I think the "WestJet junk" is much different from the "UA Junk". Both have had their relevance. WestJet <=> Canadiana while UA <=> *A.

I personally welcome a certain amount of comparison with AC vs WS and AC vs UA. The former for competitive reasons, the latter for potentiative purposes.

While there may have been a lot of "UA" promotion at the expense of Air Canada recently, for the most part it has been constructive (albeit having to read between the lines sometimes). It is nice to know the alternatives, and since you can fly UA and earn AE, it is still relevant.

While I have never flown WestJet and haven't really ever had a reason to (since I mostly fly internationally), I think it is great that another Canadian carrier has matured enough to warrant their own discussion forum on FT! To be honest, I'd rather see threads in the AE forum on various WestJet nuggets than "I'm on ACXXXX in lounge YYYY can you upgrade me?" I'm confident that we'll still see relevant WestJet threads in the AE forum.

Regarding UA: Keep the threads going. I truly believe they are relevant, and my feelings aren't hurt if UA happens to be stronger in some areas and AC in others. Don't take these things personal, please! Look at the bigger picture!! Take advantage of the information that people are providing to improve your travel experience! If you are offended, just ignore it and move on. Pretty please?

[addendum]

This may be the Air Canada Aeroplan forum. However, I don't think (and Randy, please correct me if I'm wrong) that this implies a "pro-AE" agenda". I think any good discussion or debate requires positives and negatives. Discussion about El Al's dealings in the middle east are not relevant to this forum. However, discussions involving WestJet, UA, SQ, etc. etc. are. They are useful to most AE customers, even if they don't promote AC directly.

[bias alert - I have flown AC for 90%+ of all the flights I have ever taken and will continue to do so in the near future].

Remember:

AE != AC

When it comes to the sorts of discussion we involve ourselves on FT, I think it is smart to delineate the FFP from the airline even though in most cases the separation is not (yet) formal.

As an "apologist" but also a PE (at least on UA, never in real life ;) ), I fully support Randy's decision, and would point out the following:

Much like members of all the other airline/FFP forums on FT, if you want WS threads (or DL threads, or CO threads, or US threads), you can now go to the WS (or DL or CO or US) forum. People who are interested in this can find them easily, people who are not can avoid them easily, and they are hopefully less likely to pop up in the midst of unrelated threads like the launch of YUL-DEN or new pass products.

The whole issue here has been that there is a big difference between the likes of PE (who is mad at AC for reasons we all should know by now :p ), but who posts on a variety of issues (including the travesty that is the YYZ airport) and WS founders / employees whose vast majority of postings have to do with WS, and how wonderful it is.

Here again -- big difference between someone posting about deals on UA that we as AE members can take advantage of, vs. over a protracted period of months, stuff like "let me be the first to welcome you to the friendly skies" and "here are all the reasons that UA is great for upgrades and AC sucks".

I don't think anyone has any disagreement here (at least, anyone who is currently posting on FT ;) ), otherwise in this past week, we'd have been limited to about 2 posts given what the 2006 program has revealed for Es. But at least this keeps things more about AC/AE, whether positive or negative.

This just makes things more consistent with the rest of FT.

Simon

You're missing the point. Why should there even be threads on Westjet on the Air Canada Aeroplan forum? There shouldn't, period.

I welcome the the WS forum, though I didn't actually think many WS flyers would be able to use a computer. I guess the internet age has trickled down to all the trailer parks in the land ;)

:rolleyes:

I think we know who's missing the point.

I hope that was sarcasm.

Whatever. Even if my 2 (unavoidable) WS flights hadn't been like boarding the Hooterville Express, I'd still have the utmost contempt for an airline that helped put the nail in CP's coffin and drive the concept of "full service" from Canadian skies :td:

Yeah, whatever is right. :rolleyes:

In a similar vein, perhaps all of the "OT" posts, federal election posts, "duplicate threads" etc, could also be moved to a more appropriate forum.

As for WestJet, even if their threads were not moved, it seems to me that people could still easily see the whole history of WS by simply searching the AC forum.

Indeed.

Likewise for threads on, say, 767's vs 333s, as that really has nothing to do with Aeroplan. Ditto for threads on airport hotels, M fares, airports, lost and found, and with a strict interpretation, even the various pass products, which are not really related to Aeroplan.

On the other hand, Aeroplan seems to be getting into bed big time with Future Shop, so perhaps more Future Shop posts are in order.

Perhaps being from Alberta you don't find the WS clientele quite as "colourful" ;)

Just as I don't find AC's the creme de la creme of the cultural elite of this country. Both airlines welcome all kinds, even you and even me.

:D ^

Splitting hairs. Most of those things have to do with frequent flying on Air Canada. WS has zero.

Maybe this forum could be re-named to include all other Canadian carriers. Rather than have Harmony and Canjet threads in the AC forum, they could be moved here.

How about ? : "Minor Canadian Airlines"


Just Kidding on the eve of a New Year. :D