Big Changes at WestJet
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- Опубликовано: 18 июн 2022
- Last Thursday, June 16th, WestJet published an article with the headline of “Securing the future: how a growing, stronger, sustainable WestJet benefits Canadians”.
In it, they essentially outline a shift in their business strategy going forward, and a t the helm of all of this is WestJet’s new CEO, Alexis von Hoensbroech, who joined the airline from the Lufthansa Group in February.
Naturally, it’s all very carefully worded to avoid specifics, but there are a few points in here that are worth talking about!
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SOURCES:
[1] www.westjet.com/en-ca/news/20...
[2] www.westjet.com/assets/wj-web...
[3] www.theglobeandmail.com/busin...
[4] calgaryherald.com/business/we...
[5] www.planespotters.net/airline...
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Wonder if this call to remove planes from eastern Canada is not a direct response to Porter arriving with their E190 fleet of airplane to serve the east. Maybe they want to solidify their position in the west to avoid Porter coming there to grab market share
Possible. I know Porter is talking aggressively about coming west...
WestJet will use Swoop and Sunwing in the east to compete with Porter
@@Edmonchuck They were wanting to go into Winnipeg just before the pandemic but something to do with gate guarantees put them off.
I am glad Porter is expanding
Yes, your thinking absolutely makes sense. Besides, Flair Airlines and Lynx Airlines will be a threat in the near future. It is not a bad idea to make sure Westjet's safe card is really safe and no competitor can mess up with it.
I used to love WJ, something needs to change as their service, flight options and prices suck. I live in the West too.
A huge step back in my opinion by West Jet
Isn't it obvious that the WestJet group will be using Swoop and Sunwing to focus on the East? Also the experiment this summer of using the MAX to fly Transatlantic flights is working. So even though they may reduce Dreamliner service, they will probably use the Max to increase service. I just wish they would add seatback screens for IFE to the MAX
I flew Westjet when they had only 2 planes, about a month after starting back in the nineties.
in the east to west routes tho, it should look at the Windsor to Calgary or Edmonton. Windsor is a huge gap that is missing, with lots of skill trade workers here for the oil fields....those workers have to fly out of Pearson with a connection to Windsor or out of london. this is also a gateway for the Detroit and Michigan region.
Just wondering if they are a little bit scared of flair airlines flying out of Hamilton Toronto and Waterloo allowed to fly all over Canada and the USA remember they started out as a small airline once with just a few 737 200s
A little while ago it was all about expanding into Europe long haul with the Dreamliner. Now it's about shrinking. Sounds to me like they are in financial trouble. The problem with Canada is that the cost of flying internally is massive. I can fly to the UK for less in some cases, than flying to a destination inside Canada. I'm flying long haul with Westjet later in the year and thought I would fly to Van from Victoria instead of taking the ferry. Flying to Vancouver from Victoria (about 12 minutes in the air) costs around $250 at the moment. I mean what??? Last time I did it, in 2018 I got it for $88 each way. Actually cheaper than taking the ferry!
I flew Westjet from Nanaimo to Toronto for $430 return. Was Pacific Coastal from Nanaimo to Van. A great price.
They are shrinking the Dreamliner in the East because the MAX has the range to reach Europe from Toronto. They are already flying to Dublin, Glasgow and Edinburgh from Toronto this summer only using the MAX
The ferry is an awesome way to go. A little expensive if you have a car and have to return. Will be over $200 Canadian
Being a long time Calgarian & Westjet follower I think we'll still see routes to T.O. (Major Hub) Would be nice to see more affordable options for Westjet. They started off good with Clive then they lost focus I think. I know they'll still have the Dreamliner's be nice to see where they put them on routes. The new guy in there worked with Swiss Air & Lufthansa both VERY successful airline companies. It'll be nice to see where he takes Westjet in the future.
This is pretty disheartening for those in Canada hoping for an alternative to an Air Canada monopoly. WestJet's partnership with Delta offers a pretty reasonable setup for folks looking to connect with the globe. If they pull out of the east, though, it leaves anyone trying to avoid Air Canada - but needing an alliance for international travel - up a creek without a paddle.
Hopefully Porter can offer a viable alternative (I agree with @TransitQuebec about this likely being a preemptive retreat ahead of Porter's expansion). If Porter was able to offer comprehensive Canadian service out of YYZ, and partner with American and/or Delta for trans-border, it would be a pretty attractive proposition. But, if they chase a bunch of point-to-point YYZ-US routes right away and leave Porter fliers without a way to Victoria or Saskatoon or Winnipeg, and Westjet fully drops service like YOW, YUL, YQB, YHZ, YYT out of YYZ... well, it sucks to have no option but falling into the evil that is Air Canada.
The problem is that everyone in Quebec is suffering from AC induced Stockholm Syndrom and completely forget about other airlines , and it seems even though the Maritimes could make good use of alternatives. The massive Quebec barrier Hinders most airlines from going any further East
Although it makes perfect sense from a business standpoint, it's very unfortunate, I got the WestJet credit card about a year ago and have been saving up points to use alongside the vouchers but I live in Eastern Canada. Seems now I will have to use all these points up soon and switch cards, or fly lots to out West on their, assumably, limited flight options
I have traveled Westjet from Ontario to Alberta/Saskatchewan for many years. The last 3 years they have been a tremendous disappointment with frequent unpredictable itinerary changes on their part. The resulting changes to BOTH departure and return have contributed to inflated costs to our travel budget based on contiguous changes regarding accommodations and vehicle rentals. In some cases, these last-minute costs doubled! As such, we have elected to redirect our strategy regarding our regular trips to western Canada. I feel for eastern Canada. We just returned from a holiday there and really enjoyed the experience. We flew Swoop which I believe is affiliated with Westjet. Perhaps they will bolster Swoop flights to accommodate our eastern neighbours? ...sure hope so.
Wow , it’s almost as if there was a fucking global pandemic. Every single airline has been scrambling to adapt to demand that shifted massively from day to day. That was no different with delta or air Canada or BA or Lufthansa.
Delta changes some trips of mine more than 15 times. Get over it and move forward.
I’m very sorry your little trip got caught up on that.
@@Ben-go1iq Covid/pandemic has been used as a pathetic excuse for gross incompetence, a lack of vision, refusal to accept reality, and more! We live in a real world, not some magic wonderland! Wake up - retool - adjust - WHILE KEEPING CUSTOMERS FRONT-AND-CENTER and not JUST the bottom line $$$$! We have all had to bite the bullet, jump hoops, alter our plans/lifestyles, etc. just to qualify to get on a plane. I think the word pandemic has been a vehicle usurped to accommodate another aspect of doing business. I call it GREED! Prices have escalated while service has significantly eroded. I've got more grey hair today than I did 3 years ago. I know.....Covid.
As someone who has to fly through YYZ, I'm not a fan of this. I was hoping they would expand their 787 offerings to Europe out of YYZ, particularly into Germany and Switzerland, as I go there often and always in business class.
Yeah Mr millionaire
Damn buddy. Must be nice.
@@albecker2982 Ever hear of business travel?
@@martymcfly256 I have, but never in life had the chance to afford it. So, for me it's a millionaire thing.
@@albecker2982 it really really isn’t.
I myself work for a Swiss firm specializing in machine fabrication and electrics.
I make somehwere in the low 100k region and travel internationally in business for work around 1-2 times a month.
The company simply believes that an extra 2-3k in airfare is worth shaving a day of recovery of on international trips. It also generally makes for greater flexibility in tickets.
Great video Alex, ..hoping to see you to a review of the new structure..once it is in play.
Very surprised by the shift back towards a LCC, I wonder if that will have any impact on Swoop.
I don’t think thry can ever truly be an Lcc again there gona be something between flair and Air Canada.
@@-er-un1wt Basically they'll be a Canadian JetBlue, this move was likely done to counter JetBlue's move into Vancouver.
I will never book with Swoop again after the crap I went through this past fall and spring. Additional and ridiculous charges, them changing three of four flight times by several hours ( one by 11 hours ) , failure to refund, failure to compensate. All told I ended up out of pocket $670 on a $2300 itinerary that I never flew.
@@Hammerdak Even those cheap airlines are less garbage than Air Canada.
Funny..."Sustainable" now = "Profitable." Nice play on words. I can't stand corporate press releases. They talk without saying a thing.
makes sense they are focusing on West around the same time Porter E2 about to enter service focused in the west
I do hope there’s more direct WJ flights out of YEG. So tired of flying through YYC first
Agreed! Flair is good for what it is... A limited product to niche markets... But we need ACTUAL REGULAR FLIGHTS to and from our city... and not via Calgary...
Even just getting Keflavik back would help...
@@stickynorth As someone with family in Europe, I'd KILL for the YEG-KEF flights back. PLEASE, Icelandair…
That would depend on where YEG passengers want to go. CYEG is basically a frontier town. There are many direct flights to numerous places in the United States and some in Mexico. Any other place would risk empty seats on the flight. CYYC also has more connections from elsewhere, so it would be more profitable for any airline. I know that you guys know. Sorry, just typing out loud.
@@xjapan3 A/C pulled their LHR flights out of YEG when YEG gave Icelandair a deal to land there but didn't give A/C the same
Nice video! It would be pretty cool to maybe see a WestJet 787 in Edmonton in the future!
We flew WestJet a couple weeks ago. Started from Paris, landing in Calgary and after a couple hour layover we would be on our way to Phoenix (home). While we did land in Calgary on the 27th as planned, the plane was late. It was so late Westjet employees already had our "next flight" itinerary printed out. "Oh well" we said, lets visit Calgary downtown since our next WestJet flight wouldn't be till Wednesday the 29th (2 days later but still June). Long story short, we didn't get out till Friday the 1st of July. They gave "vouchers" which covered the hotel but the meal vouchers would not cover our entire meal (about 40% out of my pocket each meal). I sure don't want to fly them again, unless I have to :)
Wounder if they will expand into Asia, Air Canada still has a heavy presence there but you never know.
No they wont.
Air Canada already sucks compared to Asian carriers would rather Westjet join Skyteam and funnel transpacific connections through SEA and YVR.
@@maxou5757wrong
Great video, I myself, have flown with them for years and I love this airline. This shall be interesting.
QOBILTU.ALHAMDULILLAHIROBBIL ALAMIIN,ALLAHUMMA AMIIN.☆☆☆☆☆.@$.
I'm glad to see these changes, lower-cost flights and possible fleet expansions. I could definitely see the A220 fit in with the airline quite nicely and it would be a very Canadian combo. I do wish they would continue to expand their trans-Atlantic flights and still fly out of Toronto lots but we will see.
WestJet is such a sham. Absolutely hate them. Worst employers ever.
As an American, I kinda find this odd. Since I’m America our premium airlines are expanding so rapidly. But I guess Canada might be just that different from the USA.
I have been flying loyally with WJ for the last 11 yrs, because they partner with RBC with a travel Mastercard that gives decent perks like an annual companion voucher.
However, the travel voucher is fairly restrictive and I would hope that the management at WJ and RBC try to enhance it to provide better value to the premium card holder...best case scenario for my situation is a companion voucher that does not expire and can be used for booking flights for others when I can't fly.
PS...I really enjoy flying on the Dreamliner.
It’s about time! I’ve been wanting more 787 options out of Vancouver than just to London Gatwick.
YEG to MAN would be a better investment, Canadian airlines have ignored the middle of the UK for quite some time now.
Right!? There's no good destinations out of YVR.. and so few... Westjet works closely sith skyteam I think so flights to some skyteam hubs would be great
Flew WestJet a few weeks back. Had to go to Montreal from Vancouver. No directs. Had to go Van-CGY-MTL then MTL-TOR-VAN on the way home. Decided on Premium which was a nice product. Luggage went missing in Montreal for 24 hours. There wasn’t anyone around to give info at all. I could not believe how horrible the customer service was in Montreal for WestJet. I got more direction from an Air Canada employee. Very frustrating and disappointed. Still waiting on reimbursement for having to by a few clothing items and toiletries. This was strictly a Montreal issue though. Flights were on time and great onboard service. Customer service in Vancouver were wonderful.
What about flights to the US? Specifically, Las Vegas?
Just re watched this video. Given WestJet’s recent announcement to retrofit their 737-700s with new fuel saving kits, I doubt they will purchase another AC type. It’s clear the 700 model is favoured so I can still see them taking on MAX-7’s. That said, it will be interesting to see how their fleet evolves. I hope they take the 4 787s to continue international growth from the West!
I'm hoping this change in focus will cause Westjet to hop across the Pacific! Calgary direct to Seoul (codeshare with Korean Air) would be phenomenal.
That was rumoured before COVID hit & had some Delta influence
Most likely, and they might profit with flights to Philippines, as there is a high demand with the majority of frequent passengers and their husbands.
Lol. If they went to Seoul I’m pretty sure it would make more sense to from Vancouver not Calgary.
@@dunsterman356 no competition from YYC except connections via SEA & YVR, there used to be before COVID charter flights by a Korean carrier to YYC, as well as cargo flights, great op to establish a route & with their routes from the USA to connect to! but why WestJet stopped their order for 789s is a mystery if they wish to expand internationally.
I hope they launch a route to Seoul, Korea so I can go home more often
Thank you for sharing...
I’m not surprised by this at all. WestJet seemed to have over expanded in the couple years leading up to the pandemic. And now following the opening of travel around the world it’s very apparent the industry has changed significantly since those days. There are more options domestically, with Flair and Lynx, and internationally more airlines are introducing long range narrow bodies, mostly the A321LR, and soon the XLR variant, which allows for much more flexibility and lower costs for airlines. I wouldn’t be surprised by an A220 order to fill the gap that the 737-6 left, as it significantly better suited in both technology and economics, as well capacity in and out of smaller regional airports. I also wouldn’t be surprised by an A321XLR order either, even though they have a strong Boeing relationship, in the post-covid world ordering these makes more sense given the competition in Canada, the economics of filling a narrow body over a wide body, and the destinations that WestJet intents to fly. Boeing doesn’t offer a plane that can do that, and likely won’t in the foreseeable future given the disaster that they are facing follow the MAX, delivering the 787’s, and delays to the 777X program. So introducing a whole new aircraft type may actually be the wiser and better choice for WestJet. Will be interesting to see.
Let us know how your ingesting goes!
Given the plethora of LCCs in Canada, why would WestJet want to go there?
Could we see AC retreat on some domestic western Canada routes and leave it to Westjet and AC concentrate on the east more with domestic thus creating 2 monopolies, 1 on each side of the country?
1. The narrow body order will likely be MAX aircraft. If anything new, you’ll maybe see the MAX 10 join the ranks. they have mentioned Westjet deviating from the fleet commonality of the 737 created operational challenges over the last decade. As cool as a new type would be, I doubt we will see that, but never say never !
2. You’ll still see westjet in the East, but the days of 14 flights a day between YYZ-YOW/YUL/LGA will be gone. More expansion from the east to the southern leisure markets. Transatlantic routes will likely still run but on the MAX.
3. More point to point flying. An effort will be made to cut down on the number of connecting guests . With that might see some cool new city pairs !?
Exiting times ahead for sure !
Hello, not related to the video but I have a question regarding passports. So the page with my picture and information on it is accidentally folded and it left a crease. Will I be denied to go on board?
Why are they pulling out of eastern Canada?
Refocus on the west? Sounds like a very polished way of saying “retreat! Fall back!” Without spooking investors or jarring stock values. Smart but I have a bad feeling this isn’t a plus for WJ’s future.
I really don’t understand how anyone sees an eastern expansion working anyway.
CAnadian tried it and look where they ended up.
People in Quebec are suffering from decades of AC induced Stockholm Syndrom and forgotten that carriers outside of AC/AF/Air transat exist. And sadly the maritimes doesn’t have a big enough economy to warrant a good service pattern for anything other than Montreal or toronto
I doubt WS will be completely retreating from Eastern Canada all together. Perhaps just the Q400 regional routes. The domestic narrow body coast to coast business is still a busy market for WS. Ie: YHZ-YYC etc
I'm gonna make the prediction of MAX-7s for long, thin routes (YYC-YOW) and MAX-10s as people-stuffers for high volume stuff like YYC-YYZ.
As a former WestJet ramp worker, the 737-10 seems like an absolute nightmare lol. Then again I don't work there anymore so I'm all for it joining the fleet :P
MAX-7 and MAX-10 orders were already placed by WJ a good while ago
west jet just sold 737-700 ac to first air airline. i just flew to atlantic canada from west jet vacations from Jamaica. lost my luggage for 46 hours. they are denying wrong doing and not paying for canada bill of rights mandatory $100 .
Thanks!
I don't know if Westjet will join the global alliance.
Wonder if they would consider the 737 MAX 7? Slightly smaller than the MAX 8 for their lower demand markets?
Already have orders for 22 of them
I think the cancellation of Greyhound Bus and STC in the Prairies had something behind this decision, pushing a whole new group of people to airlines. Will this leave room for Porter Airlines to expand in Eastern Canada?
Porter is getting E2s, and expanding into YYZ and will likely compete in the Corridor and out west.
JetBlue is also expanding into Canada too.
I’m guessing they’ll receive the 787-9’s they have ordered/built but can the future options. I also can see 737 MAX 7 on their future, but we’ll see…
I guess they're trying to live up to their name more!
I found a Sunwing plane operating a Swoop flight from YYZ to YEG on Flightradar24!
Wow
I am not surprised, they were never a factor in the east anyway, too few planes and crew, they keep trying to funnel flights through Calgary, which was not convenient for anyone in the Ontario and east market, good luck to them in the West. I am sure Flair will take up the void.
WestJet is in trouble.
I think WestJet lost its soul when they lost their low cost roots and began going head to head with AC. So it's probably wise to focus on that market again. As their 1st CEO, Clive Beddo once said, "three Nickels are better than 1 dime.
Also all these other newer low cost airlines continue to flood already crowded routes. Be creative!!! Let's get some Routes like Grande Prairie direct to Toronto, Red Deer to Vancouver, etc. and the airbus 220 would be the perfect plane for those slightly thinner but sure to be popular routes.
The problem is that in the airline world nobody give a shit about the LCC customer. Business travelers are where the money is at. Business traveler have loyalty and will pay extra for flexibility.
LCC customer complain to anyone who will listen that they didn’t get free luggage and a meal on a flight they paid 20$ for. They only care about cost. And that in business is a big risk, because as has been proven in Europe, at some point someone will come along who can use Hungarian or Maltese Labour laws to exploit employees and undercut you (Ryanair Malta or wizz air) and the LCC crowd will flock to their 11.99$ tickets and there ain’t shit you can do about it because you chose to flow Canadian Labour laws.
This is why you focus on business Travellers, they aren’t interested in a 100$ diff. In fare if they can fly with their chosen airline.
@@Ben-go1iq excellent points. I watched a documentary on how airlines make money. The economy fair folks just pay the basic bills of the airline. In other words airlines just barely break even with economy fares. The gravy is made in their business class and their loyalty card program via franchise fees from partner companies who use their program to incentivize their own products.
Westjet has always worked closely with PAL offering connection flights. With that said PAL has grown and taken on more routes here in the east with there Dash8 fleet. In my own assumption and mine alone, PAL may grow its fleet to work with westjet to form not necessarily a partnership but a work together atmosphere. Not to blow my eastern Canadian whistle but the Q400 works well in the east and serves smaller areas that up until recently a jet just wouldn’t work. None the less it’s very expensive to fly within the Atlantic provinces, or even to fly overseas from there. We do need a reliable air service here, especially in the north. We did see I drop in fares some years ago when the western oil companies started chartering aircraft to move workers from the east coast to Alberta for example, but since the switchback to flying commercial the fares have shot up again. Hopefully there will be a change in the future! Alex another informative and entertaining video. Thanks for all the work you do, cheers from the rock
WestJet Encore and PAL might actually just be merged into one, with flythrough agreements.
Interesting thought. If WJ is going to stay tied up with Delta (which is really nice for folks wanting global connections), it would be hugely advantageous if this partnership allowed for through ticketing on codeshares (e.g., DL SLC to YYC, WJ YYC to YHZ, then PAL onwards as a single ticket).
When will the Air Canada 77W review come out?
Not a bad plan if they go the Alaskan airlines route, even better if they join Skyteam and leverage connections with Asian carriers through YVR and YYC and maybe with Delta through SEA.
Just making room for another operation! Code sharing...etc
All this does is bolster Air Canada's already monopoly. WestJet will not bode any better.
AC has a very strong grip on YYZ/YUL/YVR the three busiest airprts in the country, until westjet can give AC a run for its money in one of the three AC will forever dominate
It’s strange in Canada people come into our marketplace thinking they’re going to get the same results as in other countries do you define sharply different story a friend of mine as a market analyst he says Canada is not your traditional market restaurant has gain a lot of strength in the east especially out of Toronto if they tend to move further west I look at the population along and the statistical population growth it’s just numbers there is gross but not like in Ontario and Quebec I think in a few years was just going to regret some of these changes maybe not all of them but some and I would like to see how long the CEO will last we are much more loyal and complexed of a market place I did retail marketing for a while we didn’t seem to always stick to the norms not saying we wouldn’t but I have a feeling you were how much money spent on this research it’s only piece of paper in the long run
Note: the 10th 787, if delivered, will have fin number 912, for fairly obvious reasons
Yup. That combination of numbers has become the "thirteenth floor" of the aviation industry.
Please explain:)
@@PolitiCatPodcast 911
Excited to see what the future holds for WestJet, such a sympathetic airline.
Just last week I saw that in published DXB slot allocations, WestJet got some. Interested to see if that goes somewhere...
So what you’re saying is that WestJet holds slots at DXB?
@@JayJayAviation I could see some sort of YYC to middle east flight launched soon because that's literally the largest untapped market into and out of Alberta I believe. At least according to the last route planner survey I read pre-pandemic...
You are joking right? Sympathetic? HA yeah okay
While they're trying to spin this positively, this is almost definitely a negative. They're reducing fleet size...which only means they're losing a lot of money and can't be that big anymore. It's also annoying for a guy like me who's in the market for a job like a Q400 pilot, to see so many jobs planned to be disbanded.
@@Rindiculousfun theyre downsizing Encore because 10 aircrafts are parked and not generating any revenu meanwhile out east, AC is dominating. They’re not downsizing Mainline at all. They’re actually taking delivery of the full 30 pending MAX + in talk with Boeing for a substantial order of narrow body. Westjet has no obligation to serve the east, they’ll go where is money is for them.
When you say Eastern Canada do you mean Atlantic Canada and Central Canada or just the former? To many Albertans Toronto is in Eastern Canada when it really is Central Canada.
I was a frequent flier of westjet out of YYZ many years ago when they were competitive with AC. I say many years because I haven't bought a westjet ticket again in that same time. The constant shifting of their business has hurt them more in the long run and this is just another one of those directional changes that I think will have the same detrimental effect on both them as a business and us customers for competitive choice. Westjet is free to do what they want, but we really need another Canadian competitor to AC at all tiers of service.
French AC won’t allow it . No competition for Canadians.
@@javar888 The mix of Quebec/Ontario bashing is exactly why WS will never win in the east...
That would be freaking awesome if WestJet added A220s!
WestJet "was once" (past tense) the greatest airline.......... they lost touch with what made them great. Sad story.
I really hope they keep the red-eye direct Calgary to Newfoundland flight.
They had much better service before the new management and the union activity. They were more pleasant, more acommodating. Have flown with them on several occasions.
I wonder if they are buying a new WJ 737 fleet and moving older planes into service with Swoosh, especially with picking up Sunwing, an Onex move. Still love the WJ 787 for overseas though,. Less jetlag and the widebody with high ceilings make the 10hrs more bearable. not to mention PODS, PODS, PODS....
fix your payment site!!! it's broken for the longest time!
im thinking the max should open up more non stop flights to Mexico & the Caribbean out of the west . i hate flying Via Toronto out of the west
Westjet have been treating their customers like they don't matter for many years. I was flying WJ when they had 6 planes because they were a great airline with fantastic customer service and good pricing on their fares. However over the last 10 years or so they've turned into another version of Air Canada , just gouging passengers and the worst customer service of any airline I've flown on. I always look for airlines other than WJ or AC for my flights and only use those two as a last resort.
transat is the way to go for me now
Try Lynx Air. Brand new airline. Who knows it might suit you well.
@@arhamkhakwani5851 it's a ULCC, Canadian Frontier (as Flair came first, therefore Canadian Spirit)
Again. They couldn’t care less what you think, cause however much you believe it, unless your sitting in those 12 big recliners up front, you’re not paying their bills.
Worst experience traveling with WestJet! Never again!
I wonder if some Atlantic Canada to Europe service is in the offering with the 737 MAX coming?
They do that already.
As long as there’s no competition everything is OK.
This a great idea, because Canada is a big country and it's not worth spending millions to capture the whole country. They can try to start a carrier called EastJet that can cater East coast customer from Eastcoast North America to Atlantic Canada
Where is Air Transat when you need them.
Ordering the A220 would be supporting the Canadian manufacturing (what part they do manufacture here in Canada) which is great, but who knows, time will tell. Porter ordered the new Embraer jets instead of the A220, so maybe that's an option, as the A220 order list is long. Hopefully they keep servicing the Carribean and Florida out of Toronto, but maybe that is what Sunwing is for?
Full A220 production is in Montreal
What are latest low cost carriers using? Well Breeze and Jet Blue like the A220-300. My money is on the A220 for its range, size and economics. .
It’s not like allegiant, Ryanair and southwest have chosen the 737max over the A220 or spirit, frontier, easyjet and wizz air have chosen the A320neo over the A220
Maybe this new direction will mean more service to the Prairies and on bigger planes.
didnt mention swoop,. Kinda taking over the east routes
Fly with Flair Air! Best airline in Canada!
You mean more strikes less service bad attitude higher prices less services
1:15 50, 40 , 30 , 20 , retar, retar, retar, butter.
I think this is the right move. I feel like their expansion out East a few years ago was a bit too aggressive, so all of the regional routes that are left out there are just bits a pieces of it that were remotely successful, but a route from Halifax to Gander for them doesn’t make much sense anymore.
WestJet has also be cutting YQR to YVR on and off for a few years now due to aircraft availability. Hopefully they can reallocate their resources to maintain that route year round and other ones as well in the West.
Westjet already has some MAX7s on order, so I'm betting on Westjet not ordering the A220-300 (though A220-100 is a different story)
A guy from Lufthansa doesn't sound really promising, considering the mighty Lufthansa Group is doing nothing similar to Westjet in terms of business model and its Skytrax 5-Star rating is not very persuasive.
Westjet has a deal for Embraer jets, replacing the 737 fleet. Just insider info.
But arent a lot of their 737s very new?
Will they just replace the 737-700NGs and -600NGs?
They cancelled the remaining dreamliners
the last CEO gutted the customer service experience out of Westjet.
Nice reporting Alex. I agree with their decision to concentrate their efforts in the West; they know this market best, they are well regarded and the economy will grow. Toronto is saturated with low cost carriers and start-ups. Some will undoubtedly disappear but the market is not ripe for profitability. And who wants to work hard and make no money ? Only Air Canada can afford to do this. Keeping their fleet uniform would save them a pile of money but they may be tempted by the A220.
AC is a private airline... Not the 1960s anymore
@@johnwellington5754 AC Still gets subsidies from the government, quite a lot actually (albeit the subisides came from Canadian).
@@Dexter037S4 I'd love to see the supposed susidies that AC recieves from Ottawa that other airlines do not recieve, i'll be waiting
@@johnwellington5754 The Subsidies are for low served routes, similar to the Essential Air Service in the USA.
The Northern Airlines get the same ones.
Let me understand, they will reduce their 47-plane Q400 to 15 or 10? I think It would be a bad idea.
*By* 10 or 15, so ending up with 32-37 of them.
@@AlexPraglowskiAviation They might actually discontinue Encore and merge the Encore services with PAL Airlines, PAL have already had a substantial partnership with WJ.
Regarding the end with if Westjet were to get something to fill the gap between the 78 seat Dash 8-400 & the 134 seat 737-700 with the retirement of the 737-600 last year, If they want to stay all Boeing for simplicity I could see Boeing doing 1 of 2 things to offer them:
1) Revive a smaller plane with a new modern design, such as the 717 to make a 717 Max. Looking at Wikipedia the 717-200 was 117 seat 1 class or 8+98=106 seat 2 class, so the seat range would be correct & would give Boeing something to compete with when it comes to regional jets to vs the A220, CRJ, and so on.
2) A smaller variant of the 737 Max, such as a Max 6 to replace the -600 & slot in below the Max 7 & perhaps the -700, I'd say it'd be more likely to be between the -600 & -700 for seating as looking at the Westjet Wikipedia page, their 22 Max 7 on order would have more seats than the -700, therefore I'd imagine a Max 6 should it happen would also have more seats than a -600?
the 737-600 was a commercial flop, same with the A318, the 717s design has been stolen by China and there is no tooling for the 717 remaining.
The A220 is by far the only option.
@@Dexter037S4 There's also the E2 family
@@Blank00 Still doesn't fit the mold.
Westjet is definitely not very successful in penetrating into Eastern Canadian routes. Most people flying between the YYZ-YOW-YUL triangle or flying from YYZ to anywhere east of YYZ would not think about WS. Their routing options and timetable are both much less competitive than AC's in those areas. To become really competitive will require a lot more investment and potentially making the region too crowded with too many flights. To fortify the West is not a bad idea. Eastern Canada, I presume, will then be served only with flights to Western Canada by WestJet, so there will continue be YYZ-YVR or YYC-YYZ or YYC-YUL or YYZ-YWG or even YHZ-YYC, but there will be no more YYZ-YUL or YYZ-YHZ on WS. The 787 should be deployed on some of the trunk domestic routes so WS can compete with AC on the premium side for those routes. Currently, people flying business class between YYZ and YVR have no choice but to go for the frequent 787 or 777 service with AC. Frequent 787 deployment on the route by WS can help the airline break into that lucrative market. WS can make YYC a real Canada-Asia hub too by redeploying the YYZ based European bound 787 to YYC to fly to Japan and Korea. 10 787s would allow WS to fly meaningful and competitive 787 service on YYZ-YYC and YYZ-YVR, while flying daily service between YYC and Tokyo, Seoul and a few more European destinations.
I can imagine them dropping places like Thunder Bay, Windsor, and Sydney (quite unfortunately for these communities and folks, but aligns with their "pull Q400s out of the east" move), but I can't imagine it's in their best interest to drop, say, YYZ to YUL, YOW, YHZ, or YYT. There are plenty of Calgarians who need to visit both Halifax and Toronto on a single business trip, not to mention a lot of Torontonians who feed their western network and would be alienated over to Air Canada if they can't get FF miles heading to Halifax or St John's.
@@ericbkennedy They'll drop Q400s from YOW and have PAL takeover.
@@Dexter037S4 Hopefully a smooth codeshare there is an option. I hope it doesn't involve a grander slashing of all Q400 routes from YYZ (e.g., YOW, YUL, BOS, ORD, YQG, YQT, etc), as I can't imagine PAL taking any of those over. Some I could imagine upgrading to 737 at lower frequencies (e.g., YOW, YUL, BOS), but I worry WJ is just straight-up planning to drop destinations like TQG, YQT, etc. And, if they truly do drop them all, it would be pretty rough for those of us Toronto based who want to avoid Air Canada but want to stay loyal to the WJ/DL partnership.
Had a terrible experience with Westjet. Notified them, and went as far as contacting the new CEO but got transferred around and got no resolution. Not the Westjet of years ago. I tried to be reasonable, but they didn’t. It came down to requesting a few hundred dollars refund and they didn’t or wouldn’t make good. Really poor service.
I would have thought being the new CEO he would want to make things right, but apparently not
@@sheenacacchioni789 it seems you are wildly overestimating your own worth.
If you where a corporate client who spent 20k+ a month, you might get a generic reply written by a secretary. To get a reply from a ceo even at much smaller airlines, you need to be within they’re top 50 shareholders or be a client who makes a significant investment in their company.
This man is trying to lead an international airline with 50+ jets and you think he cares about your luggage. You need a reality check.
Also they wouldn’t be doing business correctly if they didn’t challenge you at every front on a refund. That’s how you make money. Most people won’t try and fight you.
@@Ben-go1iq Funny Ben, I never mentioned “luggage” you must be hired by Westjet to respond to customer complaints. Is that how you make your money. If the CEO doesn’t respond/care about customer service, eventually he won’t have an airline to run. Don’t be so foolish.
I will never fly WestJet
I'm not surprised. I don't remember where I saw it but somewhere I read that many of WestJet's least profitable routes were out east so it makes sense that they'd reduce on these. As a Western Canadian I'm excited to see boosts out here but I can see the concerns of those from the eastern provinces, especially given the major mergers underway by both AC and WJ, further reducing the number of carriers in the country
AC isn't merging anymore
I also think it has to do with all the competition for low cost carriers out west these days. Westjet had a monopoly on us here less than 5 years ago. Now we have Flair out here which is offering insanely low prices, and Lynx has also just started up as well. In response, WestJet has made their own in Swoop, but it is vastly inferior to Flair's low cost service right now.
@@Rindiculousfun JetBlue is also moving into the Canadian market starting at YVR, so that's definitely a factor too.
@@Dexter037S4 I'm not 100% sure how this works, but don't they have to be a Canadian company, or are they trying to rebrand a new company in the Canadian market? Cause Flair just got through it's entire fiasco with whether it was Canadian or not.
@@Rindiculousfun This is to counter both Porter's expansion and to reign in the effects of the Jetblue-ification of Vancouver.
so many more low cost carriers in Canada, and most Canadian population live in Eastern Canada. Terrible business decision!
My few flights on West Jet are not the worst flights I've ever taken, but they are all in the top ten. Additionally, I will never fly on a 737 max so as I start flying again the ONLY WJ flights I'll ever choose would be if I can't get a flight with another airline AND I don't have to fly on a 737. Now, if they can only do something about one of the worst livery in aviation....
Well they better do something. Westjet is the absolute worst carrier I have ever flown with. Absolutely brutal service.
Merger with Porter?
AC wont allow that, the lobbying power of AC in OTtawa is Insane