djjaguar64

I have to disagree about AC being leaps and bounds above charters, even my parents don't want to fly AC. My TA tells me all her Asian customers want to avoid AC as much as possible when flying to Asia.

rankourabu

Yes, we know, and people who flew rouge know.
But I agree with the point that most Canadians, going on that once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe have no clue that Rouge is still rated the worst carrier in the world (lower than Spirit and Ryanair!)

And when one says Air Canada vs Transat, those uneducated travellers think AC>TS, stupidly, yes, but its the way it is.
The casual flyer has no idea that Rouge is not AC, because it still says Air Canada on their ticket.

kwflyer

And yet many of the apologists/naysayers said 4 extra flights of WJ wasn't going to be a threat to AC. Interesting how AC thinks differently.

It will be interesting to see how WJ's seating compares to Rouge though. I'm predicting some major price breaks though.

Mods can we merge these threads?

arf04

Of course AC has to take WS seriously, no matter what any of the naysayers have to say about it. If WS makes it work, then there will be way more than 4 extra flights.

WS has the ability to tap into its own significant customer base to feed their new flights, so that should help them but it'll be a tough slog nevertheless.

By going into LGW AC is competing with its LHR service, too, though. That should be interesting to watch. At what point is it not worth gutting yields just to get market share.

rankourabu

One just has to look at VX example.
AC engaged in predatory pricing until they drove them out, then prices went back up.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-c...carve-out.html

acysb87

Sounds like attempts to get to your seat when seated in Y on Rouge.

YoYUL

Yeah way back in the day AC864/865 used to operate at YOW-YMX-LHR-5th freedom tag to one of either NCE/LYS/DUS/DEL.

This is definitely a pre-emptive strike against WS's LGW services. I'd love to see WS think outside the YYC/YYZ box and consider YOW/YWG/YEG-LGW. WS could add LGW too from YHZ & YYT with 73Gs, without even factoring in where the 4 763s will be deployed to/from. Having said all that, I think it's just about in the bag that YYC & YYZ will be selected (and probably YVR too)...just a matter of whether they're all daily or not.

Choosing YWG would make them the darlings of Winnipeg as they'd have the market to themselves. At YEG, they could really stick it to AC with their reductions on YEG-LHR and for YOW, it's always the overlooked airport...i.e. YHZ has more transatlantic capacity this summer than YOW does despite Halifax having 1/3 the population of Ottawa.

xLuther

Now this is the reaction from AC I expected as far as WS flying into LGW, add a LGW route.

HangTen

http://go.distance.ncsu.edu/gd203/wp...olitical-1.jpg

YYZ - LGW competing on price with full domestic connectivity will have no impact whatsoever on pricing from LHR.

Have any of AC's attempts to prevent WJ's strategic expansion ever succeeded over the past 20 years.

HangTen

I'm predicting some major profitability breakthroughs too, but not the sort of breakthroughs desired by a network legacy airline.

Sean Peever

Not looking to tag myself as an apologist here, because I'm not!

But I do not believe that 4 extra flights of WS are a direct threat to AC. If I recall correctly, AC operates close to 700 flights a day around this time of year, I do not believe that the AC business is so shaky that 4 flights from a competitor will make or break AC.

Yes, the flights to Gatwick do seem like a direct attack against WS, but I don't think AC is at all scared about WS making a flight to Gatwick, but instead of sitting back and watching they have decided to step in and take pre-emptive measures.

Wpgjetse

I'm not a casual flyer and I would take Rouge over TA any day. Flown both, and Rouge is better. What I don't understand is how people on this site make statement without flying the airline.

Wpgjetse

Just think, now WestJet can steal more flight info. Better buy a crosscut shredder this time.

rankourabu

http://www.airlinequality.com/airlin...-canada-rouge/

I havent put my hands in a fire either, but heard from others its not pleasant.


Have you flown Rouge without status, in Y, and not in a preferred seat?

Thought so.

Wpgjetse

I have flown Rouge in a non preferred seat(767). I would say it is equal to TA, but you get pts on Rouge. Preferred is is a lot better than TA and is very cheap for a non status pax to get. Why are you making statements if you do not know the product?