My personal experience of WS as an AC Elite who may be switching
Mar 25, 2015, 9:09 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 283
My personal experience of WS as an AC Elite who may be switching
Mr. Westjet (aka Darren) had asked me for my experiences with WS a few threads ago. I figure I should write up something from the perspective of an AC Elite (really sorry, not a SE and never will be, sob… I know I am (and will always be) a second class citizen in the AC world).
My honeymoon with WS is officially over, I started my WS trial with the sole intention of securing Gold status for one more year (a nice alternative to using AC exclusively). Theoretically (if all of the flights get posted) I accomplished it. It is decision time to determine if I should continue to channel spend to WS or return to AC for the rest of the year. My latest trip with WS is fairly representative of my experiences to date.
Flight One: WS 171 YEG-YVR: Boarding was super smooth, there was proper announcement of preboarding, gold boarding and zone boarding; everyone boarded 25 min. before flight time. There was a 15 min delay because of a missing PAX who happened to be a WS employee, I can tell every crew member was visibly unhappy about their colleague’s absence. But they kept everyone updated. Westjet efficiency showed when 10 min. to flight time, right on the button, the captain gave the hand gesture and door was closed, no more waiting.
Seated in Plus, the service was fantastic, my sincere compliment to Jodi the SD. The announcements were friendly and warm. There were a few IRROPs and Jodi handled all of them with a smile. The biggest one was when the plane was being deiced, a green “river” formed from the door into the cockpit – yes, those airplane doors are definitely not waterproof. In between mopping the floor, dealing with a missing pax, dealing with a couple of connection questions; she still managed to brew a fresh pot of coffee and topped mine up a couple of times; I wondered if some of the green stuff dropped into the coffee, it tasted extra good! She also double checked to make sure I didn’t want anything from the menu because it was included in my fare. The biggest thing for me was, SHE NEVER LOST HER SMILE! It was a great way to start the day.
Flight 2: WS3283 YVR-YXS: Encore flight, almost typical, boarding was chaotic, no preboarding announcement, just a general free-for-all gate rush. Everyone boarded 15 min. before flight time; for the next 20 min., crew did absolutely nothing more than standing there, and looking pretty (and they were very pretty). Weather was a factor but no one knew until the captain made a late announcement, ultimately flight arrived 20 min. late.
After takeoff, service on board was not good – the FAs were very young, no smiles, no pleasantries, full of attitudes, announcements were read directly from a card, no offer of food from the menu, once the initial cup of coffee dropped off, no sign of the FAs until landing time despite the fact that the flight was half empty; I stared at my empty coffee cup and cookie wrapper the entire trip. The FAs did the minimum then sat down at the back to read magazines. My biggest criticism about this flight is the coffee, it was old, sour, and cold; obviously, the magical green stuff didn’t make it into this pot. As an airline, WS would be surprised on how a fresh cup of coffee and a smile can sway the opinion of an entire flight.
Flight 3: WS3284 YXS-YVR: The arrival of the plane was late, but 20 min. to turn a DH4 around should be adequate; not so, boarding started after the scheduled flight time. Typical Encore boarding again, it was chaotic, general boarding started after allowing for 3 seconds of preboarding, no gold status boarding. I don’t think families with young children had a chance to make it to the front before the mob rushed the gate. No gold boarding means a fight for overhead bin space even though I was in the Plus area, no clear labelling, no priority boarding, means every man for himself for overhead spaces.
After boarding, a lady found that another person had the exact same seat assignment, more confusions. Door closed very late even after everyone boarded, the FAs seem very inexperienced and have miscounted at least 3 times. I had wanted to stand up and do the count for the FA as she seems to have difficulty counting paxs in three sections (the whole weight distribution thing is kind of critical for DH4s). Needless to say, the flight was late. The announcements were somewhat friendly but the service was mechanical – no smiles, no pleasantries. Mechanical = everything done right by the book but with none of the legendary Westjeter personalities injected into the service.
According to my favorite flight tracking website, a miracle had happened, flight departed 30 min. late but arrived only 5 min. late; in reality, it did not, it arrived 30 min. late and I had to dash through YVR OJ style for my next flight only to find my next flight delayed as well. This friendly older pax laughed at me as I came huffing and puffing up to the gate: “the one time you are glad that your flight is delayed, eh?”
Flight 4: WS 184 YVR-YEG: Not sure why, but boarding started very late, flight delayed about 30min. There were proper preboarding, gold boarding and zone boarding. The door closed superfast once the final pax arrived for the complete full flight. Despite a late start, the boarding was very efficient. The service was mechanical, everything done right but done so without any energy or personality.
You may think that I consider mechanical unacceptable, to the contrary, as a FF, if every flight is on time and mechanical, I would rate that airline a 4 star airline (you need to do a little extra to earn that final star). I have no issue at all if something is on time and by-the-book all the time.
Despite the tone I may have adopted above, my overall WS evaluation was actually positive.
- On the ground, AC wins, they simply know how to handle FFs, irrops, changes better. Elite phone numbers is a big winner. Elite check-in counters may be important if I actually had luggage to check-in but I don’t.
- Mobile apps, ever since WS added the check-in functionality, both airlines’ apps worked good enough; no clear preference here anymore.
- AC’s unlimited MLL access is a winner for me; although I would be happy with limited lounge access if only WS eliminate the need for a voucher. Mr. Wesjet, can you just give us a barcode on the WS app and bill us later if we exceed our quota? The need for vouchers eliminated all of those short <30min. visits to MLL (you know, just enough time to grab a coffee, cookie and banana before running for the next gate). Lol, my assistant just have to put more Starbucks receipts on my expense reports. And somehow, I don’t miss the “new and improved” soups and salads at the domestic MLLs; my last visit to the YVR domestic MLL was pretty bad.
- Scheduling, (a very person by person subject), to me, WS wins by a mile, for the short domestic routes which I fly most, WS times are better (earlier arrivals and departures shortly after workday is done), connections are better, less time wasted waiting in airports.
- Ability to prebook seats, not an issue if you are flying WS Plus but I can see it being a clear AC winner if you are not. Ability to book seats on AC as an Elite for Flex is great.
- On time performance, as you can see above, WS=AC in that aspect.
- Boarding process, it’s a tie, both airlines have their separate issues. AC GAs are more organized but the WS paxs are more obedient; I think the WS paxs have not gained that DYKWIA attitude yet, lol. But, the lack of “gold” boarding on half of the flights I fly on (Encore flights, especially when overhead bin space at a premium with DH4s) is an upsetting factor for me. I have read about issues about GAs challenging FFs on carryon sizes, I personally never experienced it (not a single time), may be because I only travel with a smaller 7in. thick roller and a laptop backpack.
- On-board crew experience, it’s a tie, it all comes down to the crew, someday you get a good one, other days, you don’t. The more intangible part though is NO MORE DH1s and DH3s!!!! Omg, for those who don’t fly smaller centers a lot, you have no idea how big the improvement is flying on DH4s.
- Plus seating is a winner for me, as a domestic FF who flies generally less than 2 hours per segment, a J seat is not necessary; the WS Plus seat is exactly what I need and book every time. It also negates all of the issues with WS paid seat selections. The guaranteed space in the “Plus” bins on the 737s is a winner too. Because the bins are clearly labelled “Plus”, I have never seen any non-plus pax leaves carryons in them. And don’t get me started on the Rouge Premium Economy, lol. BTW, why are the DH4 plus seats and bins not labelled?
The bottom line is that the WS onboard experience is no worse than AC and is probably better in the Plus area (vs. preferred seats). The Plus product, as long as it stays competitive pricing wise, it will keep me coming back. It may be of interest for you to know that my WS Plus fare for my last trip was less than AC Flex fare for an identical itinerary; this is not always the case but Plus is not a huge premium to Flex and work requires me to fly Flex+ because of irrops.
With 2 or less international trip a year, the decision have changed for me, I am wondering if I actually need status with AC now. So, any other AC elite thinking of switching? I assume you will have to be a domestic flyer like me.
As usual, the above is my personal opinion as a nexus carrying flex/plus fare FF with 50 segments in western Canada, 6-8 segments to eastern Canada, 4-6 segments to the US and 1-2 TPAC/TATL trips a year. If your flying pattern is different, your needs will be different.
My honeymoon with WS is officially over, I started my WS trial with the sole intention of securing Gold status for one more year (a nice alternative to using AC exclusively). Theoretically (if all of the flights get posted) I accomplished it. It is decision time to determine if I should continue to channel spend to WS or return to AC for the rest of the year. My latest trip with WS is fairly representative of my experiences to date.
Flight One: WS 171 YEG-YVR: Boarding was super smooth, there was proper announcement of preboarding, gold boarding and zone boarding; everyone boarded 25 min. before flight time. There was a 15 min delay because of a missing PAX who happened to be a WS employee, I can tell every crew member was visibly unhappy about their colleague’s absence. But they kept everyone updated. Westjet efficiency showed when 10 min. to flight time, right on the button, the captain gave the hand gesture and door was closed, no more waiting.
Seated in Plus, the service was fantastic, my sincere compliment to Jodi the SD. The announcements were friendly and warm. There were a few IRROPs and Jodi handled all of them with a smile. The biggest one was when the plane was being deiced, a green “river” formed from the door into the cockpit – yes, those airplane doors are definitely not waterproof. In between mopping the floor, dealing with a missing pax, dealing with a couple of connection questions; she still managed to brew a fresh pot of coffee and topped mine up a couple of times; I wondered if some of the green stuff dropped into the coffee, it tasted extra good! She also double checked to make sure I didn’t want anything from the menu because it was included in my fare. The biggest thing for me was, SHE NEVER LOST HER SMILE! It was a great way to start the day.
Flight 2: WS3283 YVR-YXS: Encore flight, almost typical, boarding was chaotic, no preboarding announcement, just a general free-for-all gate rush. Everyone boarded 15 min. before flight time; for the next 20 min., crew did absolutely nothing more than standing there, and looking pretty (and they were very pretty). Weather was a factor but no one knew until the captain made a late announcement, ultimately flight arrived 20 min. late.
After takeoff, service on board was not good – the FAs were very young, no smiles, no pleasantries, full of attitudes, announcements were read directly from a card, no offer of food from the menu, once the initial cup of coffee dropped off, no sign of the FAs until landing time despite the fact that the flight was half empty; I stared at my empty coffee cup and cookie wrapper the entire trip. The FAs did the minimum then sat down at the back to read magazines. My biggest criticism about this flight is the coffee, it was old, sour, and cold; obviously, the magical green stuff didn’t make it into this pot. As an airline, WS would be surprised on how a fresh cup of coffee and a smile can sway the opinion of an entire flight.
Flight 3: WS3284 YXS-YVR: The arrival of the plane was late, but 20 min. to turn a DH4 around should be adequate; not so, boarding started after the scheduled flight time. Typical Encore boarding again, it was chaotic, general boarding started after allowing for 3 seconds of preboarding, no gold status boarding. I don’t think families with young children had a chance to make it to the front before the mob rushed the gate. No gold boarding means a fight for overhead bin space even though I was in the Plus area, no clear labelling, no priority boarding, means every man for himself for overhead spaces.
After boarding, a lady found that another person had the exact same seat assignment, more confusions. Door closed very late even after everyone boarded, the FAs seem very inexperienced and have miscounted at least 3 times. I had wanted to stand up and do the count for the FA as she seems to have difficulty counting paxs in three sections (the whole weight distribution thing is kind of critical for DH4s). Needless to say, the flight was late. The announcements were somewhat friendly but the service was mechanical – no smiles, no pleasantries. Mechanical = everything done right by the book but with none of the legendary Westjeter personalities injected into the service.
According to my favorite flight tracking website, a miracle had happened, flight departed 30 min. late but arrived only 5 min. late; in reality, it did not, it arrived 30 min. late and I had to dash through YVR OJ style for my next flight only to find my next flight delayed as well. This friendly older pax laughed at me as I came huffing and puffing up to the gate: “the one time you are glad that your flight is delayed, eh?”
Flight 4: WS 184 YVR-YEG: Not sure why, but boarding started very late, flight delayed about 30min. There were proper preboarding, gold boarding and zone boarding. The door closed superfast once the final pax arrived for the complete full flight. Despite a late start, the boarding was very efficient. The service was mechanical, everything done right but done so without any energy or personality.
You may think that I consider mechanical unacceptable, to the contrary, as a FF, if every flight is on time and mechanical, I would rate that airline a 4 star airline (you need to do a little extra to earn that final star). I have no issue at all if something is on time and by-the-book all the time.
Despite the tone I may have adopted above, my overall WS evaluation was actually positive.
- On the ground, AC wins, they simply know how to handle FFs, irrops, changes better. Elite phone numbers is a big winner. Elite check-in counters may be important if I actually had luggage to check-in but I don’t.
- Mobile apps, ever since WS added the check-in functionality, both airlines’ apps worked good enough; no clear preference here anymore.
- AC’s unlimited MLL access is a winner for me; although I would be happy with limited lounge access if only WS eliminate the need for a voucher. Mr. Wesjet, can you just give us a barcode on the WS app and bill us later if we exceed our quota? The need for vouchers eliminated all of those short <30min. visits to MLL (you know, just enough time to grab a coffee, cookie and banana before running for the next gate). Lol, my assistant just have to put more Starbucks receipts on my expense reports. And somehow, I don’t miss the “new and improved” soups and salads at the domestic MLLs; my last visit to the YVR domestic MLL was pretty bad.
- Scheduling, (a very person by person subject), to me, WS wins by a mile, for the short domestic routes which I fly most, WS times are better (earlier arrivals and departures shortly after workday is done), connections are better, less time wasted waiting in airports.
- Ability to prebook seats, not an issue if you are flying WS Plus but I can see it being a clear AC winner if you are not. Ability to book seats on AC as an Elite for Flex is great.
- On time performance, as you can see above, WS=AC in that aspect.
- Boarding process, it’s a tie, both airlines have their separate issues. AC GAs are more organized but the WS paxs are more obedient; I think the WS paxs have not gained that DYKWIA attitude yet, lol. But, the lack of “gold” boarding on half of the flights I fly on (Encore flights, especially when overhead bin space at a premium with DH4s) is an upsetting factor for me. I have read about issues about GAs challenging FFs on carryon sizes, I personally never experienced it (not a single time), may be because I only travel with a smaller 7in. thick roller and a laptop backpack.
- On-board crew experience, it’s a tie, it all comes down to the crew, someday you get a good one, other days, you don’t. The more intangible part though is NO MORE DH1s and DH3s!!!! Omg, for those who don’t fly smaller centers a lot, you have no idea how big the improvement is flying on DH4s.
- Plus seating is a winner for me, as a domestic FF who flies generally less than 2 hours per segment, a J seat is not necessary; the WS Plus seat is exactly what I need and book every time. It also negates all of the issues with WS paid seat selections. The guaranteed space in the “Plus” bins on the 737s is a winner too. Because the bins are clearly labelled “Plus”, I have never seen any non-plus pax leaves carryons in them. And don’t get me started on the Rouge Premium Economy, lol. BTW, why are the DH4 plus seats and bins not labelled?
The bottom line is that the WS onboard experience is no worse than AC and is probably better in the Plus area (vs. preferred seats). The Plus product, as long as it stays competitive pricing wise, it will keep me coming back. It may be of interest for you to know that my WS Plus fare for my last trip was less than AC Flex fare for an identical itinerary; this is not always the case but Plus is not a huge premium to Flex and work requires me to fly Flex+ because of irrops.
With 2 or less international trip a year, the decision have changed for me, I am wondering if I actually need status with AC now. So, any other AC elite thinking of switching? I assume you will have to be a domestic flyer like me.
As usual, the above is my personal opinion as a nexus carrying flex/plus fare FF with 50 segments in western Canada, 6-8 segments to eastern Canada, 4-6 segments to the US and 1-2 TPAC/TATL trips a year. If your flying pattern is different, your needs will be different.
Mar 26, 2015, 8:01 am
#2
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: YYG
Programs: airlines and hotels and rental cars - oh my!
Posts: 2,997
Excellent detailed evaluation, Qster, and I would say similar to my own experiences.
I switched to WS for my domestic travel almost three years ago. Schedule was the primary driver, and WS simply beat out AC on the routes that I fly. Cost was also an issue when I first switched, since that was before WS Plus fares and they always worked out to be a good bit less expensive than AC's Tango Plus/Flex fares. Today I book Plus, and still find the costs to be pretty reasonable any time I've compared.
Agree that a warm smile and hot coffee go a long, long way. WS generally gets this. I don't know if AC has figured it out yet.
My flights on Encore have been more of a mixed bag than WS mainline, some have been great, others more like what you described. But they're such short flights, it's not really an issue for me. And right enough, either way it beats being crammed into a dirty old DH1.
Not sure I completely agree that AC wins on the ground. At the gate, I've experienced both free-for-all boardings and wonderful experiences from both AC and WS, so I consider that a wash. The lounge voucher thing is a non-issue for me, since my CC gives me unrestricted lounge access already. Only my opinion, but I find the Amex lounges are generally a bit nicer and quieter than domestic MLLs - especially those in larger airports (YYZ, YVR, YYC), which are often more like refugee camps with all these people slumped over their belongings because there's nowhere left to sit. While that's not a direct WS vs AC thing, point is I do not miss the MLL one bit, there are other options. I never check bags, so never used AC's priority check-in counter and don't miss that either. And Nexus gets me through security and customs painlessly. So for me at least, the on-the-ground experience isn't much different from what it was with AC.
I do like that WS actually answers the phone, rather than consistently putting me on hold for 90 minutes, as was frequently the case on AC's special access Elite line.
For me at least, the switch brought more positives than negatives, and most of the negatives were easily mitigated by credit card.
I switched to WS for my domestic travel almost three years ago. Schedule was the primary driver, and WS simply beat out AC on the routes that I fly. Cost was also an issue when I first switched, since that was before WS Plus fares and they always worked out to be a good bit less expensive than AC's Tango Plus/Flex fares. Today I book Plus, and still find the costs to be pretty reasonable any time I've compared.
Agree that a warm smile and hot coffee go a long, long way. WS generally gets this. I don't know if AC has figured it out yet.
My flights on Encore have been more of a mixed bag than WS mainline, some have been great, others more like what you described. But they're such short flights, it's not really an issue for me. And right enough, either way it beats being crammed into a dirty old DH1.
Not sure I completely agree that AC wins on the ground. At the gate, I've experienced both free-for-all boardings and wonderful experiences from both AC and WS, so I consider that a wash. The lounge voucher thing is a non-issue for me, since my CC gives me unrestricted lounge access already. Only my opinion, but I find the Amex lounges are generally a bit nicer and quieter than domestic MLLs - especially those in larger airports (YYZ, YVR, YYC), which are often more like refugee camps with all these people slumped over their belongings because there's nowhere left to sit. While that's not a direct WS vs AC thing, point is I do not miss the MLL one bit, there are other options. I never check bags, so never used AC's priority check-in counter and don't miss that either. And Nexus gets me through security and customs painlessly. So for me at least, the on-the-ground experience isn't much different from what it was with AC.
I do like that WS actually answers the phone, rather than consistently putting me on hold for 90 minutes, as was frequently the case on AC's special access Elite line.
For me at least, the switch brought more positives than negatives, and most of the negatives were easily mitigated by credit card.
Mar 27, 2015, 9:58 am
#3
Company Representative: WestJet
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Calgary
Programs: WestJet Rewards
Posts: 292
Hey team,
Thanks for the great trip reports. The details is great. They're very helpful for us. In fact I was approached by some other members of our marketing team about your reports before I'd even had a chance to read them myself.
Some of these pieces we've heard loud and clear already: namely that Plus is great value for money and the service provide there is very good. Watch this space! And of course there's the friendliness of our people - and oh how we love being described as pretty!
We know how much it means to our guests that we answer the phone in a timely manner.
On the other hand, we know our guests love zone boarding on our 737s and we look forward to rolling that out on WestJet Encore in the coming months. Qster, we will certainly forward your negative experience with the crew on board WS3283 to the Director of Inflight for WestJet Encore. Please send your reservation code to us by private message. We expect better in the same way you do.
As we've said in the past, priority boarding should be made available on all WestJet flights including WestJet Encore. If this isn't offered, please send your flight details and reservation code to us by private message so we can follow up.
Thanks so much for flying with us. We appreciate having your business as well as your detailed trip reports.
Cheers,
Darren
Thanks for the great trip reports. The details is great. They're very helpful for us. In fact I was approached by some other members of our marketing team about your reports before I'd even had a chance to read them myself.
Some of these pieces we've heard loud and clear already: namely that Plus is great value for money and the service provide there is very good. Watch this space! And of course there's the friendliness of our people - and oh how we love being described as pretty!
We know how much it means to our guests that we answer the phone in a timely manner.On the other hand, we know our guests love zone boarding on our 737s and we look forward to rolling that out on WestJet Encore in the coming months. Qster, we will certainly forward your negative experience with the crew on board WS3283 to the Director of Inflight for WestJet Encore. Please send your reservation code to us by private message. We expect better in the same way you do.
As we've said in the past, priority boarding should be made available on all WestJet flights including WestJet Encore. If this isn't offered, please send your flight details and reservation code to us by private message so we can follow up.
Thanks so much for flying with us. We appreciate having your business as well as your detailed trip reports.
Cheers,
Darren
Mar 27, 2015, 10:41 pm
#4
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: YXE
Programs: WS Gold, SPG Plat, Nexus, HDC Gold, CCarlson Gold, HHonors Diamond,
Posts: 130
Qster, my flight profile is very similar to yours and you're descriptions are quite accurate to a lot of my experiences as well. I don't fly AC often, but always seem to end up on the older dirty DH3's when I do. lol
Darren, any chance Westjet can change the seat selection vouchers to Plus upgrade vouchers? As a Gold status flyer with the WestJet MasterCard I have pre-boarding and checked baggage covered entirely. As most of my 70-100 flights a year are in the 1-1.5 hour range I rarely would use the free menu item as well.
I always book plus though as I love my row 1 seating, but it's a lot of expense considering I'm not using any of the other Plus perks. Not to mention I've got all of these unused seat selection vouchers too.
Darren, any chance Westjet can change the seat selection vouchers to Plus upgrade vouchers? As a Gold status flyer with the WestJet MasterCard I have pre-boarding and checked baggage covered entirely. As most of my 70-100 flights a year are in the 1-1.5 hour range I rarely would use the free menu item as well.
I always book plus though as I love my row 1 seating, but it's a lot of expense considering I'm not using any of the other Plus perks. Not to mention I've got all of these unused seat selection vouchers too.
Mar 28, 2015, 9:30 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 283
Darren, I specifically named "Jodi" because I do want to recognize her as an outstanding FA, I specifically left all other names off because I didn't think additional follow up is required. Thank you very much for your offer to follow up though.
I 100% agree with Symmetre that my experience with the WJA flights has been much more consistent than with WEN flights. May be because the crews and FAs are newer, not sure why. Even the boarding processes are more chaotic with WEN flights.
My comment about AC wins on the ground is mainly relating to irrops and changes. AC Elite line folks have little trouble changing and fixing schedules. The WS telephone agents required a little more coaching to get the same thing done.
Lastly, many AC folks do realize that a warm smile and hot coffee makes thing better. I have had many good flights with AC so I honestly believe that in flight experiences are crew specific; and all airlines have good crews and bad crews.
I do second Canuckmma's comment about a change to the seat selection vouchers. I find them difficult to use and unnecessary most of the time so I have never used one. More lounge vouchers or Plus upgrades would be fantastic.
I 100% agree with Symmetre that my experience with the WJA flights has been much more consistent than with WEN flights. May be because the crews and FAs are newer, not sure why. Even the boarding processes are more chaotic with WEN flights.
My comment about AC wins on the ground is mainly relating to irrops and changes. AC Elite line folks have little trouble changing and fixing schedules. The WS telephone agents required a little more coaching to get the same thing done.
Lastly, many AC folks do realize that a warm smile and hot coffee makes thing better. I have had many good flights with AC so I honestly believe that in flight experiences are crew specific; and all airlines have good crews and bad crews.
I do second Canuckmma's comment about a change to the seat selection vouchers. I find them difficult to use and unnecessary most of the time so I have never used one. More lounge vouchers or Plus upgrades would be fantastic.
Mar 28, 2015, 5:38 pm
#6
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Medicine Hat
Programs: WS Gold, Bonvoy Titanium Elite, AC 100K, INtercontinetal Ambassador, Avis Prefered Plus
Posts: 217
Qstar very comprehensive review, and it was bang on to my personal experience, this is my first quarter with WestJet and I did the status match for Gold, I just noticed I have already qualified with my spends as Gold for next year and also qualified on AC as 50k which is all I want for 2016.
I actually have come to really like my experience with WestJet, way more good has happened. Glad I gave them a chance and they have earned my business.
I have learned not to fly Encore and then there are no disappointments with pre board, slimline seats and if I keep to mainline I believe they are giving me a much better experience than AC. Got love those 737's with smiling flight attendants!
My one big disappointment is the poor IT experience and slowness with posting etc. but I can live with that.
My one suggestion is a Gold phone line so we can make changes on the go seeing as the web site does not work for anything other than the original reservation in most cases.
I agree plus is a great experience and reasonable priced if you upgrade at check in. When I sit back and look at the pros and cons the pros win and if I have a choice between AC and WS, WestJet will win for now.
I actually have come to really like my experience with WestJet, way more good has happened. Glad I gave them a chance and they have earned my business.
I have learned not to fly Encore and then there are no disappointments with pre board, slimline seats and if I keep to mainline I believe they are giving me a much better experience than AC. Got love those 737's with smiling flight attendants!
My one big disappointment is the poor IT experience and slowness with posting etc. but I can live with that.
My one suggestion is a Gold phone line so we can make changes on the go seeing as the web site does not work for anything other than the original reservation in most cases.
I agree plus is a great experience and reasonable priced if you upgrade at check in. When I sit back and look at the pros and cons the pros win and if I have a choice between AC and WS, WestJet will win for now.
Mar 30, 2015, 5:17 pm
#8
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: YXE
Programs: WS Gold, SPG Plat, Nexus, HDC Gold, CCarlson Gold, HHonors Diamond,
Posts: 130
They certainly have hot coffee, now I can't say if it was brewed on board however. Not sure about hot water, but I'm sure I've heard people order tea, so they must.
Mar 30, 2015, 8:44 pm
#9
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: YXE
Programs: WS Gold, SPG Plat, Nexus, HDC Gold, CCarlson Gold, HHonors Diamond,
Posts: 130
I've flown YXE-YYC-YVR-YYC since yesterday. I noticed that the comment"westjet Golds are free to board as they please" was Sid for the first time that I recall. On that note I hopped onto the early board line and breezed right through. I noticed this same call in YVR, so this is great if this is what the plan is going forward. Allowing Golds to board with all other pre-boards. Thank you! (Unless that was a mistake)
Mar 30, 2015, 9:15 pm
#10
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 980
Ok thanks, because the only Encore flights I've taken are between YYC and YEG, where the service standard is water and a snack (in the regular cabin).
Mar 31, 2015, 7:44 am
#11
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: YXE
Programs: WS Gold, SPG Plat, Nexus, HDC Gold, CCarlson Gold, HHonors Diamond,
Posts: 130
I've flown YEG - YYC once and that was the only option as I recall, so I would suggest that leg is uncommon due to how short it is.
Mar 31, 2015, 9:41 pm
#14
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC E50K (*G) WS Gold | SPG/Fairmont Plat Hilton/Hyatt Diamond Marriott Silver | National Exec Elite
Posts: 19,284
Hey team,
Thanks for the great trip reports. The details is great. They're very helpful for us. In fact I was approached by some other members of our marketing team about your reports before I'd even had a chance to read them myself.
Some of these pieces we've heard loud and clear already: namely that Plus is great value for money and the service provide there is very good. Watch this space! And of course there's the friendliness of our people - and oh how we love being described as pretty! We know how much it means to our guests that we answer the phone in a timely manner.
On the other hand, we know our guests love zone boarding on our 737s and we look forward to rolling that out on WestJet Encore in the coming months. Qster, we will certainly forward your negative experience with the crew on board WS3283 to the Director of Inflight for WestJet Encore. Please send your reservation code to us by private message. We expect better in the same way you do.
As we've said in the past, priority boarding should be made available on all WestJet flights including WestJet Encore. If this isn't offered, please send your flight details and reservation code to us by private message so we can follow up.
Thanks so much for flying with us. We appreciate having your business as well as your detailed trip reports.
Cheers,
Darren
Thanks for the great trip reports. The details is great. They're very helpful for us. In fact I was approached by some other members of our marketing team about your reports before I'd even had a chance to read them myself.
Some of these pieces we've heard loud and clear already: namely that Plus is great value for money and the service provide there is very good. Watch this space! And of course there's the friendliness of our people - and oh how we love being described as pretty!
We know how much it means to our guests that we answer the phone in a timely manner.On the other hand, we know our guests love zone boarding on our 737s and we look forward to rolling that out on WestJet Encore in the coming months. Qster, we will certainly forward your negative experience with the crew on board WS3283 to the Director of Inflight for WestJet Encore. Please send your reservation code to us by private message. We expect better in the same way you do.
As we've said in the past, priority boarding should be made available on all WestJet flights including WestJet Encore. If this isn't offered, please send your flight details and reservation code to us by private message so we can follow up.
Thanks so much for flying with us. We appreciate having your business as well as your detailed trip reports.
Cheers,
Darren
Apr 2, 2015, 2:36 pm
#15
Company Representative: WestJet
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Calgary
Programs: WestJet Rewards
Posts: 292
Darren, any chance Westjet can change the seat selection vouchers to Plus upgrade vouchers? As a Gold status flyer with the WestJet MasterCard I have pre-boarding and checked baggage covered entirely. As most of my 70-100 flights a year are in the 1-1.5 hour range I rarely would use the free menu item as well.
There is most definitely coffee on board! (Just not offered on our shortest flights.)