WestJet Airlines

This review concerns Westjet's rather confusing awards program. When making the reservation for my wife I used my Westjet ID. Unlike virtually all other airlines, with Westjet one does not points but rather Westjet Dollars. While this appears to be similar to the AirMiles program, it is not. Therefore while I used my Westjet ID to make the booking online and pay for the airfare I was never aware of the nature of the program. I used my Westjet ID because my wife does not have one. It was only when I contacted Westjet after this was not credited to my account that I found out about this. When I did the Westjet representatives were not helpful at all. The various service ratings I have made are based on my wife's experience on her flight.

I have not flown with them for many years and after this experience I will not fly with them again. I took a flight from Saskatoon to Ottawa (I took the flight to Saskatoon with Air Canada). My connection flight in Calgary was delayed due to mechanical problems with the aircraft. Although I understand that this happens, my complaint lies with the fact that Westjet did not inform anyone. Subsequently I missed my connection in Toronto to Ottawa and also missed my transportation from Ottawa to Petawawa forcing me to stay overnight in Ottawa. From the rep I dealt with in Saskatoon who could not stop talking on her phone while checking me in (and giving me the opposite of the seats I requested) to the flippant customer service rep in Toronto when I found out my flight had left without me ten minutes earlier, this company has the worst customer service I have experienced in a very long time. They did give me a 15$ meal voucher in Toronto (thank you for that) but when I contacted the company to find out why this delay had happened, I was offered a $50 voucher towards my next flight. Don't fly with these people unless you enjoy abuse and a complete lack of professional conduct.

✅ Verified Review | We flew WestJet for a holiday to Antigua from Toronto at the end of February and returned yesterday. On the flight going down, we were amazed and how rude and abrasive the supervising flight attendant was. She snapped at us if for example, we were in her way on our way to the lavatory, barking out commands with no finesse. When my husband stretched his feet out to rest against the partition (as everybody does) she barked: "Get your feet down!". We were in Plus seats so were offered the boxed lunch at no extra fee. However, the food was inedible. The food and snacks on this flight offer little nutritional value as well as being devoid of taste. There are no gluten-free or vegan options. The seat comfort was at a minimum even in Plus because the middle seat, which could have offered a little more wiggle room, is blocked off with a ridiculous hard table which cannot be removed. On our flight home, we encountered unpleasant flight attendants, who did not offer a good service. The entertainment is a joke compared with airlines offering seat-back screens, and features like the flight tracker feature.

✅ Verified Review | Edmonton to Comox with WestJet. Great flights, on time or early, friendly, helpful staff except woman checking boarding pass in Edmonton, who not friendly at all, almost rude. Seating is a bit narrow. I'm skinny and found it pretty tight. Website is very user unfriendly.

I have flown lots but have never felt the need to write a review until now. On our recent WestJet flight from Moncton to cancun on March 12, 2016 we upgraded to plus seating. We have never had a more enjoyable flight - it was 5 1/2 hours of conversation laughter and fun thanks to the two best flight attendants ever. Thanks for making a long flight great, for us and our 8 friends as we traveled to celebrate my 50th birthday and our friends 25th anniversary.

My wife and I booked Plus seats for our recent trip to Mazatlan. It was a 1st row seat and I had just worked the night before so my plan was to get more leg room, and more comfortable seating so that I could get a reasonable sleep on my way to Mazatlan. I could not have been more wrong. The seats were hard and they were very skinny (slimline seats?). Ridiculous that they would take away comfort for the attempt to cram more people into the plane. Also, what I find totally ridiculous is to put this "tray" in the middle seat given that it takes up space that could be used to increase the comfort of the passengers in Plus rows. What is the purpose of this tray that it should take up a whole seat? Either get rid of it completely or make it slimmer and not the seats. Westjet, if you actually listen to your customers, please get rid of that tray that takes up a whole seat in Plus, or make it slimmer so the passengers seats can be made a little wider. What a slap in the face to its customers!

Return to Toronto from Montego Bay was originally scheduled on one of WestJet's new Boeing 767's. Unfortunately, apparently due to some issue on WestJet's Calgary-Hawaii route, our return flight was cancelled, a new flight created and our aircraft type disappointingly replaced with one of two older B737 'rescue' flights to bring the full complement of WestJet's passengers back to Toronto. After receiving email notification of the change, and suspecting there would be some logistical challenges to keeping our Plus seat allocations, I attempted to retrieve our booking online, however, was unable to and directed by the WestJet site to contact customer support. While friendly and understanding, the call centre was unable to confirm any seat allocation as their internal system was 'locked', and I was informed I would only know about seat allocation at time of check-in. I figured the WestJet system could do the math: 24 Plus seats in the 767 equals 12 + 12 Plus seats in two 737's. But who trusts technology? At precisely 24 hours before our flight was scheduled to depart, accessed the online check-in and sure enough, our five seats were allocated in five different rows, in the middle and rear. No Plus allocation. Fortunately, I was able to 'upgrade' to Plus seats online, at $0, and print our boarding passes. Needless to say, there were other Plus passengers on our flight who did ultimately lose their Plus seats, and ended up sitting in Economy. Only explanations I can come up with are that passengers not originally in Plus were able to 'upgrade' at time of check-in, or there were more Plus passengers allocated to the first rescue flight than the second. One would think with the technology we employ today, this would have been managed better. Boarding at MBJ was somewhat chaotic as gate staff appeared to have trouble processing and reconciling boarding passes, heard some talk of 'duplicates.' In the end, the flight departed about 15 minutes late due to boarding pass administration. The flight itself was the usual WestJet standard. Flight staff friendly, helpful and always available. No inflight entertainment, though, (aka free movies) as the system for this flight was not configured owing to the flight change (in other words, someone forgot to 'flip the switch' to load films for this particular flight). Arrived in Toronto only a few minutes past scheduled time. Owing to the equipment change and my time spent ensuring seat and class allocation the day prior, plus the confusion at boarding, I've reduced my rating.

Tampa to Toronto in Plus fare class. Flight staff pleasant, food selection the usual feed box (fruit salad, Nanaimo bar) plus sandwich, Kit Kat, and beverage. Would like to see a little more variety with the sandwich types. Row 1 (or 2, depending on aircraft type) bulkhead window seat always my first choice. Lots of leg room, window seat and no crawling over aisle passenger. While no under-seat storage, always over-head room available due to priority boarding, and a bulkhead wall pouch to store headphones, smart device, etc. As discussed in a previous review, priority security screening is a mystery to most WestJet staff. Fortunately, at TPA, I had to reprint my boarding pass, no line-up at counter and the extremely friendly and helpful staff made sure I had the priority screening designation on the pass. As an aside, Tampa is a model airport and a pleasure for which to travel to and from.

Toronto to Montego Bay, family of five, Plus fare class. Flight was the typical WestJet standard - for us, anyhow. Flight staff very efficient and pleasant, went out of their way in assisting our three young kids. Extra treats all around on this flight. Flight was uneventful and on time. The inflight entertainment performed flawlessly and kept the kids engaged. Decent selection of films and TV shows. As covered as part of an earlier review, ground staff hassle at YYZ regarding priority security screening was the only blemish on an otherwise problem-free WestJet experience.

Toronto to Tampa via Ottawa. 'Plus' fare class both segments, operated without issue, on time. Staff efficient, affable and accommodating. Have never experienced a negative in-flight encounter flying WestJet. The Plus fare class continues, in my mind, to be WestJet's attempt at 'premium economy.' I normally book it from the get-go as opposed to waiting to 24 hours prior to flight and checking for availability at time of online check-in , although there is a substantial saving if one is able to snag a Plus seat at that point; well worth it. Is Plus' class worth it at full fare? Obviously I do since I'm willing to pay for it at time of booking. However, would like to see an improvement to the on-board food offered for flights to Florida or the Caribbean. Despite fairly strong satisfaction with WestJet, an area of frustration for me continues to be their ground staff's confusion regarding priority security screening for Plus fare passengers. In my past several flights, there has consistently been a lack of understanding and confusion as to whether priority security screening is, in fact, a Plus fare benefit; on a most recent trip out of Toronto, a WestJet staff member argued with me at the airport that it was not available to my family and me even though I presented him a print-out of the WestJet web page that clearly said it was (learning from past experience). Despite the hardcopy evidence, this staff member unceremoniously dismissed me, stating the site is wrong and I was out of luck (although when I explained it at priority security, surprisingly my family was allowed through, saving us considerable time in the process). I had even contacted the WestJet call centre prior to the day of flight to confirm for my own sanity; the call agent had to visit their own web-site to confirm the benefit applied (which they did confirm, however, I sensed that was news to them). As I mentioned above, this issue has persisted on multiple occasions. On the return flights, gate staff in Tampa admitted to the confusion, at both the check-in and gate check counters, even going so far as to telling me for future trips departing Tampa to visit the main check-in counter to get a priority stamp even if already checked in online. Strange. I intend to contact WestJet's corporate office to seek clarification once and for all and to understand if WestJet management are aware there is a general lack of understanding for a benefit that is clearly stated in their Plus fare information. Despite the above, WestJet continues to be my airline of choice.