suck it up" involved.

Not being in pain for a flight.
Paying money for a service and expecting to get that service.

I can accept being in a seat that is tight, knees pressed against the seat in front of me, but being in pain because the seats in front of me are literally digging in to the tops of my knees because I am too tall.

Then being forced to pay $$ just to a achieve a minimum level of tolerability.

I really don't know much about which planes have been configured and which haven't. All I know is that flying to BC and grande prairie a few times this yesterday I have hit these planes more often than not.

[Bigtime]

The solution is clear, we need to bring back air travel by Zeppelin.

[Maccalus]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

The solution is clear, we need to bring back air travel by Zeppelin.

http://zeppelintours.com/

[Inferno]

As long as Westjet is atleast $100 cheaper I'll be flying with them. I really haven't had any issues with them other than I wish they would offer free movies like Air Canada does. And the one trip I had with Air Canada that was cheaper during Christmas was by far the worst out of all the trips I took last year.

[smoothpops]

Suck it up tall people.this is the karma you get for years of showing up at movie theaters/concerts late and taking the seat in front of me which i showed up extra early to make sure were empty. :P

[TheyCallMeBruce]

If you complain about air Canada and westjet now, wait till Porter arrives. You'll be wishing you have westjet service, and air Canada inflight entertainment. Porter delivers nothing on both fronts.

[jammies]

Originally Posted by smoothpops

Suck it up tall people.this is the karma you get for years of showing up at movie theaters/concerts late and taking the seat in front of me which i showed up extra early to make sure were empty. :P

My one buddy is about 5'8". We were in an almost completely empty theatre for some terrible movie once, and juuuuusssst as the main show started, this tall skinny dude with a huge afro sits right in front of him and blocks the screen entirely - guy gravitated to the seat like it was fate. Didn't come with anyone else, didn't look around to see who was behind him, just plopped himself down and made himself comfortable, with dozens of seats all around that were completely empty and not in front of anyone.

I wished I would have hired the guy to do it, because buddy still bitches about it to this day. "Why would someone do that? Why should I have to move? What is *wrong* with people?"

[flamesaresmokin]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

If you complain about air Canada and westjet now, wait till Porter arrives. You'll be wishing you have westjet service, and air Canada inflight entertainment. Porter delivers nothing on both fronts.

This country is in dire need of some economy airlines to force the Air Canada's and WestJets to up the quality of service/cabin experience. I've flown on some of the most budget airlines in the world and the in cabin experience isn't much different then what you get in the uber expensive Canadian flights. For whatever reason we are just forced to pay 5-10 times as much for a similar flight and you can't tell me all that cost is for the privilege of a personal tv screen. If you have a comfortable seat and decent service you can amuse yourself with today's technology so take that for what its worth.

IMHO the op is bang on - we pay a premium for flights in the country so the service and quality should reflect as much. If I'm forking over 25 bucks for a tiger air or air asia flight it makes perfect sense you have to deal with some discomfort.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by jammies

I wished I would have hired the guy to do it, because buddy still bitches about it to this day. "Why would someone do that? Why should I have to move? What is *wrong* with people?"

No need to bitch and get mad. Just be "angry, little guy" for a bit and cuss the guy out. Big dudes can't hit us little dudes without looking like major ######bags.

[Southside]

From above ..."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."

Share price rarely reflects customer satisfaction. Shareholders may be happy, but, I would wager WestJet has far more customers than shareholders. Longer term poor customer satisfaction will drive that share price down.

[Tyler]

Westjet is a huge dissapointment.

As someone who constantly takes Westjet to Palm Springs:

- continuously late
- planes either have no televisions or satellite is down
- exhobriant prices

I can't wait until Rouge is in place. Air Canada is by far my choice of carriers now. Excellent service, entertainment and in-flight amenities (USB, power, etc)

[r00t]

Originally Posted by Southside

From above ..."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."

Share price rarely reflects customer satisfaction. Shareholders may be happy, but, I would wager WestJet has far more customers than shareholders. Longer term poor customer satisfaction will drive that share price down.

But loads are high. That means more people are flying and capacity is being managed appropriately. To boot we're increasing RASM. Even ignoring that we actually measure guest satisfaction, the other measures indicate more people are flying with us and they're willing to pay more than they have previously to do so.

Over 2/3rds of our guests would strongly recommend us to someone else and we've overtaken AC in guest satisfaction once more after a tough couple of years post Sabre cut over. That's not to say we don't have hiccups, but I can say without question Gregg is a great leader for WestJet.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by r00t

Over 2/3rds of our guests would strongly recommend us to someone else and we've overtaken AC in guest satisfaction once more after a tough couple of years post Sabre cut over. That's not to say we don't have hiccups, but I can say without question Gregg is a great leader for WestJet.

This makes me laugh. So 2/3rd's of your customers are fans, out of the approximately 36% market share WestJet has (September 2012 numbers, close enough). So really, only 24% of all air travellers in Canada would strongly recommend WestJet. The rest either wouldn't recommend you strongly, or are completely indifferent, or as we've seen, are a vocal minority that really wouldn't.

Spouting off about shareholder value and load averages does nothing to appease anyone posting in this thread.

But carry on, it should be interesting.

[r00t]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

This makes me laugh. So 2/3rd's of your customers are fans, out of the approximately 36% market share WestJet has (September 2012 numbers, close enough). So really, only 24% of all air travellers in Canada would strongly recommend WestJet. The rest either wouldn't recommend you strongly, or are completely indifferent, or as we've seen, are a vocal minority that really wouldn't.

Spouting off about shareholder value and load averages does nothing to appease anyone posting in this thread.

But carry on, it should be interesting.

Not overly interested in appeasing anyone. Everyone has a choice who they would like to fly. I certainly appreciate every time someone chooses WJ and hope the next experience everyone has flying with us is a positive one.

I'm not here to change anyone's mind, only present information to give the dialogue some context. I'm open to discussion and can certainly provide as much rationale and context as I am aware of and capable of. I, of course, realize this is probably not a thread that's interested in that though.

[Ryan Coke]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Westjet is a huge dissapointment.

As someone who constantly takes Westjet to Palm Springs:

- continuously late
- planes either have no televisions or satellite is down
- exhobriant prices

I can't wait until Rouge is in place. Air Canada is by far my choice of carriers now. Excellent service, entertainment and in-flight amenities (USB, power, etc)

I'll make a couple of points about YYC-PSP as I operate this quite frequently.

The OTP is a problem, and it actually has to do with the airport configuration. I am sure you've sat waiting for the doors to open to get access to your gate before. We finally have the airport building a tunnel to allow domestic offloads and should help us speed things up. Having said that, it is up to us at Westjet to try to manage that as much as we can, and ultimately our OTP is our responsibility. I just wanted to let you know about some of the infrastructure issues that aren't in our control that we have to deal with.

The entertainment system needs to be improved no question. The reason you never have tv's is that bell put up their new satellite last year and they made the coverage only over Canada. Again, it is up to us to deal with that, and faster than it has been, but that is what has caused no TV when south of the border.

Prices? Do you book early? Prices go up as the airplane fills up. And as you know, nobody else does this direct route from yyc.

Anyway, not trying to make excuses, ultimately it is all our responsibility. Just wanted to highlight some of the reasons behind your complaints.