The Air Travel Guide
Posts tagged westjet
WestJet and Air Canada Stock Take Sudden Tumble
0231 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Both WestJet and Air Canada stocks took a steep drop at close today, with both airlines decreasing by over five percent. WestJet stock dropped .67 of a point to finish the day at 12.26 per share, while Air Canada dropped .16 to close at 1.32.
This all comes after WestJet had begun crowd sourcing their employees to promote ways of reducing costs. And according to this report, there was an overwhelming response. Furthermore, the airline was able to gather new product ideas by using this method.
It isn’t clear yet what exactly caused the slide today, however, both stocks had been maintaining their worth for the past week. Below is the graph of how today’s stock for both WestJet and Air Canada played out.
WestJet
Air Canada
WestJet Vs. Air Canada – Who’s Winning In The Small Town Markets?
0309 days
by Bradley
in Airline Reviews
This is the beginning of a new series on FlightNews.ca, where we will compare Canada’s two major airlines in a variety of different settings. From customer service to the aircraft they use, we’re going to go over both airlines with a fine tooth comb. Today we’re going to focus on the regional aspect of both Air Canada and WestJet.
Right of the bat, Air Canada has an advantage over WestJet; their own regional airline. Being affiliated with Air Canada Express (formerly known as Jazz) allows the airline to access airports with small runways, whereas WestJet and their fleet of Boeing 737s would not be able to land. Air Canada Express flies both DH3 and CRJ aircraft, which take up less runway when taking off. Having this ability gives Air Canada access to small rural areas, often being the only airline servicing a particular area.
The problem with both airlines, however, is that the small markets they’re trying to reach may not have enough population to support a regular route. In fact, many of these small routes aren’t profitable, forcing the airline to leave or cut their route frequency drastically. This has happened quite a bit post recession, especially in cities with less than 15 000 residents.
What’s interesting, however, is WestJet’s ability to attract small town markets to larger cities just to fly with them. For example, Kamloops, Kelowna, Prince George, and Abbotsford Airports have a large customer base coming from rural communities as far as three hours away. WestJet being so attractive to these smaller communities is probably due to their easy going customer experience.
With all of that said, the winner for this round is, hands down, Air Canada. The main reason for this is the fact that they are able to reach so many passengers with Air Canada Express. The large amount of routes they have available to customers puts them at a huge advantage over WestJet. Especially considering that WestJet isn’t even capable of landing in some of the destinations that Air Canada services.
WestJet Breaks Another Single Day Record
0325 days
by Bradley
in Airline Reviews
WestJet announced in a press release today that they’ve broken, yet again, their all time single day traffic numbers. On June 30, the airline flew 51, 752 passengers compared to their previous record of 51,611 during the Easter long weekend. This record also surpasses one of the biggest travel seasons of the year, the Christmas holidays. This record also goes far beyond their regular rate of around 40 000 passengers flying on their network a day.
“Canadians are ready to celebrate this Canada Day long weekend. Whether they are headed home to see friends and family or looking to explore one of our 70 destinations, we’re proud to be the Canadian airline to take them to where they want to be,” said Bob Cummings, Executive Vice-President, Sales, Marketing and Guest Experience. “As our airline grows, and we continue to build airline partnerships through our interline and code-share agreements, we’re looking forward to setting more records like these in the future. We thank our guests for choosing to fly with us and we’re committed to continuing to deliver our great guest experience each and every day.”
WestJet has become one of the fiercest competitors in the airline industry as of late, taking a huge chunk of sales out of larger airlines such as Air Canada. In fact, WestJet has been promoting themselves as Canada’s preferred airline over the last few years, and with numbers like this, that slogan is becoming hard to argue with. What’s even more interesting is the fact that they are breaking records even with the price increases they’ve had as of late. They’re obviously doing something right.
Image: TMWolf
WestJet and Air Canada Fighting Over Eastern Routes
2504 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
WestJet and Air Canada are offering significant discounts.
It has become increasingly obvious that both of Canada’s major airlines are in a war over flights in Eastern Canada. At this time, both companies are offering 30% off deals on flights leaving out of Halifax, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, and other major airports in Eastern Canada (varying depending on the airline).
This battle has been going on for quite some time now. If one airline offers a deal, the other soon follows with an equal or additional discount. Both airlines seem to be targeting the online audience, as I haven’t been able to find these deals through any other travel agency (yet). With that said though, this promotion may turn out to benefit WestJet, as their web-experience is by far more user-friendly than Air Canada’s. Furthermore, Air Canada adds a whole bunch of options that you can apply for before checkout, making it much more difficult to simply book a flight.
However, one thing that both airlines have failed miserably at is making it simple for the customer to use the coupon code. Both airlines require that the user go to a separate page and copy the code, then the customer must paste the code in the coupon box on the airline’s payment page before making the purchase. It would’ve been a whole lot simpler for the user if both airlines would’ve simply applied these discounts automatically, or at least create a simple check box for a customer to click on if they choose to use the deal.
I should also remind everyone that bookings for both WestJet and Aircanada must be made by January 10, and travel must be completed by June 26th…. Talk about copycats.
By the way, here are the links to Air Canada’s and WestJet’s 30% off deal.
Image source: Mogomoney.com
WestJet Baggage Allowance – How Many Bags Can I Bring?
0509 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Airlines have become much stricter with their limitations on bags over the last few years as a way to bring in more revenue. Luckily, there are a few companies such as WestJet who’ve been able to keep the cost to passengers at a minimum. Unfortunately though, WestJet hasn’t been able to maintain their “free bagage” policy completely, and have now applied tougher baggage fees on items reaching over their newly revisited limitation guidelines. Below are some of the new WestJet baggage restrictions that are currently being enforced.
Carry-on Baggage
If you’re one who likes to bring more than one bag onto an aircraft you’ll be pleased to know that you’ll be able to with WestJet. The airline allows 2 bags onto their 737 jets, however, each one must weigh under 22lb. There are limitations on the baggage size as well. The first bag must be smaller than 55cm by 23 cm by 40cm, and the second can be no larger than 43cm by 16cm by 33 cm. An example of the first bag could be anything from a baby bag to a small duffle bag. The second could be a purse or a small laptop computer bag.
Checked Baggage
Photo Credit: Losgofres
Unfortunately, checked baggage is a whole different story, depending on when and where you travel. Every passenger flying on WestJet is allowed one checked bag at no additional cost to their fare. They do, on the other hand, limit the size and the weight of the bags being checked in, but we’ll get into that in the next section.
You may remember WestJet allowing a second piece of luggage to be checked in at no cost in its early days, however, that has since changed. Starting in January 2011, a second checked bag will only be allowed on-board for a fee of $20. This new restriction is bound to catch more than a few customers off guard.
Sporting equipment is similar to the checked baggage policy, whereas you’ll be charge $20 on a second item, and $50 for the third and fourth item starting in mid-January 2011. Of course, there are some special limitations to sporting equipment, so it’s best to check with WestJet directly.
Overweight and Oversized Baggage
As mentioned earlier, WestJet limits the size and weight of bags being brought aboard their flight as checked baggage. If the weight of an item is more than 50lb (under 100lb) you’ll be charged an additional $50 per item. If the size of the bag is larger than 158cm by 200cm the same fee will apply. If a bag goes beyond these restrictions you’ll have to look at other modes of shipping, including WestJet’s cargo solution.
Conclusion
Although the restrictions above may seem overbearing on the part of WestJet, they airline has still kept their limitations to a minimum. The new charges have only been implemented recently, and will definitely take some getting used to. Even with these new restrictions, Westjet remains as one of the best airlines to fly if you want cheap shipping of your baggage.
There are a few destinations in which WestJet has different policies in order to obey laws and regulations of a few countries. For more information, a detailed list of WestJet baggage policies can be found on the airline’s website. I’d recommend checking it religiously before you get on your flight. You never know when something might change and potentially ruin your flight.
WestJet Sets Historic Record in Christmas Travel
1515 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Photo Credit: Paul Hami
WestJet announced today that they expect to fly over 50,000 passengers spread out upon 434 flights. This is now their single-day record, having only flew 49,545 on 418 flights in early October. Although this is to be expected over a Christmas holiday, it’s nice to see this type of jump from their average of 40,000 passengers daily.
WestJet was founded in 1996, and since then, they’ve grown to be the second best airline in Canada, with over 7,700 employees. Their “We’re owner’s too” campaign, which is an option for employees to purchase shares in the company, is said to have had a positive impact on the costumer service provided by WestJet.
Although WestJet hasn’t made the leap of providing service to countries across the Atlantic, they have put their mark on the sub-tropical holiday industry. With flight destinations ranging from Hawaii to Bermuda to Mexico to the Caribbean.
WestJet To Offer Increased Service From Alberta To Hawaii
0517 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
Photo Credit: FMori on Flickr
WestJet will be using their first Boeing 757-200 jet in a new service which will be initiate on February 12, 2011, pending government approval. The jet, which will be leased from North American airlines, will allow WestJet to carry up to 193 passengers per trip.
Routes in which this jet will be used include between Calgary and Honolulu and Maui, along with trips between Edmonton and Maui.
North American Airlines is a charter service operating out of Jamaica, N.Y, and have been known to provide a multitude of high profile charter services to sports teams, tour operators, and even to the President of the United States during his presidential election campaign.
WestJet was also quick to point out that their passengers should still expect to receive their world class customer service. In fact, they’ve stated that they’ll be providing a WestJet service ambassador on board all flights to ensure that WestJet’s high level customer service is maintained.
Hugh Dunleavy, who’s the WestJet Executive Vice-President of Strategy and Planning had this to say.
“This announcement demonstrates our flexibility as an airline as well as our ability to maintain our competitive edge in this market. While the Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft is ideal for WestJet, there are select situations where a longer-range aircraft is more ideally suited. We believe that providing our guests with additional non-stop Alberta-to-Hawaii service is beneficial to our guests and our airline.”
It should also be stated that this new route is operating only until April 30, 2011.
Think You’re Getting a Great Flight Deal Over The Phone? Think Again
0576 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
WestJet has taken the precaution of warning customers this past week of a scam with the goal of obtaining credit card information. The fraudulent activity, according to WestJet, is being conducted over the phone, and the airline is warning customers to be aware of a multitude of variations of the scam.
One of the more prominent variations of the scam include prize giveaways after the call-receiver giving the fraud artist money or after they purchase a fake product.
WestJet has stated that they strictly do not engage in telephone marketing or share passenger information with parties that would be involved in telephone marketing.
WestJet’s Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Bob Cummings, stated on Thursday that “We want the public to know that these callers do not represent WestJet. It’s extremely unfortunate that some people in society prey off others, but this is nothing more than a scam and we want Canadians to know that.”
So what should you do if you receive one of these phone calls?
- Do not speak to the person talking to you, hang up immediately. Most fraud artists have special technology that allows them to track which people will respond to them.
- Immediately contact PhoneBusters by phoning 1-888-495-8501 or emailing them.
- Warn other people you may know that could potentially be venerable to something like this.
Fraudulent telephone marketing has been around for some time now, yet people are still getting caught up in it and giving the fraudsters private information. I think it’s safe to say that in this modern age you should never give personal information over the phone, as you never know who exactly you’re giving it to.
Have you been bit by this scam? Feel free to leave a comment below with your opinion.
WestJet Announces Multiple New Routes To Southern United States and Mexico
0649 days
by Bradley
in Canadian Airlines
WestJet announced that it will be flying a multitude of new routes including increased service to Fort Lauderdale, Cancun, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Orlando.
The Phoenix route will be serviced from Regina and Saskatoon, and will be non-stop from both airports, occurring once weekly on Saturdays. It will leave Regina at 6 AM, making its return trip at approximately 9:35 AM. WestJet says that they’re trying to attract people who’re looking for a quick winter getaway.
WestJet has also announced today that they’ll be running a non-stop route between Edmonton and Orlando that will also be occurring every Saturday. The flight from Edmonton will depart at 12:45 AM and depart back to Edmonton just after 8:30.
And for you parliament hill people, WestJet has also announced that it will be providing seasonal non-stop service between Ottawa and Las Vegas, occurring twice weekly on Thursday and Sunday. Flights are scheduled for the late afternoon to the late evening on this route.
Quebec was also added to the equation today, with announcements of direct flights to Cancun and Fort Lauderdale. The Quebec to Cancun route will leave at 9:15 AM on Saturday, returning home at approximately 2:10 PM. The route to Fort Lauderdale will be commence on Sundays, leaving Quebec at 7:30AM and be returning at around 12:45 PM. Cancun has become an extremely popular route for Canadians, and will no doubt be the vacation destination for many more in the future.
It’s only been recently that WestJet has entered the International realm. Throughout the past couple of years they’ve added flights to the Bahamas, Zihuatanejo, Puerto Viarta, and more. With that said, there have not yet been any over-seas flights added.
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