WestJet

We look forward to reading your report, HomerJ! Your flight will be different to what you're used to; we're trusting you'll enjoy the experience - and most importantly, your interactions with our people. We truly feel they are what sets us apart from our competitors. Welcome aboard.

It does get a little finnicky, yes. The system is in need of an upgrade, and that has started earlier this month. In time our TVs will be removed from all aircraft and the new system will be available on board our 737s and 767s. Take a look: http://fly.ws/WestJetWiFi.

We'll be getting to these early status-match requests much earlier than the 30-day promise, and any WestJet dollars will be awarded regardless of your status. Hopefully you'll get it before your flight though - reports are our people have today enjoyed acknowledging our Gold members thanks to the flag on the boarding passes.

superangrypenguin

This goes a LONG way. The little things like that which cost close to nothing for an airline goes a LONG way towards loyalty. Kudos to WestJet for that! A good suggestion would be to do so on the plane as well

HomerJ

...I will see how long it takes to get processed.
Thanks WJ board moderator for the welcome...greatly appreciated!

I am curious why the mods moved this post, as my intention was clear, this move was motivated by AC's actions, which is why I posted it in the AC forum.

superangrypenguin

Can you please kindly note and report back on if the foam on the seats are more/less collapsed than on AC? I have chronic back pain and this is really important to me. thanks!!

opethfan

OneWorld membership is far more likely. WS already have an FF partnership with AA (they don't with DL); codeshares with BA and QF; the purchase of high-cycle 767s from QF must have come with some friendly discounts; and the new loyalty tiers look an awful lot like OW ones... I think it'll happen sooner rather than later.

StuMcIlwain

I've flown 6 - 8 WestJet flights per year on average since I abandoned Aeroplan almost a decade ago after they gutted most of the Elite benefits at the time. A few of my observations:

- I have no issues with the seats. They are a little narrower since the planes are 737s instead of Airbus, but most people won't notice.
- The buy-on-board is not as good as what AC has on offer and is expensive for what you get. The sandwiches are small. Most people seem to bring their own food.
- I have never once had a bad experience with a WestJet check-in agent, gate agent, or flight attendant. No doubt grumpy staff must exist somewhere, but I've never encountered them. The atmosphere is more laid back than Air Canada. The staff are approachable and happy to be of service. They also try to fix problems rather than telling you to contact Customer Relations.
- The lame jokes have mostly disappeared from the in-flight announcements.
- I've never had to wait more than a few minutes to check-in. If you prefer to check-in with an agent rather than a machine, they are happy to oblige.
- They will hold planes for people connecting under reasonable circumstances. They aren't going to wait 20 minutes when there is another flight with seats in a hour, but they will often wait a few minutes and they will hold the last flight of the day for a bit longer. They figure this out without you having to do anything.
- Hold times on the phone have gotten much worse over the years, but there is a feature where they will call you back when it's your turn to speak with an agent rather than leaving you on hold for an hour. Still, gone are the days when a human picked up the phone on the second ring.

Overall, I've been happy with them.

superangrypenguin

I noticed this too, but it turns on seatguru that it isn't true. WS has more shoulder room. I still don't understand why

LockheedElectra

Not exactly true. If you book a codeshare on the DL site, you get full SQM. I have done this several times this year. I had no problem flying on WJ, however until now if was definitely my second choice as I chased SE status. Another 1000 miles today on a day trip to EWR, so I'm now 1500M from MM status, then I'm free!

arf04

I don't know if they are more or less collapsed than on AC aircraft, but being one of those flyers who flies AC and WS regularly I don't generally find a huge difference in seat comfort. The Plus seats offer enough legroom for me to make them work for my comfort and I find any WS seat is more comfortable than the Embraer ones overall.

superangrypenguin

Thanks for your feedback

StuMcIlwain

Seatguru is often wrong, and in this case, it has to be. There's only so much space for the seats. The width will be about 17 inches, maybe a small fraction of an inch more.

Perhaps the 18.5" is for the cushions, not between the armrests.

ffsim

There's no question, WS' 737s are narrower than AC's A319/320/321... You're absolutely right.

opethfan

While you may get SkyMiles on WS metal booked through DL, WS accept AA's FF numbers, and vice versa. On westjet.com the only FF programs accepted are Westjet and AAdvantage, no matter whose metal.

WestJet

We currently have three different types of seats on our Boeing 737s (and another type exclusively on our WestJet Encore Q400s).

Our first jet to feature our *fourth* generation Boeing seats will arrive in December. The new seat is the Recaro BL3520. It's a WestJet-specific version (we wanted a bit more comfort in the seat cushion so they tailored the existing product to our request). All Boeings will be retro-fitted with the new product over the next two years or so. The new seats feature individual power outlets (both 110-volt and USB), with the seat pocket up the top. We're NOT adding rows during the slimline seat install so you'll soon enjoy an additional inch or so of legroom.

TheGreatestX

And CX and JL.