sokolov

It was 335 one way, so to expect a service level similar to a ~650 return TATL ticket is logical.

AtlanticXpat

Interesting read. I'm flying LGW-YYT tomorrow. I'm hoping that as its a B737 mechanical reliability will be higher than the 767's!

On the boarding/check process at the gate, thats pretty usual for UK origin flights IMHO. As an example AC used to do the same when they flew out of T3 @ LHR. Key difference of course is that they had a line for Elite/*G as well as one for no status. It does seem a bit silly to have everyone line up to get into the lounge such that your Gold members either have to be there very early or miss their Zone 1 boarding.

hkskyline

I can't imagine bringing my own food for a 10-hour flight.

aerobod

If you pre-order before the flight, you will have guaranteed dinner and breakfast food supplied, no need to bring your own if you don't want to.

https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/travel...purchase-menu#

mahasamatman

There are no guarantees. Mistakes happen.

nanyang

Interesting report - greatly appreciated!

Indeed, crazy low ticket price.

Jay71

Just to add my two bits as we flew YVR to LGW and LGW to YYC (to YVR) during the last two weeks.

We didn't pay to pre-select seats. For YVR to LGW, we checked in right at the 24hr mark before the flight and all the deuces along sides were taken/allocated. (I'm guessing people with feeder flights were likely able to check-in earlier and nab the remaining deuces.) Flight was essentially full. Overhead storage was at a premium but a few slots remained at takeoff.
For the LGW to YYC leg, we again checked in right at the 24hr mark before the flight and all but a couple of the deuces along sides were taken/allocated. Flight was also essentially full but with seemingly a chunk of overhead storage available at takeoff. At 6' and somewhat longer legs, I thought seat pitch was adequate.

Our flight was delayed out of YVR with seemingly vague and conflicting excuses. This threatened our LGW to FCO leg booked on a separate ticket [yes, we understand and accept the risks of booking legs on separate tix]. But knowing that flights to and from LGW on WS have been plagued with delays, we gave ourselves plenty of layover time based on historical delayed arrival times; and we used a bunch of it.

LGW to YYC was on time but experienced the queuing as described by the OP at the LGW gate.

Decided against bringing the tablet so ended up watching movies on the Note 4 phablet which was adequate. The USB charging was fine for that. But agree with the OP that it would have been nice to have a power socket for laptop power. (Note: They did announce warnings about not using the Note 7.)

Didn't (pre-)order Westjet food. The OP's pix and WS's pix didn't really look palatable. Plus, we're not really fans of airline food. We bought sandwiches for a primary meal and a bunch of snacks.
The sandwiches didn't fare extremely well. One (Subway) sandwich got partially soggy likely because of the tomatoes. The other (Pret-A-Manger) sandwiches' bread got a bit stale eating them after a few hours. Need a better idea for what to bring aboard to eat. But our snacks in combo with WS' snack and beverage service was adequate for the rest of our meal needs.

I didn't mind the in-flight service. Thought the staff were pretty friendly and efficient.

Overall, I'd likely consider flying to the UK on WS again, particularly in conjunction with the companion fare and some Westjet dollars thrown in. (Plus it's way better than the TS Transatlantic hops we flew in our younger years. )

Flossie

For the Gatwick>Canada leg after you have checked in and before you go through security pop down to the arrivals level and stock up for lunches and snacks at M&S Food. Pretty good selection of anything you could possibly want ranging from pre prepared sandwiches, to breads and sandwich fillings to create your own, salads, desserts, snacks, chips, fruit, veggies, etc. We always love to get an M&S Picnic for the UK>Canada leg (also the same at LHR too!). Much more fun that plane food!

TomMM

Yes if it would have gotten you into a Plus seat.

Fiordland

The OP ordered the "Tomato and tarragon chicken" look at the picture on the WestJet website under SeptOct London->Canada for this item and look at the photo the OP posted. It is Night and Day.

The photo on the WestJet website is properly plated (similar to what AC would do for business class or premium economy). It looks like a good meal (by airline economy standards). At $14 it is about the same as what AC charges domestically in Economy when selling off the left over meals from business class.

What the OP has as a photo looks pretty bad.

miamiflyer8

Which is the reason why I don't use LCC's on long hauls.

sofasurfer

M&S have always had a good rep for food, if pricey - but their strategy of moving in to airports and motorway service stations has, I think, worked in their favour. Their relative price premium seems to stack up as an attractive option, compared to the typically overpriced (and, more often than not, dismal) alternatives at such locations...

Their beers are pretty good, too - they work with several decent breweries - of course, you can't take it through security with you, but could always have a sneaky can landside before going though