jazzsax

And of course... YYC-YVR is 88 mins. If there was no service in Premium I would be pissed.

bcard519

This is just a financial decision by Westjet to cut cost and just use covid excuse to their advantage. Can't serve because of covid, yet we will book a full flight, not block middle seats.
I Will be changing my flights to AC, which I hate but at least they will make an attempt to offer a premium service.
Never thought WS would provide less customer service the AC, who seems to have a plan, with dates on bring thing back. WS don't really seem to have a plan.

Fisch

WS is now providing beer/wine/coffee/tea and a bottle of water in Premium YYC/YVR; as well as a snack bag with several boxed snacks. I do not believe this to be inferior to AC on this route. There is a plan, but I suppose it's not been released publicly yet.

bcard519

Assuming this is starting July 28th to match AC?

Maybe someone should tell WS that the key to any relationship...... Is communication.

YYCguy

If you get a chance to fly in PE on both airlines in the near future, please give us a review on both airlines to compare how they are handling inflight service, hard product, amenities, covid safety measures, etc during the pandemic!

mxqisit

I flew on a 737-800 today in Premium, new 2x2 configuration. YWG-YYZ (over two hours). Here's some random info, sprinkled in with my own thoughts as well.

Plane was clean, and they offered us our own wipe on boarding to clean our seat/trays/armrests.
Masks were worn by all.
I like the seats, comfort-wise. They don't seem to recline much.
There's still three lights and fans overhead.
Nowhere to hang a tablet like the old seats.
Power ports are on the centre armrest, by the knee/shin area.
Tray tables are in the armrest.
The front washroom was not available for us (was never told why). Had to go to the rear.
We were offered a box of snacks (croissant sandwich, apples, cookies, almonds). No welcome drink, but a bottle of water offered once we were cruising.
Tea and coffee offered with the food. No mention of alcohol, and I didn't ask.

Happy to answer any questions.

aerobod

WestJet along with some other airlines are reserving the front washroom for crew only at the moment to minimise COVID-19 risk, as they will stay as a "bubble" during their crew pairing.

FlyerJ

Interesting. It seems odd, given that:
(1) the concept of a 'bubble' or staying only within a cohort group goes away when the FAs are constantly sharing a cabin with passengers, and continue to move throughout the cabin, and have passengers file directly past them during boarding/disembarking.
(2) airlines are saying that their HEPA-filtered air in the cabin is very clean and safe (which should extend to the lavs).

If any crew who happen to use the lav are practicing good hand-hygeine whenever they use the lav (which, face it, isn't all that often with a crew of 5) this 'bubble' idea seems pointless. All that it accomplishes is that it forces pax seated in Premium to walk all the way to the back of the plane (passing everyone else) which isn't ideal, and increases the odds of congestion at the rear (also not ideal).

Maybe a private 'bubble bathroom' reserved for crew on ultra-long widebody flights (TPAC or TATL, for example) might make sense. But on domestic flights of only 2 to 4-ish hours?

mxqisit

Perceived or otherwise, I don't have a problem with WJ taking this additional step in the interest safety of their employees. The 737 has two lavs at the back and there was less than 50 of us on the plane. Premium or not, If no one is having to wait an exceedingly long time to use the lav, then nothing is lost. Sure, I have paid for the convenience of having the front lav available to me.... but that key word, convenience, says it all. It's not a service. It's not a privilege.

They've already spec'd the rear two lavs for up to 162 guests, adding another 12 is not much of a stretch. We all keep our masks on, wash our hands, and move on with our lives.

jazzsax

Flew the NG that had the refurbed seats on Sunday YYC-YVR in premium. morning flight (10am)

- wipes handed out as people boarded to sanitize your seat
- premium service ----- breakfast box. Had a cold spinach and cheese croissant, sliced apples, cookies, nuts and the usual biscotti.
- water and soft drinks, beer, and wine. Full containers handed out, and they did offer more than one.
- no front lav usage

boarding was smooth. good distancing and everyone following the rules.
deplaning was a .... show. FA's did not even bother to enforce the stay in your seat until the person in front of you is 6 away.

Flight was half full

YYCguy

Flight attendants are informers not enforcers, and it’s really hard to enforce the deplaning rule unless crew are dispersed throughout the cabin like they are on the 787.

cirrusdragoon

That is what they teach Westjet crews, other airlines teach their crews to enforce as necessary. Different styles, one is passive and other is direct.

jazzsax

I disagree. Flight attendants are enforcers given they often wield their power in removing people from planes whenever they feel like.

This is the reality.... they (along with other staff) are harshly enforcing all of the rules until deplaning... at which point they're just ignoring you to get your ... off the plane as fast as possible.

Just like when they quickly do their cabin service then retreat to the back to read or watch their tablets, they couldn't be done with us passengers soon enough.

YYCCL3

Flew premium PVR-YYC on the weekend.

-new seats are very comfortable
-cold tapas box for food (some cheese bread thing, pita, red pepper hummus (yum!), etc) - was tasty but I feel this is a bit lower than what AC is offering on similar routes
-mini bottles of wine, beer cans, tea and coffee on offer (no spirits or soft drinks)
-service was good
-flight attendants were enforcing mask usage when not eating/drinking
-front lav was accessible for J (W) pax
-flight was 80% full, 10 out of 12 premium seats occupied

cirrusdragoon

I wonder what Air Canada , which sells and offers true J business class service in the front of their mainline narrow-body fleet , is offering to their J pax?