respectable_man

It’s still a meltdown. Yes, one ought to cut WJ some slack because nobody could have foreseen Omicron and the resulting staff shortage, but WJ did severely mishandle the communication issue to the point where a WJ rep (albeit one apparently contracted to WJ rather and a WJ employee) had to call the RCMP.

I do not want to suggest that the pax acted properly - they did NOT - but surely timely and accurate information on the status of the situation buys a huge amount of goodwill.

I suppose WJ is now out of teflon, and they are just a “normal” airline, no better than the competition, which isn’t much to brag about.

newfbc

The competition isn't having these issues... yet. Only the little airline that could from Cowtown.

Westjet who kept blasting the government when there were flying restrictions saying they were well prepared to transport people across Canada and around the world.. well baloney! ..they're now in a total 'meltdown' with not a clue how to fix it.

Ron.

Symmetre

I’m still trying to cancel my US trip next week. WestJet won’t let me do it on the website, nor on the app. There has been zero response on social media for days, and no one ever answers the phone. On hold yesterday for over 3 hours before cell phone dropped the call. On hold today for 3 hours 22 minutes and counting. To say my patience is wearing thin would be an understatement.

It sure didn’t used to be this way.

newfbc

Have you tried DM on Twitter. That worked for me last time I needed to make a change (several months ago).

Ron.

tcook052

Oh how many times I've thought or said this over the last 20-months...

Symmetre

I began reaching out to WS on Twitter before Christmas, once I found I couldn't cancel the trip online. Regrettably, I still have not received so much as a single reply to 5 - 6 separate direct messages. I agree, normally this is an effective way to get in touch. Not so much right now, I'm afraid.

Update / data point: Got tired of waiting on indefinite hold, drove to the airport, found a WS agent who was not busy and she resolved everything for me in 5 minutes. She was every bit as efficient and friendly as I've come to expect from Westjet employees and while I'm thrilled she was able to help, I shouldn't have to go to this length to solve a basic self-serve issue ... nor should I be on the hook for the gas, my time, and the parking fee.

Having said that, for those who really need an agent, this may be the only reliable way to get help if the clock is ticking on your issue.

cedric

AC has been cancelling flights due to covid as well. Eg: Air Canada - Flight Status Information
Pacific Coastal has ceased flying entirely today and tomorrow due to covid: Network Operations Temporarily Suspension on Sunday, January 2 and Monday, January 3 - Pacific Coastal Airlines - Official Website
And of course, we've heard of the thousands of covid-related cancellations affecting US carriers.

keithguy

WS has been cancelling more than AC, both looking at the # of cancellations (despite a much smaller # of total flights), and by %:

From Flightaware today (so far), flights cancelled

WS: 49 -> 16%
AC: 19 -> 4%

Similar numbers from yesterday too.

cedric

The claim was that the competition was not having these issues. They sure are!

gmclean1987

I don't necessarily blame Westjet for the cancellations, but the combination of lack of self-service options and inability to get through to customer service is making the cancellations far more frustrating than they'd otherwise be. The inability to do anything but "accept" Westjet's rebooking recommendation or call a call-center with 3+ hour wait times (if you're lucky) is what's frustrating.

I had a recent return flight from YQT to YVR with layovers in YWG and YYC which had the YWG-YYC segment cancelled. Westjet's recommended alternative involved an overnight layover in Winnipeg and downgrading from premium to economy on the YWG-YYC leg: not the end of the world and not an unreasonable option to minimize the delay getting into Vancouver. However, given my personal circumstances, I would have preferred to get in a bit later on premium or just delay my flight out of YQT by 24 hours, but I had no way to select these available options. First-world problems, sure, but also ones that would be easy to avoid with proper self-service options or customer support.

Then after arriving in Winnipeg, my new flight to YYC was delayed to the point that I'd miss my connection. At this point, Westjet's algorithm apparently decided instead of putting me on the direct YWG-YVR flight that still had seats, it really wanted me to visit Calgary and put me on a flight that got in hours later and not only kept the Calgary layover but added a new one in Fort St John! (Westjet had replaced a slightly-over 1 hour 737 premium YYC-YVR flight with about 4 hours sitting on two Q400 flights, plus added a layover in a small & remote town where I'd rather not get stuck if something went wrong with the outbound flight). Honestly, I'd have preferred a second overnight layover over this option. Thankfully after spending hours on hold unsuccessfully, when I went to check-in, the associate at the airport was able to get me on the direct flight from YWG to YVR.

On some level I'm just happy I got home and feel like I shouldn't be complaining, but the experience just felt unnecessarily frustrating.

Symmetre

I find Westjet is still easy to deal with once you speak with an actual human being. Getting to that point is the frustrating part, since the call centre staffing levels still appear to be far below normal and the IT end of it clearly needs improvement. Good call speaking with the agent at the airport. But we shouldn't have to do this.

Frequentlander

"Software as a service" results in vendors focussing billing hours for servicing sub optimal software than just making software that works. As a non-IT person that admittedly probably doesn't understand how these things are supposed to work, it seems that with each upgrade things get more complicated.

This rant brought to you while fighting with a customers SAP system.....

pastorash

On hold for over 10 hours yesterday, then the call dropped. Sigh...

Ohhh, and after having an unexpected Covid test and needing to change a flight the next morning we simply drove to the airport as well and the agent there fixed it all up and thanked us for not getting on the flight. It's now the rescheduled flight we need to cancel and I think we'll need to go to the airport to get anywhere again.

newfbc

Just received an email from Westjet - '10 Million Seats on Sale!'

They should really hold back on massive seat sales until they get their current situation together. Of course, as some of us know, it's just a cash grab to steal interest free loan money from the public..

Ron.

tcook052

We? Speak for yourself as while WS is going through some serious turbulence to suggest a.) they're stealing passenger's money and b.) should cease advertising until they fix their shortcomings is hopefully only hyperbole as it's really reaching.

While I can't speak for others, I know I receive emails I find ill timed but in reading them just chuckle and chalk it up to the marketing department doing their job as they're paid to do and hit delete and would suggest you give it a try.