WestJet Airlines

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.

We flew from Las Vegas to Calgary return. We both required Wheelchairs on the 2 flights and we both received great assistance from the Westjet staff in both Las Vegas and Calgary airports. We would highly recommend Westjet to any of our friends and family!

Toronto to Vancouver with Westjet - legroom has gotten noticeably smaller in the past few years. I'm 6'6" and had the most uncomfortable flight. Not since the days of Canjet have I been that cramped. I hadn't flow Westjet in a couple years, mainly because I prefer the movie selection on Air Canada, but I do remember being able to fit into the seats, now I can't anymore. If you're tall, fly Air Canada (not Rouge), you will be uncomfortable on Westjet.

Have flown WestJet three times and have had issues all three times. This last trip on WestJet from Phoenix to Calgary via Penticton is the last time I will fly with this airline. I must say the flight crew were very good and accommodating and the same for all the ground people in Calgary and Phoenix. Booked and paid for tickets last August and then they cancel our return flights about two weeks before departure without any word from them. Read about the cancellations in our local paper and then call our travel agent and find out we have been rebooked on a flight leaving Phoenix at 11pm arriving in Calgary at 2.30 am laying over in Calgary until 2 pm. This was unacceptable to us and had our travel agent arrange for different return flights and all that was available closest to our original schedule was return flights on Feb 18 instead of Feb 20. Lost 2 days prepaid car rental and 2 nights prepaid hotel. Thanks WestJet, never again.

I flew on a WestJet Boeing 737-800 from Calgary to Las Vegas. The service was great, and you don't have to pay for movies and TV anymore (on a 737-800, that is). Just download the WestJet app and you connect to WestJetConnect (their new wifi) and watch free movies and TV shows. Unfortunately, you have to pay to access the internet. WestJet has always been my favourite airline.

Complete lack of communication by WestJet employees. Calgary to Las Vegas via Edmonton, and the flight left YYC 2 hours late, meaning it would be a tight squeeze for all 10 individuals getting on the plane from YEG to LAS. I asked the flight attendant on the YYC to YEG flight if they would be able to contact YEG and ask for the flight to Vegas to be held 5 minutes so we could all get there. She told me it was "out of her control" and "not possible". I was informed that the exact opposite was the truth upon arriving at the gate in where the Vegas plane was to leave from. Long story short, we got burned and lost our money on hotel and show tickets, as well as never getting to Vegas. This flight attendant, and the individuals in Calgary (who never bothered to phone and let the YEG staff know the plane was still on its way), single handedly ruined 10 people's vacations. I don't care how cheap their fares are, I would rather pay double and fly with another airline who can manage to be on time, and actually employs people who want to do their job properly.