Agreed, they can't seem to compete on prize with all those newer and existing LCC and ULCC. Their prices are still only a bit lower then air canadas in many cases. I think they should continue trying to be full service, just a little cheaper then AC to get the market share. I'm sure in another few years We will hear them pivoting their strategy again.
I flew West Jet for the first time. Liberia Costa Rica to Toronto, October 22. Business class, it was the most pleasant flight experience i had for a very long time. All the way around the service was absolutely excellent, I'm in need of a wheelchair, this is the very first time that my needs where met with so much help and friendly smiles. Thank you West Jet staff.
I recently (5/13/23) flew WestJet Portland to Rome (PDX-YYC YYC-FCO) in business. Weird routing but the price was unbeatable. The first leg was a Dash 8, whoopee, but the service was very nice and in the front of the plane we got the snack package and a free drink. The transfer in Calgary was smooth. The close to ten hour dreamliner leg was wonderful, we did get a blanket which was appreciated. It was the plane's second flight of the day, having just come in from Paris, but it was spotless inside. The wife and I were in 2D and 2F. Crew was wonderful, food (roast beef, salmon, or veggie ravioli) was very good - but I was disappointed they no longer serve poutine :) . All in all a product that compares favorably with other airlines at a price I could not beat. I'd fly them again in a heartbeat.
Love their 787. I cant believe they are going back to the 'low cost' route. What about Swoop? I travel within Canada a lot and their fare is the same as Air Canada. If you are 'stuck' on their 737, which is very likely, no personal TVs and very cheap seats. Meanwhile, their international flights need more connecting partners. I have been looking at European flights this winter and all of them are with Air Canada or other european airlines. They could have done so much with their 787 fleet but no, they decide to focus on Calgary...
I flew from Kelowna to Rome with a connection in Calgary on October 5th. Business class on the 787. I found that the service was almost as good as on my last trip to London in 2019. Two areas for improvement were (a) the croissant should have been served warm and (b) there were no heated moist towels. Otherwise everything was perfect as far as I was concerned and the staff were as personable as always. The lounge in Calgary was excellent. My suitcase (complete with Air Tag and orange Priority label) arrived quickly. I will be returning next week. Hopefully everything will go well then too. I sincerely hope that WestJet can maintain its international flights and business class.
Interesting comment about the boarding time. I'm not sure what westjet does differently, but I find their boarding significantly slower and more annoying then on Aircanada, even in the 737
It is good news for YYC that WS is consolidating however, YYC is not that great a connecting hub in my opinion. I flew in June from DEN to YXE roundtrip through YYC and it was on AC and UA. We went from the one side of the terminal to the other side. Those golf cart things are driven by the nicest people but the vehicle itself is strange.
The LCC thing is a huge mistake in my opinion because we only really have air Canada and air transit and air transit don’t even really serve the west coast that well and I think we need another full service airline here in canada
Thanks Alex for all the good information including the Oct press release. As a frequent flier on the YYZ-LGW route, the loss of service to London is a real bummer! My last flight of the year will be YYZ-YYC-LHR to get to WestJet Dreamliner. Will miss the WJ service to London. Much better than the competition. They are always better priced against the other Canadian carrier in all cabins. Not sure how they were able to do this economically, and maybe why they are scrapping service. Keep up the good work!
I just flew back on one of their final flights from LGW to YYZ, flight crew was bummed as they didn't know the future to LGW but they are now selling 787 seats for next fall. I generally travel from London to the Isle of Wight, even if they do end up ditching the LGW route, it's less than half the cost to fly to business to CDG and then under $100 to hop over to Portsmouth or Gatwick.
You're absolutely correct; as a YYZ WS frequent flier, it was heartbreaking when they stopped the YYZ-YVR daily service on their 787s and even more heartbreaking to know that I probably won't be able to fly them to LGW / Europe soon. I'd take them over AC any day. Side note: did you let the crew member know about the garbage you found at your seat? Wondering how they reacted to it. Something similar happened with my AC flight recently (also in J, found used tissues, an apple core, half-eaten snacks, and an used eye mask) and AC did not even apologize. They said that "the people should have cleaned the seat but I guess they didn't" and just walked away :')
Had the opportunity to ride this round trip YYZ-BCN back in September. Pretty enjoyable flight overall, probably better than the average business class experience on AC. That might be due to the smaller cabin service. My major issue with their cabin is the bulkhead window seats 1A/1K... because of the fuselage starting to taper in around there, the seat angle and footwell are not aligned well so you can't even fully stretch your legs without being forced to keep your legs very narrow together as it'll hit the walls. Sat on Row 2 on the return (same aircraft) and did not experience this issue (also experienced this on AC A330 J). Unfortunate that they're changing their strategies... would love to have more opportunities to ride their 787 business class.
I've got a 787 flight booked with Westjet on the Cancun -> YYZ route in a few weeks. I'm hoping they aren't gonna do a last minute equipment change, as I have no idea how they'll handle the business class fare if they swap to a plane that has no business class.
This will be my concern in early 2023 as I'm using it for YYC-PVR. There's other flights same day but not with Business Class, only Premium and if they're full then what? My hope is they keep them in place throughout the winter seasonal sun flights and then make a decision in the spring.
So if I want to fly to the UK on a 787 from Vancouver then I guess I will have to choose another airline. That really sucks. Was looking forward to WJ 787
I just flew back on one of their final flights from LGW to YYZ, flight crew was bummed as they didn't know the future to LGW but they are now selling 787 seats for next fall. That said, I fly out of YVR, they had cancelled my direct flights and added the YYZ stop over. Oddly enough, it was the same Dreamliner from Van to Toronto and then on to Gatwick, (return was 787 to Toronto then the wee 737 to Vancouver). Canceling Toronto, in my case, is a big benefit. Aside from the key benefit of skipping Pearson airport, it's only a 1hr hop to Calgary, so then you still get the 787 Business class right from Western Canada and skip the 4.5 hrs crammed in a lipstick tube to Toronto. I generally travel from London to the southern coast, it's actually less than half the cost to fly to business to CDG and then under $100 to hop over to Portsmouth or even up to Gatwick. I think I'll reroute through Paris next time and save a few grand.
Wanted to fly premium on this flight earlier this summer, a bucket list on the plane type. Picked the flight paid for premium, only to have the plane switched out to an older 737. Not happy, the inflight crew still did a great job, but felt kinda like a bait & switch.
Great coverage. So if the obvious debris and functionality is is missed, is there confidence that claimed hygiene is being maintained? Your coverage is honest, thank you.
I used to trust this airline. I used to regularly fly the dash 8 service from calgary to naniamo, and I've used them a few times calgary to san diego with no issues. But I was one of the many that west jet screwed over during their IT debacle at the beginning of nov. I showed up at YYC like 6am not knowing my flight was canceled because I had checked in at midnight and the flight at that point was still a go. I spent 2 hours in line trying to get answers, only to get to the front of the line and be told that they wanted us to go to the other line with no preference to the fact that we just wasted 2 hours in the first line that we were told by west jet to stand in. One family in front of me had been trapped in the airport for 27 hours, with west jet refusing to provide a hotel, saying that there were no rooms. I arrived there that morning after having stayed in the hilton garden inn by the airport and no, it wasn't full. That family was traveling to asia for a sick family member, and when the attendant there told them they wouldn't be given a flight until 3 days later, and that there was still no rooms they started screaming and wailing in pain, from having been trapped in the airport for all that time with no reprieve. Finally management came and it turns out yes there are flights they just didn't want to put them on another carrier. The next family was like me trying to get to san diego. Like me they were flexible, because there were flights to LAX, PSP, and SNA operating. The agent wouldn't give them anything anywhere, and also said, wed was the next one, and wouldn't provide a hotel room, claiming there were none inthe city. I showed them my expedia app and there were lots of rooms, just none in the NE area by the airport, where west jet presumably didn't have specials with. I don't know what happened to them. All the while I've been on hold with them trying to also speak to them on the phone. I got to the fron of the line to speak to someone, after arriving at the airport at 6:00AM finally at 11Pm. I told them anywhere, like LAX, PSP, SNA would be fine, she insists there's nothing to any of those places. I ask again, not one seat for one solitary traveller? Nothing? She looks again and says oh, we have one left on a 14:20 flight to LAX. I take it. The flight gets delayed to 19:00. whatever. I get seated, and the plane in the back is suspiciously empty for a 'full' flight. We get delayed another hour on the tarmac and when we push and the seatbelt light comes off most of us disperse to the empty seats and we all have rows to ourselves. I spent the whole time in San Diego in a panic not knowing if I'd be trapped and if I would even be able get home. This was Sunday, and they were scheduling call backs 72 hours or more. I called on thursday and again, they were still scheduling callbacks 40+ hours out. If they didn't have their stuff settled I know at best west jet can't have more than 5 people working at SAN. Luckily the flight actually left early and all was well. More than that they not only charged me for the flight to san diego they were nice enough to put an extra $1500 charge for the flight to LAX. 5 days after that they were still scheduling call backs 17 hours ahead of time. When I finally got someone on the phone they wouldn't refund the LAX portion but only would issue travel points. I got my money back, I called the bank and had the charges for the whole thing reversed. The points are still there, but I can't ever see myself using them. It's hard to fathom just how much power they have over people in those situations, and how they'll do they absolute bare minimum they can and in many cases not even the minimums required. They have no staff answering phones. I just have no trust in that airline. AC might sometimes be more abrasive but at least because they are bigger they have more people answering phones.
Westjet isn't going back to "low cost carrier". It has interline agreements with many large carriers and is now part of gloval distributions networks. (when it started, you couldn't book or list flighst from the big reservation systems). Doubtful they would forego that. My guess is that they will reduce seat pitch in coach and provide premium economy. With regards to 787, with their order for 737-10, my guess is that they will have sufficient capacity for domestic flights to Toronto and won't need 787 for domestic. And it also means concentrating maintenance base, parts, trained technicians at Calgary.
Really love your videos Alex! Im gonna be a pilot for air canada when im older :) im going to Toronto pearson from London Gatwick in summer from WestJet and im really looking forward to it!!
The fact that Swoop, Lynx, Flair and soon Jetlines are covering the LCC market, the move away from a premium airline by WJ is mind boggling. Air Canada will love this move. And WJ should stop treating Calgary like the center of the universe in Western Canada. Edmonton and Vancouver could use some 787 international flights.
"WJ should stop treating Calgary like the center of the universe in Western Canada" WestJet's headquarters are in Calgary, it IS the center of their universe...plus it features their best lounge, instead of the generic partner lounges.
I think WS is keeping their 787. Their partnership with the Alberta government is quite deep based on the new agreement to consolidate international flying at YYC. YYC has the potential to become the second west coast international hub (like YUL vs YYZ) but AC has no intention of developing that. WS fills that nicely and the government is eager to promote that. The size of the 787 fleet is just enough to develop those international service. I would expect to see daily London and Paris at least. And given WS's increasingly deeper relationship with SkyTeam carriers, may be it will supplement KLM's Amsterdam flights too with less-than-daily service. Destinations such as Frankfurt and Rome can be viable with 3 or 4 weekly flights too from YYC. Another possible route is daily to Seoul (ICN), given WS's new partnership with Korean (and that Korean is not currently flying to YYC). ICN-YYC would allow great feeder opportunity at both ends given KE and WS network. These would take up the 787 nicely, and the business class seats would be needed for these routes.
I'm actually wondering if they keep it and base everything out of YYC, will they look west instead of east for some of those 787 long hauls? They've already done Hawaii...could they look further? Thinking Australia, Japan, China, New Zealand, etc. The options out of Western Canada could be enticing too.
@@jenr202 I agree. If they look to Asia, I would bet on Seoul ICN as the first destination. ICN is a large transit hub and WS has developed deep relationship with Korean Air. Although Tokyo is a larger and more premium destination by itself, AC is already flying YYC-NRT and WS does not have any local connection support at NRT, while there is no competition for YYC-ICN and WS can get connection at both ends. Also, there are a lot of Koreans living in Canada to support VFR traffic.
If WestJet transitions to a ULCC from an LCC, then I won’t fly them at all. I’m still not going to choose to fly WestJet (unless they are the only option I can select, which is really rare for me) until they become more mainline and can directly compete with AC on many of its routes in Eastern Canada. Otherwise, I’ll just keep flying the US mainline carriers or AC if the price is right
I Saw Westjet Dreamliner back in September At Paris Charles De Gaulle in France last Month. Are the Westjet Dreamliners still going to Seasonal Flights to France in the Summer Season???
What if Westjet were to scrap there business class add more ecomomy and then do low cost long haul destinations Asia in particular. If they could find away to significantly under cut air canada they could have a shot but if they continue the way they are there gona be in trouble.
WS's business class product is relatively new, so to see the seat already in that worn condition plus the uncleared trash is a sad state of affairs. Really unfortunate that they are going back to their LCC roots as well as double downing on making YYC their main hub. AC is laughing right now.
I flew with West Jet to London and back from YVR. Never again. Rerouted me, with an impossible connection. Dirty plane and rude cabin crew. I repeat. Never again!
What I don't like is wearing someone else headphones. Headphones are personal like underwear. I would never trust airline supplied headphones. I'll bring my own thank you. West Jet should ditch supplying headphones
Dude this meal is hideous looking lol. The designer just looked at the economy meal tray and beefed it up for J :) No towel, I mean blankie? The shame the shame. AC does much better on J domestic.
The way I see it people move faster than bags and especially when your unloading a flight like that you can imagine how long it takes to send those bags out of those cans
@@cparadeee Mind you that ground handling is not handled by Westjet, those workers you see at the end of the video probably have done multiple flights with no breaks. Everywhere in aviation is still trying to catch up on employees. I’d rather wait to get my bags than not get them at all.
WestJet`s pivot back to being an LCC is a mistake in my view, Canada Jetlines as well as Lynx/sunwing/AT already have that market covered
Exactly! Canada deserves a competitor to Air Canada
Agreed, they can't seem to compete on prize with all those newer and existing LCC and ULCC. Their prices are still only a bit lower then air canadas in many cases. I think they should continue trying to be full service, just a little cheaper then AC to get the market share. I'm sure in another few years We will hear them pivoting their strategy again.
There is a big difference between a ULCC that Flair and Lynx are and a LCC.
Flair is staring to be an ULCC
@@CaptureKing247 yeah there are no ulccs in Canada, ulccs are like Frontier & Spirit
I flew West Jet for the first time. Liberia Costa Rica to Toronto, October 22. Business class, it was the most pleasant flight experience i had for a very long time. All the way around the service was absolutely excellent, I'm in need of a wheelchair, this is the very first time that my needs where met with so much help and friendly smiles. Thank you West Jet staff.
I recently (5/13/23) flew WestJet Portland to Rome (PDX-YYC YYC-FCO) in business. Weird routing but the price was unbeatable. The first leg was a Dash 8, whoopee, but the service was very nice and in the front of the plane we got the snack package and a free drink. The transfer in Calgary was smooth. The close to ten hour dreamliner leg was wonderful, we did get a blanket which was appreciated. It was the plane's second flight of the day, having just come in from Paris, but it was spotless inside. The wife and I were in 2D and 2F. Crew was wonderful, food (roast beef, salmon, or veggie ravioli) was very good - but I was disappointed they no longer serve poutine :) . All in all a product that compares favorably with other airlines at a price I could not beat. I'd fly them again in a heartbeat.
Nice video Alex!
I too have noticed that cabins aren't as clean as before.. Room for improvement there.
Love their 787. I cant believe they are going back to the 'low cost' route. What about Swoop?
I travel within Canada a lot and their fare is the same as Air Canada. If you are 'stuck' on their 737, which is very likely, no personal TVs and very cheap seats.
Meanwhile, their international flights need more connecting partners. I have been looking at European flights this winter and all of them are with Air Canada or other european airlines. They could have done so much with their 787 fleet but no, they decide to focus on Calgary...
I flew from Kelowna to Rome with a connection in Calgary on October 5th. Business class on the 787. I found that the service was almost as good as on my last trip to London in 2019. Two areas for improvement were (a) the croissant should have been served warm and (b) there were no heated moist towels. Otherwise everything was perfect as far as I was concerned and the staff were as personable as always. The lounge in Calgary was excellent. My suitcase (complete with Air Tag and orange Priority label) arrived quickly. I will be returning next week. Hopefully everything will go well then too. I sincerely hope that WestJet can maintain its international flights and business class.
Very well filmed ❤ good job 👏
Interesting comment about the boarding time. I'm not sure what westjet does differently, but I find their boarding significantly slower and more annoying then on Aircanada, even in the 737
I actually prefer the 787 of WS over AC. Smaller cabin, nicer color and newer. Big fan!
It is good news for YYC that WS is consolidating however, YYC is not that great a connecting hub in my opinion. I flew in June from DEN to YXE roundtrip through YYC and it was on AC and UA. We went from the one side of the terminal to the other side. Those golf cart things are driven by the nicest people but the vehicle itself is strange.
I love seeing the 787 coming to vancover I like seeing it
WS is using 787 as part of their seasonal flight increases to sun destinations out of YYC. I'm booked on one in February 2023 in Business
Me too! I hope that don’t withdraw the service!
The LCC thing is a huge mistake in my opinion because we only really have air Canada and air transit and air transit don’t even really serve the west coast that well and I think we need another full service airline here in canada
Thanks Alex for all the good information including the Oct press release. As a frequent flier on the YYZ-LGW route, the loss of service to London is a real bummer! My last flight of the year will be YYZ-YYC-LHR to get to WestJet Dreamliner. Will miss the WJ service to London. Much better than the competition. They are always better priced against the other Canadian carrier in all cabins. Not sure how they were able to do this economically, and maybe why they are scrapping service. Keep up the good work!
I just flew back on one of their final flights from LGW to YYZ, flight crew was bummed as they didn't know the future to LGW but they are now selling 787 seats for next fall.
I generally travel from London to the Isle of Wight, even if they do end up ditching the LGW route, it's less than half the cost to fly to business to CDG and then under $100 to hop over to Portsmouth or Gatwick.
Most of us would be happy if Westjet just took off and we got to our destination, on time would be good!
You're absolutely correct; as a YYZ WS frequent flier, it was heartbreaking when they stopped the YYZ-YVR daily service on their 787s and even more heartbreaking to know that I probably won't be able to fly them to LGW / Europe soon. I'd take them over AC any day.
Side note: did you let the crew member know about the garbage you found at your seat? Wondering how they reacted to it. Something similar happened with my AC flight recently (also in J, found used tissues, an apple core, half-eaten snacks, and an used eye mask) and AC did not even apologize. They said that "the people should have cleaned the seat but I guess they didn't" and just walked away :')
You can try British Airways for YYZ-LHR/Europe, more enjoyable than AC
I hate how they backtracked the 787 stuff. There’s plenty of use for them even domestically.
Had the opportunity to ride this round trip YYZ-BCN back in September. Pretty enjoyable flight overall, probably better than the average business class experience on AC. That might be due to the smaller cabin service. My major issue with their cabin is the bulkhead window seats 1A/1K... because of the fuselage starting to taper in around there, the seat angle and footwell are not aligned well so you can't even fully stretch your legs without being forced to keep your legs very narrow together as it'll hit the walls. Sat on Row 2 on the return (same aircraft) and did not experience this issue (also experienced this on AC A330 J). Unfortunate that they're changing their strategies... would love to have more opportunities to ride their 787 business class.
I've got a 787 flight booked with Westjet on the Cancun -> YYZ route in a few weeks. I'm hoping they aren't gonna do a last minute equipment change, as I have no idea how they'll handle the business class fare if they swap to a plane that has no business class.
This will be my concern in early 2023 as I'm using it for YYC-PVR. There's other flights same day but not with Business Class, only Premium and if they're full then what? My hope is they keep them in place throughout the winter seasonal sun flights and then make a decision in the spring.
So if I want to fly to the UK on a 787 from Vancouver then I guess I will have to choose another airline. That really sucks. Was looking forward to WJ 787
Feels like a missed opportunity. And as the world comes back online demand will be there and Westjet will probably regret stepping back
just a quick hop to Calgary on a 737. then enjoy the Elevation lounge before boarding the Dreamliner to UK, now flying to both LGW and LHR
Thank you for the information to understand what they have in business class
I just flew back on one of their final flights from LGW to YYZ, flight crew was bummed as they didn't know the future to LGW but they are now selling 787 seats for next fall. That said, I fly out of YVR, they had cancelled my direct flights and added the YYZ stop over. Oddly enough, it was the same Dreamliner from Van to Toronto and then on to Gatwick, (return was 787 to Toronto then the wee 737 to Vancouver).
Canceling Toronto, in my case, is a big benefit. Aside from the key benefit of skipping Pearson airport, it's only a 1hr hop to Calgary, so then you still get the 787 Business class right from Western Canada and skip the 4.5 hrs crammed in a lipstick tube to Toronto.
I generally travel from London to the southern coast, it's actually less than half the cost to fly to business to CDG and then under $100 to hop over to Portsmouth or even up to Gatwick. I think I'll reroute through Paris next time and save a few grand.
7:00 Surprised they gave info about their discontinued 767’s but not their 737 200’s.
Wanted to fly premium on this flight earlier this summer, a bucket list on the plane type. Picked the flight paid for premium, only to have the plane switched out to an older 737. Not happy, the inflight crew still did a great job, but felt kinda like a bait & switch.
Love your videos
Alex can never resist those upgrades!!!!!!!!!!😅😂
To be fair, the last time I flew WestJet's Business Class was in 2019, so it was worth the comparison! 😂
Another Fantastic video! Nicely done Alex!
Very refined as usual. Thanks.
Great coverage. So if the obvious debris and functionality is is missed, is there confidence that claimed hygiene is being maintained? Your coverage is honest, thank you.
I used to trust this airline. I used to regularly fly the dash 8 service from calgary to naniamo, and I've used them a few times calgary to san diego with no issues. But I was one of the many that west jet screwed over during their IT debacle at the beginning of nov. I showed up at YYC like 6am not knowing my flight was canceled because I had checked in at midnight and the flight at that point was still a go. I spent 2 hours in line trying to get answers, only to get to the front of the line and be told that they wanted us to go to the other line with no preference to the fact that we just wasted 2 hours in the first line that we were told by west jet to stand in. One family in front of me had been trapped in the airport for 27 hours, with west jet refusing to provide a hotel, saying that there were no rooms. I arrived there that morning after having stayed in the hilton garden inn by the airport and no, it wasn't full. That family was traveling to asia for a sick family member, and when the attendant there told them they wouldn't be given a flight until 3 days later, and that there was still no rooms they started screaming and wailing in pain, from having been trapped in the airport for all that time with no reprieve. Finally management came and it turns out yes there are flights they just didn't want to put them on another carrier. The next family was like me trying to get to san diego. Like me they were flexible, because there were flights to LAX, PSP, and SNA operating. The agent wouldn't give them anything anywhere, and also said, wed was the next one, and wouldn't provide a hotel room, claiming there were none inthe city. I showed them my expedia app and there were lots of rooms, just none in the NE area by the airport, where west jet presumably didn't have specials with. I don't know what happened to them. All the while I've been on hold with them trying to also speak to them on the phone. I got to the fron of the line to speak to someone, after arriving at the airport at 6:00AM finally at 11Pm. I told them anywhere, like LAX, PSP, SNA would be fine, she insists there's nothing to any of those places. I ask again, not one seat for one solitary traveller? Nothing? She looks again and says oh, we have one left on a 14:20 flight to LAX. I take it. The flight gets delayed to 19:00. whatever. I get seated, and the plane in the back is suspiciously empty for a 'full' flight. We get delayed another hour on the tarmac and when we push and the seatbelt light comes off most of us disperse to the empty seats and we all have rows to ourselves.
I spent the whole time in San Diego in a panic not knowing if I'd be trapped and if I would even be able get home. This was Sunday, and they were scheduling call backs 72 hours or more. I called on thursday and again, they were still scheduling callbacks 40+ hours out. If they didn't have their stuff settled I know at best west jet can't have more than 5 people working at SAN. Luckily the flight actually left early and all was well.
More than that they not only charged me for the flight to san diego they were nice enough to put an extra $1500 charge for the flight to LAX. 5 days after that they were still scheduling call backs 17 hours ahead of time. When I finally got someone on the phone they wouldn't refund the LAX portion but only would issue travel points. I got my money back, I called the bank and had the charges for the whole thing reversed. The points are still there, but I can't ever see myself using them.
It's hard to fathom just how much power they have over people in those situations, and how they'll do they absolute bare minimum they can and in many cases not even the minimums required. They have no staff answering phones. I just have no trust in that airline. AC might sometimes be more abrasive but at least because they are bigger they have more people answering phones.
are drinks and food in the lounge an additional cost or more of a help yourself based on your business class ticket?
when i flew international and domestic in the same day, both meals were identical. Exact same menu.
Westjet isn't going back to "low cost carrier". It has interline agreements with many large carriers and is now part of gloval distributions networks. (when it started, you couldn't book or list flighst from the big reservation systems). Doubtful they would forego that. My guess is that they will reduce seat pitch in coach and provide premium economy.
With regards to 787, with their order for 737-10, my guess is that they will have sufficient capacity for domestic flights to Toronto and won't need 787 for domestic. And it also means concentrating maintenance base, parts, trained technicians at Calgary.
They are going back to their roots which is an LCC albeit not right back to the bare bones but still
Alex my boy it's it's good see you again
Really love your videos Alex! Im gonna be a pilot for air canada when im older :) im going to Toronto pearson from London Gatwick in summer from WestJet and im really looking forward to it!!
I am about to go on a trip to Cancun with westJet business class I hope it’s good🙏🏻
If they don’t use the 787 for the long haul routes from Vancouver to London and Toronto to London what would they use then
The fact that Swoop, Lynx, Flair and soon Jetlines are covering the LCC market, the move away from a premium airline by WJ is mind boggling. Air Canada will love this move. And WJ should stop treating Calgary like the center of the universe in Western Canada. Edmonton and Vancouver could use some 787 international flights.
Swoop, Lynx and Flair are ULCC. That's a big difference to a LCC
"WJ should stop treating Calgary like the center of the universe in Western Canada" WestJet's headquarters are in Calgary, it IS the center of their universe...plus it features their best lounge, instead of the generic partner lounges.
So the first class pod is basically the same as Air Canada yet in WestJet liverly.
Just did this trip on the newest 787. C-FAJA unfortunately not in business class. Return flight was an older 737-700
I was about to start a 1hr vid from revzilla but I had to watch this first :)
I think WS is keeping their 787. Their partnership with the Alberta government is quite deep based on the new agreement to consolidate international flying at YYC. YYC has the potential to become the second west coast international hub (like YUL vs YYZ) but AC has no intention of developing that. WS fills that nicely and the government is eager to promote that. The size of the 787 fleet is just enough to develop those international service. I would expect to see daily London and Paris at least. And given WS's increasingly deeper relationship with SkyTeam carriers, may be it will supplement KLM's Amsterdam flights too with less-than-daily service. Destinations such as Frankfurt and Rome can be viable with 3 or 4 weekly flights too from YYC. Another possible route is daily to Seoul (ICN), given WS's new partnership with Korean (and that Korean is not currently flying to YYC). ICN-YYC would allow great feeder opportunity at both ends given KE and WS network. These would take up the 787 nicely, and the business class seats would be needed for these routes.
I'm actually wondering if they keep it and base everything out of YYC, will they look west instead of east for some of those 787 long hauls? They've already done Hawaii...could they look further? Thinking Australia, Japan, China, New Zealand, etc. The options out of Western Canada could be enticing too.
@@jenr202 I agree. If they look to Asia, I would bet on Seoul ICN as the first destination. ICN is a large transit hub and WS has developed deep relationship with Korean Air. Although Tokyo is a larger and more premium destination by itself, AC is already flying YYC-NRT and WS does not have any local connection support at NRT, while there is no competition for YYC-ICN and WS can get connection at both ends. Also, there are a lot of Koreans living in Canada to support VFR traffic.
Alex, I really recommend you to fly El Al business class to Tel Aviv. It is a really good business class and I really want you to try the airline.
thats odd. i checked westjets site and it says last minute upgrades from eco to business do not get access to the lounge.
If WestJet transitions to a ULCC from an LCC, then I won’t fly them at all. I’m still not going to choose to fly WestJet (unless they are the only option I can select, which is really rare for me) until they become more mainline and can directly compete with AC on many of its routes in Eastern Canada. Otherwise, I’ll just keep flying the US mainline carriers or AC if the price is right
Great video Alex
Saul Goodman approves ❤
My wife an myself only flew the Toronto to london flight back in August it's disappointing to be hearing it will be discontinued
5:00 is there a British Airways 787 AT TORONTO
Are these new flights seasonal for the summer or will they be year-round?
I Saw Westjet Dreamliner back in September At Paris Charles De Gaulle in France last Month.
Are the Westjet Dreamliners still going to Seasonal Flights to France in the Summer Season???
I wanted to ask you, is the dreamliner quiet or the same as 747 and so on?
wait this flight is a thing ?? i used to fly yyc to yyz and vice versa all the time on wj 737s ?? dam
Internally they have already announced that the 787 will have the j seats class removed in favour of more economy and premium economy seats.
Interesting. Where did you get that information from? Are they also going to close their lounge?
No excuses for garbage left around your seat
You had me with the pierogies. Huppa-zhuppa!
what song do you use in your video’s?
I thought Swoop was WestJet low cost carrier
Swoop is ULCC
@@CaptureKing247 ULCC but designed to complement the premium service WJ itself was offering.
What if Westjet were to scrap there business class add more ecomomy and then do low cost long haul destinations Asia in particular. If they could find away to significantly under cut air canada they could have a shot but if they continue the way they are there gona be in trouble.
WS's business class product is relatively new, so to see the seat already in that worn condition plus the uncleared trash is a sad state of affairs.
Really unfortunate that they are going back to their LCC roots as well as double downing on making YYC their main hub. AC is laughing right now.
They are a Calgary based company, why would they make YVR, YEG or YYZ their hub?
TBH Westjets Business look the same to Air Canada's one lol
I flew with West Jet to London and back from YVR. Never again. Rerouted me, with an impossible connection. Dirty plane and rude cabin crew. I repeat. Never again!
a bit of an oopsie?? no dude that's bad
Can’t believe Toronto have snow now
This flight was in February.
@@gerardacronin334 right I see😳
Very nice, I wish you success, I also provide beautiful content
What I don't like is wearing someone else headphones. Headphones are personal like underwear. I would never trust airline supplied headphones. I'll bring my own thank you. West Jet should ditch supplying headphones
Not how he said the dessert
Dude this meal is hideous looking lol. The designer just looked at the economy meal tray and beefed it up for J :) No towel, I mean blankie? The shame the shame. AC does much better on J domestic.
That seat and area looked filthy shame on Westjet. New plane looking junky.
Are you rich
Maybe they should use one of the 787s to fly all the passengers they left stranded at Pearson who were trying to get home for Christmas.
Pathetic.
Westjet is a second class outfit.
Agreed. They've seen my last dollar.
Never again with Westjet.
3.5 hour flight. 4.5 hours to unload it. Westjet….. the new Air Canada
The way I see it people move faster than bags and especially when your unloading a flight like that you can imagine how long it takes to send those bags out of those cans
@@iiCautious I agree. But westjet had 2 employees unloading the plane. Westjet can do way better. 4.5 hour wait in yyc is not acceptable.
@@cparadeee Mind you that ground handling is not handled by Westjet, those workers you see at the end of the video probably have done multiple flights with no breaks. Everywhere in aviation is still trying to catch up on employees.
I’d rather wait to get my bags than not get them at all.
First
Still moving fast and very unpleasant to watch!!!!!!!!!!!