Obscene lineups yesterday at YYC

billybob123 · Nov 7, 09, 2:58 pm

Seemingly because of "hiccups" in the new Sabre system, the lineups yesterday afternoon at YYC were ridiculous. There had to be at least 200 people in line to check bags ("Self-check") and 150 in the "need-to-check-in" lines. I talked to the CSA who checked me in and she said it was a crazy day (and has been like that all week in the afternoons) - and all because of the new system.

I've never seen lines like that - the lines stretched all the way to the charter checkin counters at the very end of the concourse. Crazy. My wife, son, and I arrived at 4:15 to check in for our 6:10 to YOW, and we only got though security at 5:45. Made for a pretty stressful travel experience!!

That all being said - the CSAs were fantastic and in good spirits, even though I'm sure they were dealing with abuse from frustrated passengers all day. Good on the CSAs for doing such a good job with such a painful situation to deal with. (our CSA managed to get us an extra seat for our baby even though she wasn't sure how and it took her 10 minutes to force the computer to do it... great job!!!)

jazzsax · Nov 9, 09, 11:42 am

you'd think after 2-3 weeks you'd already have the issues fixed.

I guess this is what happens when your employees are your owners!

slashd0t · Nov 9, 09, 11:18 pm

I can only imagine the lynching if this was Air Canada

HangTen · Nov 10, 09, 3:25 pm

At least Westjet was smart enough to change the systems well before a peak season!! I would say they have until about Decmber 15th to get things to where they used to be before they changed or they have a good chance of destroying the reputation they have built since they started flying. I don't know what they'll do if a couple of bad snowfalls happen!!

You can't even do a multiple flight booking or check arrivals! I'll bet there are airlines in South America who have websites better than Westjets right now. Anyone who has been at Westjet for a long time must be very unhappy.

I have never heard of a computer changeover smoothly. I read that it is like doing a brain transplant on sprinter running a marathon 24 hours a day!! You can plan all you want, but until you do it, you really don't know what is going to happen!!!

Ace Cdn · Nov 10, 09, 5:46 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by HangTen

At least Westjet was smart enough to change the systems well before a peak season!! I would say they have until about Decmber 15th to get things to where they used to be before they changed or they have a good chance of destroying the reputation they have built since they started flying. I don't know what they'll do if a couple of bad snowfalls happen!!

You can't even do a multiple flight booking or check arrivals! I'll bet there are airlines in South America who have websites better than Westjets right now. Anyone who has been at Westjet for a long time must be very unhappy.

I have never heard of a computer changeover smoothly. I read that it is like doing a brain transplant on sprinter running a marathon 24 hours a day!! You can plan all you want, but until you do it, you really don't know what is going to happen!!!

you can check arrivals on the web. It's under tools and flight tracker.

billybob123 · Nov 11, 09, 8:09 am

And so on the return YOW-YYC on Monday night, there wasn't a single person in line to check bags when I showed up - granted I was 2.5 hours early, and there was only the YYC and YYZ flights, but what a difference.

Plus I finally managed to get a ticket cancelled for the same flight (was $80 more than when I rebooked) at 12:30 pm on Monday, finally getting through after a 60+ minute wait on the phone, on about my eighth attempt to call. Sigh.

The Lev · Yesterday, 9:12 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by billybob123

Seemingly because of "hiccups" in the new Sabre system, the lineups yesterday afternoon at YYC were ridiculous. There had to be at least 200 people in line to check bags ("Self-check") and 150 in the "need-to-check-in" lines.

I had a similar experience on November 10th for a 18:15 flight from YYC to YYZ. The check in agent said the reservation system was working fine it was just the large amount of traffic. If so, God help them when the Christmas rush starts.