Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[MoneyGuy]

^I think the email is legit but if I can’t talk to Air Canada I’m unable to verify it.

[Wormius]

I found that usually airlines are responsive on their online chat portals or through their social media accounts if you need info from them.

[pseudoreality]

I recently booked my family for a French vacation in November. I've been tracking flights with Westjet and booked when it was a pretty good deal for all four of us. Now a week later I get an email from Westjet saying they have changed my itinerary. They gave me three options, click to accept, click to change, or click for refund. However, there was no deadline given for when I needed to accept the changes. Does anyone know if there is a cutoff, other than the day I fly, that I need to accept their changes? I kind of want to keep the free cancelation in my back pocket. I don't like the new itinerary as it includes an overnight in Calgary on the way back and shortens our time in France by a day, but that's not a dealbreaker for me.

[Weitz]

WestJet did the same for me on a Paris flight and i ended up not doing anything but calling them and ended up staying on the same flight I booked… not sure why they bumped us.

[sa226]

This is just a bit of a guess, but I would suspect it might have something to do with the release of the Winter Schedule last week. Where there could have been some adjustments to the schedule which impacted your itinerary.


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[pseudoreality]

Last time I flew Westjet was Christmas 2021 when they were canceling flights left right and centre. I gamed the system a little by booking a cheap route/itinerary that I didn't want, waiting for them to change things on me, and then having them put me on the route I wanted for no extra charge.

I'm sure things will change again and I'm in no rush to review the itinerary in detail. I'm just wondering if there is a time limit to me not responding?

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by pseudoreality

Last time I flew Westjet was Christmas 2021 when they were canceling flights left right and centre. I gamed the system a little by booking a cheap route/itinerary that I didn't want, waiting for them to change things on me, and then having them put me on the route I wanted for no extra charge.

I'm sure things will change again and I'm in no rush to review the itinerary in detail. I'm just wondering if there is a time limit to me not responding?

Only potential downside I could see is your alternatives become fewer the longer you leave it if you don't like the one being proposed and other flights have filled up.

[Johnny199r]

I board and there’s someone in my seat (row 2, only 4 seats in the entire row) and they stowed their luggage sideways, so as to take up the whole bin for 2 medium sized bags.

Airlines are terrible, but so are travellers. Idiots everywhere when you travel now.

[Wormius]

It’s easy to be frustrated by people who can’t put their things away properly, but it is a lot more pleasurable to take their things and squish the hell out of them to get your stuff to fit in.

I dunno though, all of these issues take less than a minute to resolve - you tell them they’re sitting in your seat, meanwhile open the bin and shove your stuff in, preferably right in front of theirs, so they have to take your bags out for you when you land. Win-win.

[Wormius]

Passport question - do you need to apply for a new passport for children as they transition from "child" to "adult"? For example, if you got a new child passport when the child was 16, do you need a new one a year later, or is still good for 5 years until they're 21?

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Passport question - do you need to apply for a new passport for children as they transition from "child" to "adult"? For example, if you got a new child passport when the child was 16, do you need a new one a year later, or is still good for 5 years until they're 21?

The child passport is valid until the expiry date even if that's after they turn 16, so they don't need to re-apply once they turn 16 for an adult passport.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration.../standard.html

[RandySportak]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Awesome I'll definitely check those out. I've just been mainlining tourist youtube channels during slow periods at work all night so more to add to the list are definitely welcome!

May I suggest going to - the Canadian pub, The Maple Leaf. (https://www.greeneking.co.uk/pubs/gr...don/maple-leaf) as a pub, it's OK, but it is fun to have a taste of home.

I'll hop on board about the museums, the National Gallery is excellent.

Never been to the Churchill War Rooms, but have it on my list next time. There's also the Borough Market.

[Weitz]

What’s the best way to get an infant passport these days?

Send the wife and kid to the office before it opens and wait? Or just mail it in? How long should we be expecting for it?

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Weitz

What’s the best way to get an infant passport these days?

Send the wife and kid to the office before it opens and wait? Or just mail it in? How long should we be expecting for it?

We did it by mail about a year ago.
If you already have travel dates, check online what's required. You may have to do in person if within a certain window.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

We did it by mail about a year ago.
If you already have travel dates, check online what's required. You may have to do in person if within a certain window.

No travel dates yet. But looking to book oct 1 and November 25.

I’ll take a look. Thanks.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Also tripple check your application and that the photos are signed.
We missed a signature and they never told us anything was missing until we followed up closer to our travel date. We then had to redo it and they rushed the passport to be ready the day before our flight.

We also heard a lot of people would book a refundable hotel & flight somewhere just to show dates as they were prioritizing people with dates already booked.
Not the honest thing to do but something to know.

[Flaming Choy]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Too bad the robot show didn’t make it through Covid, that was a rad time

Agreed, it was definitely an experience. It's coming to Calgary though, not sure if its a knock-off or the same group.

https://explorehidden.com/event/deta...algary-1551640

[MoneyGuy]

A few days ago I mentioned being contacted about compensation from someone claiming to be from Air Canada. The person has our names, date, flight number, everything on a cancelled AC flight. He said we’d be contacted to facilitate a transfer to our account.

It seemed legit because he had so much information but wouldn’t give an AC number I could call to verify. I’d had no luck getting AC on the phone. Anyway, the compensation has been sent to my wife. I don’t know who the other guy is but it seems he was a scammer. Anyway, it’s all rectified.

[calgarygeologist]

WestJet has done some weird things with their winter schedule in particular for Las Vegas. Gone is the ideal 10:30 YYC-LAS flight and the 1pm return to Calgary is gone. Instead there is an 8am flight to Vegas or 3:30pm and the return flights are in the evening (6:15 or 8:30.)

That 8am flight is pretty stupid because it means getting up early but also you arrive way to early in Vegas and hotel check-in generally won't be available so it means leaving bags with the bell desk. I'm guessing this also makes connecting schedules somewhat undesirable for people that have to connect in Calgary. The 6:15pm return is probably not that bad but I really liked the early afternoon flight home.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Weitz

What’s the best way to get an infant passport these days?

Send the wife and kid to the office before it opens and wait? Or just mail it in? How long should we be expecting for it?

We mailed and got it back faster than the timeframe they said it would take. Super easy.