Surviving WestJet

Travel tips, tricks and warnings

In Canada, you have a choice of airlines - usually. WestJet is usually cheaper - definitely cheerful. It's not the always the flying utopia they show on tv.

To be fair, you should also visit my companion lens: Surviving Air Canada

(Photo of gate B22 at Pearson by 768 of Flickr)

New Table of Contents

Making the most of buy-on-board

Food in WestJet's world

Buy-on-board isn't a memorable experience. Then again, you're stuck at 30,000 feet with few other options.

If you're on a flight over 2 and a half hours, you have the "full" buy-on-board menu. Basically, you get everything plus the $6 sandwiches.

When you're on a series of short-haul flights (flights under that 2.5 hour mark), you're trapped without food - for more than a whole day. Be careful. And, take your own food if you're at all in doubt.

When you're on a really short flight (flights around 30 minutes), you're only going to get a limited selection of beverages. Coffee or juice boxes (apple and orange). No pretzels or cookies.

Tips for getting the most out of the free food:

"Would you like cookies or pretzels?"
Incorrect answers: Cookies. Pretzels.
Correct answer: "Both?" (with a little up-speak and smile)

"What would you like to drink?"
Correct answer: A can of (soft drink)
If you're in one of the first few rows, you may be refused the whole can. When you just ask for a Coke, you'll only get a cup.

"Would you like to buy-on-board?" (like a bottle of water)
Go to the galley of the plane and ask for additional water (in a glass, not the $2 bottle) mid-flight. WestJetters are friendly and always oblige.

Buy-on-Board

What you can get from WestJet ... for a little extra money

Pillow + Blanket = $7: CALGARY, Nov. 27 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced the introduction of a
new pillow and blanket kit which, for a small fee, will provide guests with
another option to enrich their travel experience.

WestJet food previews

What to expect....when you're flying

WestJet's inflight menu: The details and prices of WestJet's "delicious buy on board menu"
Photos of actual WestJet meals from Airlinemeals.net: Just be aware that the full meals are only available on WestJet "charters" to Mexico and the US
Nutritional information on plain Pringles: After I saw this, I decided to stop buying Pringles when I fly on WestJet. I eat way more than 14 in that little package, and that's too much salt.

The chipper choice

How to survive the mind-numbing cheerfulness on WestJet

Why are WestJet employees so cheerful? They're probably happy to be serving you.

But, when you're traveling back and forth and back, the cute jokes do wear a little bit thin.

1. Check-in online before going to the airport - faster for you, less WestJet employee face time

2. Wear portable music players. They're going to ask you to take off the headphones for take off and landing but you have that time in between.

3. Avoid eye contact

Westjet Spoof

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WestJet 11th Birthday - Profit Share

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WestJet 11th Birthday - Goodbye 200's

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WestJet 11th Birthday - LiveTV Install

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WestJet 11th Birthday - Call Centre

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curated content from YouTube

Carry-on bags

What fits under that seat in front of you

WestJet has the same on-board baggage limits as Air Canada.

Personally, I've found WestJet are a little more fanatical about carry-on baggage sizes. If you're flying in a peak period (think Christmas), WestJetters will scan the gate area before boarding begins. They will ask you to put the bags into their sizing cage. If it doesn't fit, they'll check it for you at the gate.

"Item 1"
55 cm x 23 cm x 40 cm
(21.5 in x 9 in x 15.5 in)

"Item 2"
43 cm x 16 cm x 33 cm
(16.5 in x 6 in x 13 in)

Almost all of WestJet's planes are 737s. So, the space in the overhead bins and under the seat in front of you are the same on every WestJet experience.

What's a great way around this? The MEC Fast-Track Tote.

You've got your standard carry-on and personal item in one co-ordinated set. MEC bags are well-made, and I have yet to see any wear on any of mine. It's not that ideal if part of your carry-on booty includes a laptop.

If you're looking for something to hold a laptop, try the MEC Rolling Mainframe Travel Pack. While it doesn't actually hold a mainframe computer (disappointing, I know), it does a good job on the airplane. This is the bag that I use the most often.

(My lens makes no money off of the above links. I just think those are the best bags available)

You can also buy WestJet luggage at The WestJet Store. They also sell some over-priced bags to carry your pets on board with you. But, at least they let you do that unlike the other Canadian airline. There's a lot of other WestJet schwag available for you to purchase online.

All about the 737

It's all they fly

WestJet only flies 737s. While efficient for repairs and maintenance, they're not the greatest airplanes for leg-room. (Photo from flickr user miguelb)

The first row on every WestJet plane has those arm-rest seat trays. For the leg-room you might gain in the first row, you lose the seat-to-tray distance that some larger people don't find comfortable. You also lose the ability to put the armrest up so that it fits in between the seats.

Exit rows sometimes have limited-recline on the seats. You might want to check the airline seat links below.

Never sit by the washrooms. It's always a bad situation.

Here's some information about how you can negotiate a better seat.

SeatGuru Seat Map Westjet Boeing 737-600 (736): Ah, the Boeing 737-600 (736). It's the lowest of the low in the WestJet fleet. If you're flying on one of these, you're not getting any on-board TV. Check out this link for the best seats.
SeatGuru Seat Map Westjet Boeing 737-700 (737): You'll get video on the Boeing 737-700. But, avoid that last row. They're marked as red on SeatGuru because they don't recline.
SeatGuru Seat Map Westjet Boeing 737-800 (738): The Boeing 737-800 is the plane I find myself on most often. The first row has the in-arm tray tables (so they don't flip up). The last row doesn't recline.
Aviation Photos: WestJet: Check out photos of WestJet's many Boeing 737s on the largest aviation website in the world
Air Safety Online: Boeing 737: A short list of the incidents and fatal accidents involving 737s (The airplanes listed include all airlines - not just WestJet)
August 28, 2007: WestJet inspecting 737 fleet: "Low-cost carrier WestJet Airlines Ltd. is among several major airlines that will perform emergency inspections of wing slats on its fleet of next-generation Boeing 737 jets after a fire destroyed a China Airlines jet last week."
Virtual WestJet | Proudly Canadian: Virtual WestJet is a flight sim community uniquely focused on realism. Striving to create a strong identity of our own, and maintaining a close relationship with WestJet Airlines is our approach to success.

Headphones and WestJet

You can do better than $3 headsets

WestJet offers headphones for $3 (formerly $2). But, they will tell you that you can use your own headphones. Anything with a normal, stereo headphone jack will do.

I enjoy using noise-canceling headphones. It takes out that continuous, background aircraft noise. And, I don't have to have my iPod or in-flight movie as loud.

The disadvantage of noise-canceling headphones is that they need batteries to do the noise-cancellation part of the job. If your batteries run out mid-flight, you'll still be able to watch the satellite tv.

JVC HANC100 Noise Cancelling Headphones

These are the headphones I use. They're affordable and get rid of that background noise.

Amazon Price: $43.77 (as of 12/21/2009)

Sony MDR-NC6 Noise Canceling Headphones

Amazon Price: $69.99 (as of 12/21/2009)

Sennheiser PXC 250 Active Noise Canceling Headphones

Amazon Price: $60.53 (as of 12/21/2009)

Shure E2c Sound Isolating Earphones

These aren't noise canceling. They mostly block out the sound by their position in your ear. Personally, I find headphones like these start to bother me on long flights.

Amazon Price: $69.00 (as of 12/21/2009)

Sennheiser HD201 Headphones

This one doesn't cancel out the background noise. But, the ear cups will block out some of it - and you don't have to worry about batteries.

Amazon Price: $17.39 (as of 12/21/2009)

The truth about inflight satellite television

TV and movies and more

WestJet inflight television screen taken by roland of flickr

"WestJet is pleased to introduce live seatback television provided by Bell ExpressVu available on most of our Boeing 737 series jets. Choose from 24 channels of sports, news, lifestyle and more*."

Television
So, that * is really important. These are 24 carefully selected channels. With "aircraft movement" (which I like to call most of the flight) you can lose up to 50% or more of the channels. This limits your choices to a couple kids' channels and Fox News. This can make for a very long flight.

Flying on an overnight flight and just want the damn screen off? You can't. (Hint: You can on Air Canada)

On one flight (YYZ>YVR) in December 2007, there were only 13 television channels - no air craft movement issues. The movie channels were channels 14-16.
I've been on two consecutive short-haul flights in which the satellite television doesn't come on. The crew tried to "reset" the system but it never came back on.

My greatest WestJet satellite television experience was during the last Canadian election. I had an entire row to myself and tuned each of the seat back TVs to different networks. It was fantastic.

Movies
You can also purchase movies for viewing in a special time after take-off. If you miss this window of opportunity, you're out of luck for the rest of the flight. The movies are $5 each.

Compare this experience to the on-demand video recently introduced in all classes on Air Canada. The on-demand movies are free, can be started, stopped, and paused at any time, and there's more choice.

With the initial introduction of WestJet's purchasable movies, I was able to watch entire films without paying. I'd start to watch the preview and just keep watching the movie without paying. This technique has been unsuccessful for a few months now.

Maps
The most reassuring channel for me is always the live map. It will tell you the altitude and approximate location of the airplane. It also makes the airplane approximately 250km long on the map.

I also enjoy seeing an altitude adjustment by the pilot when there's turbulence.

When there's no tv
Sometimes, WestJet seems to put 737s into service faster than they can have an entertainment system installed. They apologize in their friendly little way. But, you know your flight is going to suck.

Pets and WestJet

Lions, tigers and bears

Unlike Air Canada, WestJet actually likes your pet. They'll take dogs, birds, cats and rabbits in the cabin in an enclosed, contained kennel. Pets in the cabin need to be in a soft-sided carrier. Basically, it needs to be something your pet can breathe in because they're not allowed out of it for the entire flight. In most cases, passengers with carry-on pets are seated in the last row of the airplane. Each passenger is allowed one pet as a carry-on. They go under the seat in front of you (ie not in the overhead bin)

If your pet is over 22 pounds, you'll have to check your pet. This will require a hard-sided kennel. Each passenger can check up to six animals in three kennels. Whether you check the animal or bring them on board, it's $50 per animal.

During the winter, you can take your pet to Florida but not Hawaii. There are also seasonal embargos on Phoenix, Palm Springs and Las Vegas.

If you're a passenger with allergies, you can request to be reseated if you find yourself next to a Persian cat. If you don't want to fly with the animal on board and have allergies, WestJet will move you onto a different flight without charging you for the change. Unfortunately, you only find out about the animals when you're on board or are already sneezing at the gate.

Everyone has baggage

Lost, found and damaged

'Lost luggage capital of the world': If the bag was lost by a Canadian airline, like WestJet Airlines Ltd. or Air Canada, its contents went to charity.
Stricter airport security means more lost luggage: The Canadian Transportation Agency does not collect comparable statistics as federal laws do not require Canadian airlines to report lost luggage numbers.
Time for a replacement on Flickr: WestJet gave the owner of this bag $100 for the dent. I think this is incredible because baggage handling is usually the airport's responsibility and not WestJet's.
Mishandled Baggage Inquiries: 1-866-666-6224: If you leave something on an airplane, WestJet doesn't really react with the same zeal as that TV ad with the guy and his presentation. You're going to have to do some work. If they can't find it at your destination, you can find out where the flight continued to and start phoning yourself. There's no central registry for these sorts of problems.

Here are some direct numbers to the lost/missing baggage sections:
Vancouver/Abbotsford: 1-866-666-6224
Edmonton: 780-701-1015
Hamilton: 905-679-8101

Phoning WestJet

1-888-WEST-JET

If you have trouble booking or changing your flight using the web site, you're going to end up calling WestJet. This can be a painful experience.

The hold music isn't really music. It's a chipper recording of a man telling you interesting tidbits about WestJet. They're interesting until they repeat. And, they have that chipper tone that WestJet has = which can become unbearable.

WestJet has their call centre in Calgary (the one in Canada) and everyone is friendly once you get a hold of them. I have personally found that the call-wait-time estimates that you're given at the beginning of the call are always shorter than you actually wait. My average time on hold before I talk to someone is about 20 minutes.

It's just that voice telling me to chant "I love flying WestJet, I love flying WestJet" while I'm on hold to make the time go faster. Guess what? It doesn't go faster when it's the fourth time I've heard that message.

WestJet in the news

Everything from "incidents" to annual reports

All the latest in WestJet news - updated as it happens.

August 27, 2007: WestJet upset by cockpit capers: Men questioned by police after persistent attempts to visit pilot during flight from Calgary to Winnipeg
Durfy set to grab WestJet stick: "On Tuesday, Sean Durfy will take the reins as CEO of WestJet Airlines Ltd. from Clive Beddoe, the Canadian business icon with the broad grin who earned his entrepreneurial chops turning the upstart regional carrier into Canada's second-largest airline."
WestJet planes flew fuller in August: This is obvious to anyone flying WestJet lately. No more empty middle seats - or at least fewer.
Air Canada, WestJet drop fares: Rival airlines Air Canada and WestJet are lowering their fares to $48 for travel between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.
WestJet Introduces the WestJet Travel Pass to Edmonton and Calgary Travellers: Sept. 19, 2007 - WestJet (TSX:WJA) today announced the availability of its affordable and convenient WestJet Travel Pass to frequent business travellers between Edmonton and Calgary. $1000 for 10 flights between the two cities
Reservation system stumbling block for Cathay-Westjet alliance: The Hong Kong carrier is exploring the possibility of a so-called "interline deal" with WestJet, he said. Under such an agreement, WestJet would leverage its vast domestic network to fill Cathay's flights to Asia by bringing in passengers from smaller Canadian markets.
The Canadian Press: WestJet investigates after young girl allowed off flight with stranger: CALGARY - WestJet is in damage control after a five-year-old girl was allowed to get off a flight with a stranger in Montreal.The Calgary-based airline confirms the girl, who was on a flight by herself
WestJet Introduces Sleeper Cabins: Airline is first to provide new service without need for cabin upgrades - sleep in the overhead bin?
Airlines cut consumer fees: CALGARY - Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd. said Thursday it will drop its fuel surcharge - which added up to $90 to the cost of a flight within North America - effective immediately.
Westjet Rumours: In a case of reality miserably failing to match rumour-fuelled fantasy, the Calgary-based airline says an Internet blog claiming WestJet might be considering a child-free seating section is totally false.
Canada Gives Obese Flyers an Extra Seat for Free | Autopia from Wired.com: The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a regulatory ruling requiring the country's airlines to provide an extra seat -- at no charge -- to obese passengers and those with disabilities
WestJet Offers Incentives for Travelers Not to Fly: Usually, airlines will just do their best to get people to their destination as quickly as possible, but that often leaves many angry travelers. WestJet decided to offer what it called a "voluntary cancellation incentive."
reportonbusiness.com: The ROB Interview: WestJet files new initiatives in flight plan: Air Canada has long held a competitive advantage with the Aeroplan rewards program, but Mr. Durfy hopes to lure more passengers away from his rival in 2009 by introducing WestJet's own frequent-flier plan.

Turbulence and more

A series of unfortunate incidents

It's a fact of flying that there will be some incidents when you're dealing with thousands of flights. I think that it's more the way the airline is able to appease passengers and explain the situation to the media that's important.

globeandmail.com: Sudden drop jolts WestJet passengers (September 7, 2007): Flight 80 was approximately 180 nautical miles northwest of Sudbury, and cruising at 39,000 feet above the ground around 5 p.m., when it hit a patch of turbulence.
Safety board to look into turbulent WestJet flight: Officials from the Transportation Safety Board will speak to WestJet to find out why a Thursday evening flight dramatically plunged 300 metres, injuring nine passengers.
The Canadian Press: Transport Canada says procedures were followed on turbulent WestJet flight: It appears the flight crew working aboard a turbulent WestJet flight, which resulted in several passengers being sent to hospital last week, followed proper procedures, Trans
Canadian, U.S. officials at odds over airport near-miss: The nose of a WestJet Boeing 737 came just 11 metres from the wingtip of a Northwest Airlines A320 taking off at the Los Angeles International Airport on Aug. 16 -- substantially closer than the 62 metres safety standards require.

New YouTube vids

Westjet In-Flight Emergency

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Westjet Turbulance - Canadian Rocky Mountains

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curated content from YouTube

Accessible WestJet

Where does WestJet rank the disabled on their travel information page? Just below the brachycephalic dogs and cats.

Anyway, if you think you need pre-boarding, you'll need to talk to a customer service rep directly at some point. Keep in mind - if you leap up to get off the plane with the other passengers when the plane lands, you don't need to pre-board the airplane. Old is not disabled.

WestJet's info for their "Special needs guests" (sic): Is accessing WestJet's site content for information about their accessibility too awkward through their javascript-based menus? Try this direct link that will take you straight there.
Online Booking for JAWS: WestJet has a special page for booking if you use a screen reader. Too bad they didn't take the approach of making their entire web site accessible to everyone instead.

Find a flight on Orbitz

Just not on WestJet

WestJet is not affiliated with Orbitz. I highly recommend searching for flights on SideStep. They allow you to compare WestJet head-to-head with Air Canada - because WestJet isn't always cheapest.

When WestJet has a seat sale, the flights with the cheapest fares are usually the early morning and late night flights. Flights with normal departure/arrival times are usually at a premium price. Why? Um, people are willing to pay extra to not get up at 4am to get to the airport on time.

The marketing of WestJet

How WestJet gathers customer feedback

WestJet uses a company called VisionCritical to gather customer feedback. If you're invited to the panel, you're generally sent an email asking you to answer an online survey about your recent travel. Some of the topics that have been included in the surveys include:

baggage

rating WestJet competitors (ie Air Canada)

cleanliness (seriously, it was on how clean you find the airplanes)

The reward for being on the panel is that you get the impression that WestJet listens to your concerns - and, you're entered in a draw for WestJet gift certificates (generally valued at about $250)

WestJet Customer Panel: Visit the web site where you can't log in unless you're a member.
WestJet's Cassies Submission (PDF): Canada's awards "dedicated to recognizing, rewarding and improving the business effectiveness of advertising" Some information about WestJet's branding and marketing strategy from 2006.
Marketing Magazine | WestJet on the Fly: Why the Calgary airline wants to transform its folksy, and sometimes corny, brand into a world-class carrier
WestJet 737 circling Yonge-Dundas Square: It's an innovation that just had to come out of an "of course!" moment when Taxi Calgary and Toronto's Media Experts were brainstorming about the best way to publicize WestJet's new service to the Dominican Republic.

Books about WestJet

And related airlines

1

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Vote Down

Flight Path: How WestJet Is Flying High in Canada's Most Turbulent Industry by Paul Grescoe

Read about WestJet while flying WestJet0 points

2

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The Southwest Airlines Way by Jody Hoffer Gittell

Read about the original model for WestJet0 points

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Have your own tale of WestJet? Maybe they saved the day. Maybe you're never flying on them again.

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Karendelac Karendelac Dec 9, 2007 @ 10:48 pm

A 5 star lens, full of very useful tips on air travel. I have a State-of-the-Art Titanic Lens ~~ Please click on Karendelac above, to view it.

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ebizsalez ebizsalez Oct 15, 2007 @ 8:52 pm

Thanks for sharing this info about westjet CANADA

bigsaveontravel

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Christopher_Scott Christopher_Scott Oct 15, 2007 @ 9:00 am

Great lens for the "Road Warrior." Keep up the hard work.

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Sitting in the back row of a 737

A video from cutewithchris.com

The video below has nothing whatsoever to do with WestJet. He's flying on (I believe) American Airlines; but, I believe he's on a 737 (so it's partially relevant). It's just something for you after you spent the time scrolling down this far. Click on the photo of Chris to watch.