WestJet to charge some travellers for first checked bag

[flamefan74]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

The reason they are saying this is that the fee only impacts ECONO travelers, not those who book Flex or Plus seats. On all flights, there is a significantly less amount of Econo seat pricing allocated. Pricing between Flex and Econo isn't a huge gap.

Checking on a flight this morning. Difference between Flex and Econo was $178.90 return and that included $50 checked bag fee on Econo. The only added benefit for Flex is lower cancellation fees and seat selection, which amounts to $30. So where does the extra $148.90 come from? And as luck would have it, there are no Econo seats available on that flight.

And this isn't just Westjet. Checked AC and they were the same. At what point do we start to compare them to Canadian telco's?

[undercoverbrother]

http://www.rregtc-assoc.org/2014/07/...ge-allowances/

Canadian Forces Members & Veterans – WestJet & Air Canada Enhanced Baggage Allowances:

CANFORGEN 110/14 CMP 047/14

SUBJECT: WESTJET AND AIR CANADA ENHANCED BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE

1. CURRENTLY SERVING AND FORMER MEMBERS OF THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES (CAF) NOW BENEFIT FROM AN ENHANCED BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE WHEN THEY TRAVEL ON A WESTJET, AIR CANADA, AIR CANADA ROUGE OR AIR CANADA EXPRESS FLIGHT. THESE OFFERS APPLY TO BOTH DUTY AND LEISURE TRAVEL

2. THROUGH WESTJET, ALL CURRENTLY SERVING AND FORMER MEMBERS OF THE CAF CAN CHECK FOUR PIECES OF LUGGAGE FREE OF CHARGE

3. THROUGH AIR CANADA, ALL CURRENTLY SERVING AND FORMER MEMBERS CAN CHECK THREE PIECES OF LUGGAGE FREE OF CHARGE, EACH WEIGHING UP TO 32KG (70 LB)

4. AFTER COMPLETING THEIR CHECK-IN, MEMBERS SHOULD SEE AN AIRPORT AGENT TO HAVE THEIR BAGGAGE FEE WAIVED, UPON PRESENTATION OF MILITARY IDENTIFICATION

5. ACCEPTABLE FORMS OF CANADIAN MILITARY IDENTIFICATION ARE:

A. CANADIAN FORCES MEMBER OR VETERAN CFONE CARD (WITH PHOTO ID) REGISTER HERE

B. CANADIAN FORCES IDENTIFICATION CARD (NDI 20)

C. RECORD OF SERVICE CARD (NDI 75)

D. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE (CF 54) OR THE IDENTIFICATION CARD (CF 75), BOTH AVAILABLE FROM DIRECTOR MILITARY CAREERS ADMINISTRATION

6. AS THE OFFICIAL DISCOUNT PROGRAM FOR THE CAF, THE CF APPRECIATION PROGRAM OFFERS MEMBERS OF THE CAF COMMUNITY ACCESS TO GOODS AND SERVICES AT DISCOUNTED RATES. THE CF APPRECIATION PROGRAM IS PLEASED TO INCLUDE AIR CANADA AND WESTJET AMONG ITS INDUSTRY PARTNERS

haha!

[Art Vandelay]

Air Canada is charging the fee for Mexico and the Caribbean whereas Westjet is not. So there's something.

[Acey]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

I wonder when people will start to realize that Westjet is no longer "the little airline that could", and is nothing more than a budget carrier charging market prices, shuttling cattle like everyone else.

I prefer to call WestJet's costs "normal"... Air Canada's are a bit inflated but have come down since they drastically cut costs by outsourcing, offloading airplanes, etc. WestJet no longer even pretends to be a budget carrier, nor can they when they match fares with AC on nearly every route.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Acey

I prefer to call WestJet's costs "normal"... Air Canada's are a bit inflated but have come down since they drastically cut costs by outsourcing, offloading airplanes, etc. WestJet no longer even pretends to be a budget carrier, nor can they when they match fares with AC on nearly every route.

What I find laughable is the paying for checked baggage scheme is generally used by budget airlines to offset costs that aren't covered by very low airfares (jetstar/air asia etc). Unless AC or WJ are going to start charging a truly budget airfare as an option this is a complete rip off for the consumer again.

[Acey]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

What I find laughable is the paying for checked baggage scheme is generally used by budget airlines to offset costs that aren't covered by very low airfares (jetstar/air asia etc).

Not true. American, Delta and United collect bag fees on most flights and they are the #1, 2, and 3 airlines in the world by passengers carried. And Southwest, the king of low cost airlines in the world and profitable for 40 years in a row, collects no bag fees.

[Slava]

Looks like the good times for travellers are starting early! Air Canada began its crackdown this morning: http://www.bnn.ca/News/2014/09/30/Ai...y-on-bags.aspx

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Slava

Looks like the good times for travellers are starting early! Air Canada began its crackdown this morning: http://www.bnn.ca/News/2014/09/30/Ai...y-on-bags.aspx

I see this as a good move. If all travelers follow the same guidelines, then we all have room for our carry on bags.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Slava

Looks like the good times for travellers are starting early! Air Canada began its crackdown this morning: http://www.bnn.ca/News/2014/09/30/Ai...y-on-bags.aspx

I wish they had started this sooner. There is always someone bringing a carry on that clearly wouldn't fit in the sizing thing.

[DownhillGoat]

Hopefully they keep it up and stay vigilant. And other airlines follow suit. United is the absolute worst for that. I've contemplated paying for priority boarding just so I can fit my tiny backpack in the bins.

[Bigtime]

Count me in the camp that believes this should have started happening years ago.

[Jimmy Stang]

Has anyone had any experience with gate checking since the new regulations have come into effect? I'll happily volunteer to have my second carry-on piece gate checked if it will free up space in the cabin. Are the airlines allowing, encouraging, or discouraging this? Obviously it would still need to be within the allowable size limits, but many people don't need BOTH pieces on the plane.

[Tron_fdc]

Flew WJ to Halifax last week, and I had 2 dubious pieces of carry on (both were pushing the limits).

No issues at all.

There were lots of people gate checking for free as well, no problems there from what I could tell.

[Dion]

New air travel realities give wing to flight frustration

Views from a flight attentant with Air Canada......

Then there’s the whole carry-on baggage nightmare. “It falls to us to enforce it,” she says, citing stories of angry customers inflicting on gate personnel and flight attendants everything from verbal to physical abuse, after being told their bags need to be checked.

“It’s getting brutal,” she says, noting on one recent international flight, she and her crew had to remove more than 30 bags that violated carry-on size limits.

When I ask her about Tuesday’s trial crackdown on carry-on violators at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport departure gates, Karen lets out a sardonic laugh. “They have all these extra people on hand to do it properly,” she says. “I give it three weeks, then it’ll be back to us doing it on our own.”

Not all frequent flyers have a beef with the new fees. “It’s not that hard to pack a small suitcase,” says Dale Stanway, a former city of Calgary manager and now a director at Global Governance Advisers, on his way Tuesday afternoon to a meeting in Toronto. “I just hope that they do a good job enforcing it; I see a lot of carry-on at the gate, and I can tell instantly it should have been checked luggage.”

As far as flight attendant Karen is concerned, though, such a peaceful scenario is a mere pipe dream. “I’m preparing for the worst,” she says. “Fasten your seatbelts.”

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/ca...205/story.html

Sid Cupido · Top Commenter
and this behavior is a surprise to the airlines? They insist on treating their passengers like penned cattle and when those same passengers react like animals the airlines are mystified? How idiotic are they?

Jim Cherewick · Vancouver School of ArtCan't help but comment here but it's been my observation that most travellers carry far more luggage than they actually need. Think it through people; most destinations have laundry facilities, do you really need to pack 3 weeks worth of clothing for a 2 week vacation? My good wife and I went to England in 2013 with a legitimate carry on each only, and guess what after laundering our underwear more than a few times arrived back home clean and refreshed and with a few well selected souvenirs in the same carry-ons that we left with. We don't go on vacation to pack baggage with us (that's a real drag) oooh pardon the pun, we go elsewhere to enjoy what we don't have at home. So quit b____ing already and plan your luggage to enjoy your next vacation

[normtwofinger]

In the past few years I've flown with AA, United and Delta back up to Calgary. Recently I took a Westjet flight and was surprised at how dated the airline felt in comparison to the airlines I have become used to flying with. It feels like WJ is stuck in an early 2000s time warp. They need to rebrand.

[tvp2003]

They should definitely regulate size of carry ons

They should fata off if it weighs an extra pound (or 5) though. Hope it doesn't get to that point.

[Bigtime]

Want a carry-on that easily fits the requirements and visually helps bring back some of the glory days of air travel?

Get the Rimowa Classic Flight cabin:



http://www.rimowa.com/en-us/classic-flight/971.52.00.2

[burn_this_city]

How much for that beauty?

[Bigtime]

You know what they say, if you gotta ask...

I think they are around $600 though.

[Tron_fdc]

I don't feel sorry for the frontline airline personnel AT ALL here. Your company changed all the allowances, and you're the face of the company. Of course you're going to bear the brunt of it when people lose their minds.

Dion's quote summed it up beautifully

Sid Cupido · Top Commenter
and this behavior is a surprise to the airlines? They insist on treating their passengers like penned cattle and when those same passengers react like animals the airlines are mystified? How idiotic are they?

I will continue to push my baggage limits when I have to, and if I get questioned by passengers I will gladly refer them to the flight attendant. The airlines created this problem, they can deal with it.