Tag: westjet View All Tags
Tags: New Routes / Caribbean Travel / Cuba Travel / St Maarten Travel / WestJet / Canada Travel / Toronto Travel / Airlines / Airline News / → All Tags
WestJet Launches Cuba And St. Maarten, Non-Stops Away From Canadian Winter
Starting from last Sunday, Toronto travelers in search of warmth have had two new options courtesy of Canadian low cost carrier WestJet. Last week the airline announced they were launching nonstops to Varadero, Cuba and St Maarten, and the first flights duly took off over the weekend.
The company issued separate press releases for the St Maarten and Cuba routes, each identical except for the obviously made up location-specific quotes from Hugh Dunleavy, WestJet Executive Vice-President of Strategy and Planning. That doesn't make WestJet's announcement any less exciting. It just kind of made us giggle.
Both new routes have flights three times per week, and both last only until April 29, 2010. Presumably that's the date they expect Toronto to thaw, with all the consequences for demand that would portend. They're promising more "sun destination" announcements in the coming days though, so maybe those will last past the winter months.
Tags: Airline News / Airlines / LCCs / Canada / WestJet / Hawaii / → All Tags
WestJet Figures Out Way To Monetize Empty Seats
For one reason or another, Canadian low cost carrier WestJet flies planes to Hawaii at less than full capacity. Being an airline, and an LCC at that, they've naturally come up with a way to use that reality to charge passengers. Customers who prefer to have an empty seat next to them - and who doesn't - will now be able to pay to lock in that privilege:
WestJet’s simple solution is to leave the middle seat empty in the first eight to ten rows of its Boeing 737-700s flying between Calgary and Hawaii. The company says there will be a small price increase for passengers wanting the extra elbow room... The empty seats are actually necessary to make the flight to Hawaii... The company’s 737-700s have been flying the shorter non-stop route between Vancouver and Hawaii for several years now. But the airplane... can’t make the longer flight from Calgary to Hawaii with a full passenger load because of range limitations based on the fuel it can carry.
Tags: WestJet / New Routes / Airline News / Hawaii Travel / Canada Travel / → All Tags
'Mele Kalikimaka' Is The Thing To Say On WestJet's New Hawaii Routes
Cold Canadians have had their prayers answered. Just in time for the long cold winter ahead, WestJet has announced some new routes to Hawaii. It’s pretty much seasonal service for the snow season, but at least it’s a new option to escape to paradise when you need it most.
For those sick of shoveling snow in Calgary there will be non-stop routes to both Honolulu and Maui. Starting in March there will be an escape route flying once a week. The introductory rates will start at $329 CAD each way not including taxes, fees, and anything else they want to throw at you. If Maui is more of your style, getting there will set you back about $40 CAD more each way.
Tags: Airline Hell / Air Canada / WestJet / Travel News / → All Tags
Things Are Different In Canada
In September, Canada launched a passenger bill of rights, entitling fliers to humane treatment and--get this--a chance to disembark if a delay seems interminable. So we shouldn't be surprised by the latest bit of travel news out of Ottowa: Air Canada and other airlines based in the country can no longer charge disabled or obese people extra for an additional seat.
The Supreme Court of Canada didn't actually make a ruling in a case involving a wheelchair-bound woman and a paraplegic who both insisted that they shouldn't have to pay extra to travel; instead, the court decided not to hear an appeal, effectively upholding a Canadian Transportation Agency ruling that all carriers must charge passengers the same fare, regardless of medical concerns.
In the US, airlines can--and do--charge extra if passengers need an extra seat, whether that's because of obesity or because they need a caregiver to accompany them. The so-called passenger of size policy is of Southwest, which says you must buy an extra ticket if you can't fit between the arm rests, is now of particular interest: The low cost carrier starts code sharing with Canadian airline WestJet in 2009.
Related Stories:
· Air Canada Can't Make Disabled People Pay Extra [Bloomberg]
· Canada Protects Obese Two-for-One Rights [Airline Biz Blog]
· Progressive Travel: Canada Launches Passenger Bill of Rights [Jaunted]
[Photo: Eric Bégin]
Tags: Airline Mergers / Southwest Airlines / WestJet / → All Tags
Code Sharing Travel: Southwest Making Nice with WestJet
Southwest Airlines has been shopping for an international partner for some time now, a search that was likely accelerated earlier this year after ATA collapsed. Now the search is over: The low cost carrier just announced that it will initiate a code sharing agreement with WestJet by the end of 2009.
Though WestJet flies to a few destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean, a press release from the two airlines emphasizes the US-Canada link as the big part of this tie-up. The Canadian carrier also goes to Hawaii via Vancouver.
All that said, no specifics on routes or schedules have been released just yet, and the airlines also remind us that some of the details are subject to government approval. No wonder the deal with take 18 months to finalize.
Related Stories:
· Despite ATA Collapse, Southwest Still Wants to Fly You Abroad [Jaunted]
· Airline Mergers: An Across-the-Board Update [Jaunted]
[Photo: ChicagoEye]
Tags: Airlines / Porter Airlines / WestJet / Canada / → All Tags
Adventures of Link: New Route Round-Up...
...in which we gently remind you (and ourselves) what airlines are taking you where these days.
Some of the most interesting new services popping up are between the U.S. East Coast and Canada. Interesting because they involve airlines that could be quite unfamiliar to travelers. WestJet is already established in the States, but mostly in the West and Florida. Porter Airlines, on the other hand, is just now adding its first U.S. destination.
Both WestJet and Porter are about to invade Newark--WestJet to/from Calgary, and Porter to/from Toronto-YTZ (City Centre Airport). Porter is especially welcome for the extra competition between NYC and Toronto--those fares have a history of getting pretty crazy.
So what can you Americans expect from Porter Airlines? For one, sexy snack boxes (see above), sexy service, and a free, sexy-ass lounge at the Toronto airport. The reviews for Porter on Airline Quality are glowing. We love it already!
Related Stories:
· Eos to fly from Newark Liberty [NJ.com]
· More destinations for Oneworld members [Dallas Morning News]
· Canada's Porter Airlines to launch Toronto-Newark service [AP]
· WestJet unveils Big Apple flight plan [Calgary Herald]
· Air Canada offers New York weekender pass to Calgary [Calgary Herald]
· Japan's ANA to launch budget Asia airline [Reuters]
Tags: LAX / Airlines / Airports / NWA / WestJet / → All Tags
Close Call at LAX
This has not been the year for airlines. From day-long delays to canceled flights, 2007 has been the ultimate disaster. But things keep getting worse: It seems two planes missed colliding on the runway at LAX by less than 40 feet. Forty feet! Sure, no one was hurt--and that's good--but we thought the only planes that dared to get that close were the Rockin' Blue Angels.
WestJet and Northwest must have been auditioning for the part as they passed within 37 feet of each other. As an NWA Airbus accelerated for takeoff, the pilot of a WestJet Boeing switched radio frequencies and got instructions to cross the active runway. Believe it or not, stuff like this happens pretty frequently: this is the seventh so-called runway incursion at LAX in less than a year.
Related Stories:
· Feds Investigate Close Call at LAX [CNN]
· 2 Planes that Nearly Collided at LAX [LAT]
[Photo: diongillard]
Tags: Airlines / Budget Airlines / Humor / WestJet / → All Tags
Airline Report: WestJet Needs Your Help
Money can't buy you love. Money can't buy you a sense of humor. Free television can't buy you a sense of humor, but a little known fact is that it can buy you love. We know because of the mistakes we've made in the throes of cable deprivation. The flirtatious wave of a Time Warner remote can lure more cable-less tail than you'd think.
Canada's second airline, WestJet, continues to struggle to turn on the charm despite a record profit this quarter and all the onboard entertainment it offers. Simply put, WestJet tries to be funny. Problem is, WestJet isn't funny. The lame jokes flight attendants tell over the intercom system are the bane of some passengers' patronage. Every WestJet plane carries a joke book filled to the gills with this cheese. Example: "Q: What kind of car does Luke Skywalker drive? A: A Toy-Yoda." Oh, and the book is called--get ready, now--Just Plane Fun.
The good news is that WestJet is always looking to expand its repertoire. We encourage all interested comedians to call 1-877-WJCARES and suggest a joke, as it's impossible to locate a customer service email address on WestJet's site. We wouldn't object if you, say, petitioned them to hire Bob Saget to perform on select routes, but that's up to you.
[Photo: ericbegin2000]
Related Stories:
· WestJet seeks joke material for cabin comedians [Vancouver Sun]
· WestJet lifts off despite shaky start in '06 [Canada.com]
· WestJet, Air Canada hit heights in 2006 [Globe and Mail]
Tags: Airlines / YouTube / WestJet / Air Canada / → All Tags
On the Trail of Scare Canada
This film (above is part one of six) was produced by a WestJet employee, though we're not sure what sort of official distribution it got, if any, outside of YouTube. It's a parody of the Blair Witch Project, but instead of the "Blair" Witch, it's the "Air" Witch being hunted...and she works for "Scare" Canada (WestJet, an LCC, competes with Air Canada). Ha ha! Get it?
The Air Witch lives in the woods and apparently terrorizes Scare Canada passengers by slapping their hands when they reach for more pretzels. Have you flown with both WestJet and Air Canada? Which airline do you prefer? Let us know that, plus whether or not you managed to finish all six segments of the film, in the comments. (Embedding was disabled by the video poster; click here to view).
