Error 601

If my inbound flight to say YVR or YYC were late and I missed the last possible connection on WestJet metal that day, would they put me on another airline or just tell me to get lost and come back tomorrow with a folksy smile? Could I reasonably expect a cash (i.e. not a credit) refund for the unused portion of the ticket?

Their flight information PDF doesn't seem to address this eventuality.

StuMcIlwain

Most likely they would hold the connecting flight for you or put you up in a hotel overnight.

Unless things have changed, they offer hotels even when the misconnect is due to things like weather, ATC, etc.

Error 601

That isn't terribly helpful when you need to be somewhere and there is another actionable alternative.

opethfan

I'm not sure why you're being snarky to a random commenter on the internet. Have you tried calling WS and asking them yourself? Or rescheduling your flight earlier so that you have a little more wiggle room in the itinerary?

Error 601

I certainly didn't intended to direct snark at StuMcIlwain.

But I think everyone recognizes there is usually some difference between policy as communicated by a document or representative and what occurs in real life.

I'm just curious, most of my flying between Western Canada and the US has been on Air Canada. However Air Canada appears to have formed the opinion that Calgary and Vancouver are Edmonton or Saskatoon like backwaters and no one carrier really covers what Air Canada once offered. It's a mish-mash of which WestJet is a just one piece.

StuMcIlwain

Back in the day, CP and AC would transfer passengers between each other to deal with missed connections and mechanical problems. I've never seen that happen with WS and AC. But the only way to find out for sure is to call WS.

MasterGeek

Unless you are a mom travelling with baby, there is no generosity at all

WR Cage

If you are on WS ticket stock, they will not put you on a competing airline. There is a small chance they would put you on codeshare partner if you destination was to a codeshare city. North American codeshare partners are AA and DL.

That said, WS has limited interline and codeshare program. Generally speaking WS does not codeshare or interline on last flight of the day, which limits the possibility of being stuck because of a missed connection.

Overriding everything. If you have separate tickets, they won't do anything for you. With the exception if separate tickets, there is always faint hope that some WS agent will take pity on you and do something extraordinary. Ws agents are empowered to do things like that. But as Mastergeek stated, unless you have extenuating personal circumstances don't expect to be the recipient of empowerment.

Finally, if your travelling for work purposes and things go sideways, invoking status or using need to get to important work meeting is not likely to be a valid reason for extenuating circumstances.

Error 601

I can live with that provided the unused portion of the fare is refundable if I so choose to wander over to another airline to complete the journey in a timely fashion.

mattaw

There is no value in the "unused portion" when making a connection if you booked on one ticket and paid one fare. That fare you paid does not break down into each connecting flight so there is technically nothing to refund to. You might get a credit if you choose to forfeit the next available option.

WestJet

This isn't entirely accurate, but close. We build most of the cost ticket into the first flight of any connecting itinerary. If you break a journey in a connecting city, there is a small residual amount that could be refunded, however we emphasize small and would encourage you to keep your expectations low.

Should the delay or cancellation take place in a connecting city, we'd suggest first speaking with our agents to find out what new connection has been found, and then ask them about what compensation they could arrange for you before making a decision about the connecting flight. We'll generally offer a higher amount in a 12-month flight-only travel credit than in a cash refund.

Naturally, should a delay or cancellation take place in your origin or destination, we can refund the full amount of your ticket paid for that one-way journey.

Clear as mud?
~Darren