Beware flying Westjet on points

[Fairgarth]

So it's Monday morning and family members head to Winnipeg airport: Mum, Dad and four kids.  At checkin, Westjet tells them they can fly to Toronto but they have been bumped off their Toronto - Orlando flight.  The earliest they can be re-booked would be Friday, and that would be Winnipeg - Saskatoon - Toronto - Orlando.  Mum and Dad have a week off work so that's no good.  They live way outside Winnipeg and some relative gave them a ride to the airport.  Now he has to turn around and head back there again to pick them up and take them home.

 

Let's recognize that the airlines have had an absolutely awful Xmas season due to weather.  However, my understanding was that when a flight was cancelled and passengers had to be re-booked, you don't bump somebody else.  They have done nothing wrong and now you would have two groups of people mad at you, not just one.  My take is that they got bumped for two reasons:  a) it was a party of six  b) they were travelling on points.  If they had paid cash, Westjet would have to refund the cash and they will do anything to avoid that if they can.  My sense is that since Onex took over Westjet, it just isn't the same.  Here's the thing my fellow Canadians:  if they had been joining a cruise and missed it, there would be no refund of the cruise fares.

 

If anybody has a different take or can shed light on this, I would be happy to hear it and acknowledge it.

[mrgabriel]

We had an issue with seat assignments on WS when they had their A/C meltdown in November. Our seats were given away - but we were flying on DELTA points so it was a non-revenue flight for WS and our impression was that they didn’t care. Flying on points from Air Miles or another provider is different because there is revenue there. But yeah, it makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

 

The past few weeks have been a nightmare for travel. I feel for everyone who is stuck in the mess. Airlines have to figure out a way to better handle adverse weather. It’s not just a Canadian thing, it’s all over the world. We lived in the SE US for years and there were always flights cancelled for heavy rain or thunderstorms. You KNOW these are going to happen all the time in certain seasons. Airlines and airports need to plan so they can quickly recover … 

[LHT28]

even if you pay for your seats  they may give them away

 happened to us a few years ago

WS  never again

[Magicat]

We purchased seats on WestJet and they were given up for crew that was traveling.  Another flight purchased business class tickets and stuck me back in economy and there were empty seats up front.  Unless they are the only option, I will not fly WJ again.  They are a discount airline and that is what you can expect from one.

Edited December 26, 2022 by Magicat

[Magicat]

Oh look, West Jet flies from T3 in Toronto.

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/this-is-a-joke-right-some-travellers-baggage-lost-for-days-as-pearson-struggles-with-broken-luggage-belt-1.6209134

[bookbabe]

Weird how people’s experiences can be so different.  The problems previous posters outlined mirror our experiences on Air Canada, we’ve had nothing but stellar service and stellar flights on WestJet.  A few cancellations and delays over the years, but nothing out of the ordinary that I wouldn’t have had to deal with on any other airline.

 

However, we made the mistake of booking an Orlando to San Juan Spirit flight to get to a February 2023 cruise.  It’s been changing about every other week, and I have no confidence that it’s not going to keep changing right up until the flight date.  And even with the flex fare we booked, the best we can get if we cancel is a voucher with really lousy conditions, so we’re kind of stuck.  First and last Spirit flight.  The US low-cost airlines make AC and WJ look like luxury private jets.
 

OP, it sucks that your family had flight issues, but assuming they were bumped, and solely because they were traveling on points, is just that, an assumption.  Unless that’s what the WJ agent told them?  Thousands of people had to deal with delayed, canceled, missed flights over the last few days.  And needing connections makes it harder to reschedule.  Adding the points into the mix triples the issue, since as I understand it, not all seats and flights are available to third party booking agencies.  
 

Our WJ flight on Thursday was delayed a couple hours due to ice issues, but we eventually got where we needed to be.  Part of traveling in Canada in winter during the busiest travel time of the year.  Not really anything new or different.

[Tango99]

9 hours ago, Fairgarth said:

So it's Monday morning and family members head to Winnipeg airport: Mum, Dad and four kids.  At checkin, Westjet tells them they can fly to Toronto but they have been bumped off their Toronto - Orlando flight.  The earliest they can be re-booked would be Friday, and that would be Winnipeg - Saskatoon - Toronto - Orlando.  Mum and Dad have a week off work so that's no good.  They live way outside Winnipeg and some relative gave them a ride to the airport.  Now he has to turn around and head back there again to pick them up and take them home.

 

Let's recognize that the airlines have had an absolutely awful Xmas season due to weather.  However, my understanding was that when a flight was cancelled and passengers had to be re-booked, you don't bump somebody else.  They have done nothing wrong and now you would have two groups of people mad at you, not just one.  My take is that they got bumped for two reasons:  a) it was a party of six  b) they were travelling on points.  If they had paid cash, Westjet would have to refund the cash and they will do anything to avoid that if they can.  My sense is that since Onex took over Westjet, it just isn't the same.  Here's the thing my fellow Canadians:  if they had been joining a cruise and missed it, there would be no refund of the cruise fares.

 

If anybody has a different take or can shed light on this, I would be happy to hear it and acknowledge it.

You don’t say what the airline said had happened to others in Toronto that caused what you say is the family being bumped. I’m sure there would be good reason for the airline not to bring a family to Toronto only to have them all in limbo. As for cruises, and missed transit….that’s what we insure ourselves for. And if travelling on points those are revenue for the airlines as much as cash. Your family may be able to have points reinstated. 

[Fouremco]

20 hours ago, Fairgarth said:

At checkin, Westjet tells them they can fly to Toronto but they have been bumped off their Toronto - Orlando flight.

I wonder if this would have happened had they checked in online the previous day. In my experience, once checked in you are less likely to be bumped. And if they were advised when checking in the day before that they had been bumped, at least they would have saved themselves the drive to Winnipeg and back.

 

15 hours ago, mrgabriel said:

The past few weeks have been a nightmare for travel. I feel for everyone who is stuck in the mess.

My sister was to spend a family Christmas with us and decided to take the train, given the uncertainty of flying. Because of other commitments, she booked for the 24th. Upon arrival at Union Station, she checked the departure board only to find that the train had just been cancelled.

 

She returned home, and as VIA was very unsure of when service to Ottawa would return, she thought that she'd try Red Arrow, the new (to Ontario) bus line offering a Toronto-Ottawa route. She secured a seat for Boxing Day, missing the family dinner on Christmas Day but happy in the knowledge that she'd be here for a week.

 

The bus pulled away from the station and had driven barely four blocks when it lost all air pressure and had to stop. Eventually a replacement bus arrived and off they headed, arriving in Ottawa over two hours late. Over 50 hours late if you think of her original train arrival time, but at least she made it, unlike so many other travellers.

[Magicat]

At least our airlines aren't having issues like Southwest.

[Magicat]

https://www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-environment/major-u-s-airline-cancels-60-per-cent-of-flights-post-snowstorm-1.6209515

 

Here is the link to the story

[Fairgarth]

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

I wonder if this would have happened had they checked in online the previous day. In my experience, once checked in you are less likely to be bumped. And if they were advised when checking in the day before that they had been bumped, at least they would have saved themselves the drive to Winnipeg and back.

 

That's a very good point, thank you.  I'll have to investigate.

 

Slightly off topic but along the same lines we had a similar experience with Air Canada.  We were booked in Business Class on an A320 and selected our seats at the time of booking.  (We normally ride with our fellow peasants but had not travelled in three years so decided to treat ourselves.)  Online checkin opens up at 24 hours prior to departure.  We checked in online around 6 hours prior and our seats were gone.  We had been moved forward to the bulkhead row which we didn't want but never did fight it.  So how did that happen?  And, yes, the flight was full in both classes.

[Magicat]

8 hours ago, Fairgarth said:

 

That's a very good point, thank you.  I'll have to investigate.

 

Slightly off topic but along the same lines we had a similar experience with Air Canada.  We were booked in Business Class on an A320 and selected our seats at the time of booking.  (We normally ride with our fellow peasants but had not travelled in three years so decided to treat ourselves.)  Online checkin opens up at 24 hours prior to departure.  We checked in online around 6 hours prior and our seats were gone.  We had been moved forward to the bulkhead row which we didn't want but never did fight it.  So how did that happen?  And, yes, the flight was full in both classes.

Lesson learned, book asap or check in

Edited December 28, 2022 by Magicat

[Ex-Airbalancer]

11 hours ago, Fouremco said:

I wonder if this would have happened had they checked in online the previous day. In my experience, once checked in you are less likely to be bumped. And if they were advised when checking in the day before that they had been bumped, at least they would have saved themselves the drive to Winnipeg and back.

 

My sister was to spend a family Christmas with us and decided to take the train, given the uncertainty of flying. Because of other commitments, she booked for the 24th. Upon arrival at Union Station, she checked the departure board only to find that the train had just been cancelled.

 

She returned home, and as VIA was very unsure of when service to Ottawa would return, she thought that she'd try Red Arrow, the new (to Ontario) bus line offering a Toronto-Ottawa route. She secured a seat for Boxing Day, missing the family dinner on Christmas Day but happy in the knowledge that she'd be here for a week.

 

The bus pulled away from the station and had driven barely four blocks when it lost all air pressure and had to stop. Eventually a replacement bus arrived and off they headed, arriving in Ottawa over two hours late. Over 50 hours late if you think of her original train arrival time, but at least she made it, unlike so many other travellers.

I wouldn’t want to be on the 401 on the 23 or 24th , whiteout conditions and most of it was closed 

They we’re putting people up in arenas in Colbourne and Brighton

They took plows and tow trucks off the road 

[mrgabriel]

On 12/27/2022 at 8:19 AM, Fouremco said:

I wonder if this would have happened had they checked in online the previous day. In my experience, once checked in you are less likely to be bumped. And if they were advised when checking in the day before that they had been bumped, at least they would have saved themselves the drive to Winnipeg and back.

 

She returned home, and as VIA was very unsure of when service to Ottawa would return, she thought that she'd try Red Arrow, the new (to Ontario) bus line offering a Toronto-Ottawa route.

In our case. we were flying to the US & the Covid vax acknowledgement wouldn’t allow us to check-in in advance. We have since learned that it will often work on a computer when it doesn’t work on a mobile device. Total mess. We are sorely disappointed in WS & since we live in Calgary, we’re likely stuck with them. 
 

Red Arrow has been offering coach service in Alberta for decades. For many people, Red Arrow is the preferred way to travel between Calgary & Edmonton. Much less expensive than flying & it can take less time! Glad your family was able

to be together. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Regarding the VIA stuck in Cobourg for 18 hours 

Via never contacted the town for help , it wasn’t until people called 911 for help did EMS showed up 

A complete fault on VIA part 

[Magicat]

3 hours ago, mrgabriel said:

In our case. we were flying to the US & the Covid vax acknowledgement wouldn’t allow us to check-in in advance. We have since learned that it will often work on a computer when it doesn’t work on a mobile device. Total mess. We are sorely disappointed in WS & since we live in Calgary, we’re likely stuck with them. 
 

Red Arrow has been offering coach service in Alberta for decades. For many people, Red Arrow is the preferred way to travel between Calgary & Edmonton. Much less expensive than flying & it can take less time! Glad your family was able

to be together. 

Aren't they planning on building a ultra high speed train that runs in a vacuum tube on magnets?

 

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, mrgabriel said:

Red Arrow has been offering coach service in Alberta for decades. For many people, Red Arrow is the preferred way to travel between Calgary & Edmonton. Much less expensive than flying & it can take less time! Glad your family was able

to be together. 

We took Red Arrow years ago  from Calgary to Breynet

it was very comfortable  for a bus  trip 

not sure what it is like theses days  but it was pretty good 20 yrs ago  LOL

[mrgabriel]

On 12/29/2022 at 1:51 PM, Magicat said:

Aren't they planning on building a ultra high speed train that runs in a vacuum tube on magnets?

 

Hahaha - yeah, there is talk of a high-speed link between Calgary & Edmonton. A private company is spearheading it. They have sufficient funding for all of the research and last I heard, for a first segment but there's a long way to go. 

 

There isn't LRT service to the airports in YYC or YEG - so I think this is a pipe dream for the time being. Although it sure would make travel between those two cities a lot easier - especially in the winter. 

[Oceangoer2]

On 12/27/2022 at 9:42 PM, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I wouldn’t want to be on the 401 on the 23 or 24th , whiteout conditions and most of it was closed 

They we’re putting people up in arenas in Colbourne and Brighton

They took plows and tow trucks off the road 

We were on the 401 on the 24th....closed from London westward, but open London eastward.  One lane slow travel from London until Kitchener then clear through to Toronto.  Same, but reverse, coming home IN THE DARK.  Scary ride.  Wouldn't have done it, but first family Christmas in 3 years.  Clear weather but chancy roads, however trucks were driving faster than cars in the slush covered outer lane.  All forms of travel seem to have suffered over the Christmas holiday.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Oceangoer2