This all highlights a big challenge that WestJet is facing now.

As they try try to transform themselves from old WestJet (an LCC with less of a service offering, aggressive pricing, and with lots of flexibility for customers) to, in their words, a “global carrier” ... they’re now stacking on lots of fees, lots of new fare rules - with strict enforcement, a new “Basic” fare (often seemingly at the same price as what regular Econo used to be). And they really seem to be pushing base fares as high as they possibly can. Same planes, same product, same routes, and the old customer service that made them loved being replaced (partially) with rule enforcement and unwavering fee collection.

I get that they’re a business and need to succeed. But in lots of cases, WestJet now costs more — while still offer a lesser service than AC. (Their big hype over the 787, and the fact that they’re improving Plus/Premium, doesn’t change that.)

My fear is that they’re alienating their old core customer - leisure and infrequent travellers - while not giving frequent biz travellers or high margin travellers many new reasons to stick with them. Or, more importantly, to switch to them. (Although enhancements to WS Rewards will help, those are really more of a “me too” thing. They’re simply trying to catch up to what everyone else already offers their loyalty customers.)

Personally, I’m very happy with and very loyal to WestJet now. (As I’ve ranted about here previously, I consider AC to have fired me as a customer when they brought out Rouge and totally fumbled its launch.) Now, I like WestJet, I love the routes I have from YYC, and I’m generally happy with their offering. Even though the hard product on mainline AC can be a bit better, and even though WS is now often a bit more expensive. (And that’s even though I get free bags and have seat selection vouchers.)

This aggression over revenue - especially seat fees (like the new astronomical prices to just sit in the front third of the Y cabin) and high bag fees (especially US to Canada) - might look awesome on a PowerPoint slide at HQ. But this could come back to bite them, as the customer base that got them where they are today are very price sensitive — plus those customers are no longer seeing the folksy friendliness when they have a bag that’s 1 lb too heavy or when they want to change a segment because granny got sick. My hunch is that Sopwith’s example above is not all that rare...

I’ve actually been working at Air Canada as an IT consultant for a month now (I also worked as a consultant there in the dot.com era). I couldn’t leave the industry and fully retire yet - my wife told me “get a job” when I was too annoying around the house last fall!

I would say that there are pros and cons on both sides of AC and WS, each has their own track that at times may seem the same, but other than both being airlines, neither are trying to be the same as each other (whether it is Rouge trying to be like WS was, or WS trying to be like AC mainline). Both try to respond to market needs, which may bring them together, but fundamental thinking in both cases is about trying to be the best themselves, not to be the same as each other.