arf04

Does anyone know what is up with WS 605 (YYZ-YQR) being cancelled so frequently? 4 of the last 8 flights have been cancelled. I know that YYZ is more of a mess than other airports, and also that airlines generally are struggling, but a 50% cancellation rate seems higher than even those factors should account for. Maybe I am wrong... in any case, if someone has insight I would be interested to hear it. I don't have access to EF anymore so have not been able to see what is posted there for these flights.

I know AC's evening YYZ-YQR is frequently cancelled as well, but at least they have multiple dailies vs Westjet's single flight.

Adam Smith

EF only stores the additional comments for a couple of days. Today it was 1FX CXL CREW CONTROLLABLE. On the 27th, same thing, with "IN YYZ" added on. No comments available for any of the others.

I suspect that's not a surprise, and that perhaps you're wondering why that flight in particular? Light loads in both directions might be a good guess. One the WestJetters who frequents the board might know more., but I'd say that might be the most likely explanation.

V1213

This code would seem to imply that they're short of crew, which is very deja vu from earlier in the year.

The powers that be at WestJet have clearly decided that WS605/606 are to be the regular casualty - besides tonight's rotation already being cancelled, tomorrow's looks to be zeroed out in both directions. Friday night's WS605 lookss zeroed out as well, so I assume it's only a matter of time before Saturday morning's WS606 is gets the same treatment. That said, the flights could just look like they've been zeroed because they're actually completely fully booked. At least if they are zeroing out, it may indicate that WestJet is proactively moving people to other flights, instead of waiting until the day of, or when they get to the airport?

The real test will be if the Sunday night rotation is cancelled - it regularly seems to be the busiest, and this week looks well-booked. I assume the cancellations are based on how much impact would be made by their cancellation so, beyond individual flight loads, things like the number of connections would be taken into account. Considering that WS605/606 don't offer any connections in YQR, I assume it's higher on the cancel list that other evening destinations, such as YVR, YYC, YWG, YHZ, etc.

arf04

Thanks. I was interested in both of your thoughts, actually. I was wondering if the cancellations were due to controllable factors and also if they were related to loads. Hard to say, of course, what the loads are but given that AC seems to be filling A320/321 aircraft twice a day + a CRA once a day there must be demand.

I’m on 605 in a couple of weeks coming off a KL flight so I’m trying to be somewhat prepared for what might happen if 605 is cancelled. I don’t mind having to spend a night in Toronto if it comes to that but with so much uncertainty it may well be wise to try to get to another Canadian airport out of AMS instead if the cancellation happens before we depart there. YYC, for example, is much easier for me to deal with if I get stuck. Worst case, I can always rent a car and drive home whereas a 2-3 day forced layover in Toronto is tougher to resolve.

I think I will restart my EF subscription to have more data to hand.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Adam Smith

There might be demand, but it might not come to WestJet. Just like AC flies a bunch of widebodies and narrowbody jets on YYZ-YUL while WS pathetically throws a few DH4s on it, or WS has like 8 daily YYC-YLWs, of which most on 737s, and AC has a single DH4, which was how it looked before COVID.

I don't think WS can sell you that ticket, so I assume it's a KL ticket? Either way, your ability to get home closer to on time likely depends on WS605 getting cancelled early enough that you can do something about it before you leave AMS.

If it's a KL ticket, good news is they have an interline with AC and could re-book you on AC YYZ-YQR. Or they could re-route you through YYC, YEG, or YVR and put you on either WS or AC from there to YQR. If you're on a WS ticket, they won't put you on AC, so if it's not cancelled before you leave AMS, you're probably stuck going something like YYZ-YYC-YQR on WS metal.

arf04

It is a KL ticket. And yes, an early cancellation will be preferable to one that happens one we have departed AMS. We originate in NUE so if the cancellation is really early then we could possibly get things sorted out there. We opted to not route via YYC as the connection time in AMS was very short. I do not remember exactly how much time there was, but it seemed very risky at the time so would have been in the 60-ish or less minute range--and that was well before the current issues in AMS. So, via YYZ we booked.

Of course we want to get home as close to the scheduled time as possible, but the way things are going these days it seems wise to be prepared for things to go awry and also to be ready to not get too worked up about it if it does happen. The plus of the introduction of remote work with the arrival of Covid means that though I am mostly in the office again it is no big deal if I have to work from a hotel room at YYZ, AMS, or anywhere else.

I truly have no idea whether demand is going to WS on YYZ-YQR. The fact that they are quick to cancel the flight suggests that loads are not that good, but who knows? I do know that in pre-Covid times the fact that they only operated once a day in either direction really hampered the usefulness of the flight for me, but every time I did take it the plane was full.

arf04

All of your thoughts seem quite logical to me. But geez, the uncertainty of travel seems to increase by the day if not by the hour! Last September, when we started to travel internationally again in earnest, the main uncertainty had to do with whether or not we would test positive on arrival somewhere and have to quarantine. The travel stuff itself was no big issue. Now, alas, it is the opposite.

arf04

I’ve deleted my post as it turns out it was truly a KL issue (segment dropped from my itinerary).