Mordac

Apologies if this account comes off as disjointed, as I'm still a bit shaken by the events.

I arrived at YYC today (09 September) at 0808 according to my Lyft ride history. I was due to take WS1680 to JFK at 0955. I joined the queue for bag drop together with my partner, and this was moving quite slowly, but I wasn't overly worried, as from googling I found that check-in was open until 1 hr before departing time (I did later realise this was not the case at YYC). About halfway through, a roving agent asked if anyone was going to JFK, to which I replied in the affirmative. The agent then asked me what my flight number was, and when I gave it, she said that wasn't the one she was asking about. As such, we continued to wait. When we got to the front of the queue, it was 0855, and I thought we'd just made the cut, when the agent refuses to check our bags and tells us we've missed the cutoff. I have to admit that I acted in a less than dignified way as I pretty much begged him to use discretion (which he denied having and told me to find a manager "if I could."). He also denied any ability to help me rebook because of my AF FF number on the booking (despite the fact that I bought it directly from WS).If you were at YYC this morning, I apologise if you had to witness my small meltdown. There's nothing worse than seeing a grown man cry.

I rebooked myself on DL and am writing this in the SLC SkyClub, a lot calmer, but about CAD$2500 lighter (and frankly, that's not too bad for 2 same day tickets). After I'd managed to secure the tickets, I went to ask a different agent for some kind of proof that they'd denied me boarding to submit to my travel insurer, but they denied me this too. Does anyone have any idea how I would go about proving this to a travel insurer? Obviously I have the receipts for the new flights and the boarding passes for the old WS flight, but I somehow doubt that will be enough. If anyone has any light to shed, please let me know.

ashill

Wow. You arrived at the airport 107 minutes before scheduled departure and to the check-in counter 60 minutes before and they not only wouldn't let you check bags on the flight you were scheduled for but said your ticket has no value?! That's insane. WestJet doesn't have some kind of flat tire rule? I thought every airline did.

And I'm very confused about what the agent said: there's only one WS flight to JFK today. So what other flight was the agent asking about?

And the fact that it took 45 minutes for bag drop is also insane.

aerobod

Normally there shouldn’t be any reason to use the check-in counter or talk to a CSA at YYC, with plenty of self-serve bag drops available.

Mordac

Was under the impression those were only for domestic flights.


Indeed, on hindsight I should have pushed her on that, but I was only operating on about 3 hrs of sleep.

aerobod

No, the check-in kiosks in Terminals D&E have passport readers and bag tag printers, which then allow self bag tagging for the self-serve bag drop. There are normally roving CSAs to help with the kiosks and self-serve bag drop if people are having trouble. The check-in counters can only handle a small percentage of departure capacity (probably less than 10%) and can easily become backed up, so if there is a need to use them, it is advisable to arrive 3 hours before departure. Whether using self-serve or the check-in counter, the ability to bag drop is automatically suspended 60 mins before departure time for US and International flights (45 mins for Domestic), I don't think there is any way a CSA can override this.

hollywoodcory17

Cut off time for international/US at YYC/YYZ/YVR and I think YEG is 75 minutes. All other airports its 60 minutes.

https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/legal/...estjet-flights

ashill

But arriving at the airport 107 minutes before departure should still have been ample time to reach a bag drop machine well before the 75 minute cut-off.

(Not having to worry about bag cutoffs is one of the reasons I avoid checking bags when at all possible! The only cutoff I have to worry about if I can get a boarding pass is being at the gate at T-15 — which in reality is almost always possible even if you aren't at the bag drop at T-60, and it's so much less stressful to only have the one deadline to worry about.)

Mordac

Indeed, I normally do this too, but I was on a 17 day holiday with my partner.

yoonland

It is true you missed the cutoff by 15 mins, and the reason the agent was unwilling was probably due to long lines at CBP. I've seen someone get checked in 20 mins before departure at YVR on a domestic flight, way past the cutoff and very close to boarding gate closure.

They might do something on a basis of goodwill but I don't think there is a obligation for WS.

FlyerJ

I departed YYC this morning through U.S. departures.

The line for WestJet “customer assistance” (I think it’s called) was massive — and I assume most of those poor people waiting there were only checking a bag. Meanwhile hardly anyone was using the self-serve bag drops.

And there didn’t seem to be any WS person trying to guide people to use the self-serve option.

I think most travellers are just conditioned to line up to check a bag. It’s on the airline to guide people to better options when they’re available.

djoseph

The bag drop for self serve and check in counter will take the bag regardless of time. It's if you check in and get a bag tag in time.

BobW7

We barely scraped through when checking in for a flight to Puerto Vallarta last November. Our check-in process is complicated by that fact that we travel with our dog when we go down for the season. He's too big for the cabin, so we have to use the check-in counter (no self-serve option available for checked kennels).

In the past, whenever we arrived between 2.5 & 3 hours before the flight we were told it was too early for them to take the dog, and to come back later. So last November, we arrived at 08:25 for a 10:35 flight. We encountered a long line of people waiting to check their golf clubs in for a 10:55 flight to Las Vegas. The line moved very slowly. A number of people who we talked to while in line were unaware that they could use the self-check-in kiosks, and after we told them about it they thanked us and used them.

Once things were starting to get a little tight relative to our departure time, I went and talked with a WS rep to explain the situation. She said there was nothing she could do. We ended up getting to the front of the line at 9:32, at which point the agent told us we might have a problem but that she would try. In the end we were checked in, but told that our dog may not make the flight. We boarded the plane not knowing whether the kennel would make it. Fortunately, WS has a system to confirm to passengers with checked kennels that their dog has been loaded on the plane. Our plan was that in the event the confirmation didn't arrive, I would depart the plane and fly down the following day (flying carry-on, so no issues with my suitcase being loaded and me not flying). This ended up not being necessary, as we got confirmation that our mutt was on board. Stress levels dropped immediately, and off we went.

Three things stand out from this experience: 1) WS should make more effort to ensure that people waiting in the check-in line are aware they have the option of using the self-serve kiosks; 2) WS should manage / triage the line, to ensure people at risk of missing their flight are prioritized as long as doing so doesn't place others at risk (this would save both WS, and the passengers, a lot of hassle); & 3) from now on we'll arrive 2.5 hrs ahead of the scheduled departure time, even though that will normally result in us with time to kill before being allowed to check in the kennel.

VoodooYYC

I think that saying the average WS traveller is unsophisticated is the most charitable way to put it. Downright clueless is likely closer to accurate.
I travel on both AC and WS quite a bit, and the difference in traveller savvy is shocking, to say the least. My home airport is now YYJ, and boarding/deplaning a Westjet flight there will take years off your life, both literally and figuratively. I mean, half the people were likely alive when the Wright brothers invented flight, so you would think they understand how this works, but still…

The OPs experience is shocking, and I would be pressing WS about the agent who was “managing” the line. What, she thought you were on the 11, 12, 2 or 5PM direct JFK flights? Talk about clueless. And the comments about having staff to manage the line are bang on. AC always have people hanging around the kiosks at YYC and helping those who need it.

But, these sort of service standards are well in line with how Alexis is running WS into the ground, so unsurprising I guess.

Mordac

Just to add, I overheard the person on the check in desk next to me being denied checkin for the same flight, so it wasn't just a case of me mishearing the agent!

YVR Cockroach

This could get ugly. Looking at an itinerary that originates in YYJ and connects to transborder in YYC with 1:26 to get through US CBP. Buy front of the planbe tickets if cheap enough or it won't matter?

What a change from a decade + ago. I guess the brand is so strong in western Canada that (some demographic of) people still will not fly AC. Unfortunately AC fares for my itinerary are way out there (as are the usual U.S. competitors and especially AC's partner - $3k for 8 hrs of flying time r/t itinerary!