Never Fly WestJet

[Shanti]

I am so frustrated right now. I've planned for a year and spent several thousand dollars for our upcoming DCL Alaska cruise, and our carefully selected flights (booked & paid for almost a year in advance), could easily be cancelled by the strike that WestJet pilots are planning. The strike won't begin until May 22nd at least, and even if the Canadian government steps in after two weeks of strikes to restore service, our June 3rd flight from Texas to Vancouver does fall within that two week period and has a high chance of being cancelled or disrupted to the point that we miss the cruise.

I know a strike isn't completely under WestJet's control, but their customer service response is. I finally found reasonable rates on the same route via American, but WestJet has refused us a refund. They say it's "business as usual", and were dismissive to my concerns about not being able to wait until the last minute to make sure we have a reliable flight to ensure we make our cruise. The agent I spoke to was completely unsympathetic (even though I spoke politely to him).

They really just don't care. I want to book the American flights to get peace of mind, but would hate to waste so much money on non-refunded flights. There are few AA flights on this route at this reasonable price point (and none this reasonable on other airlines), so I want to book now, before they're gone. I can't just wait & see for another whole week.

What great customer service it would be for them to waive the cancellation fee for passengers with flights within the next few weeks. But no, they have to try to hold onto every penny, at the expense of passengers.

 

[quandrea]

You’re right. We had this happen with Air Canada some years ago. We are a family of five, so rebooking is always tough. I pressed it up the chain of command and was finally able to rebook. You may have already done this, but I thought I’d mention it. I had to be really forceful. It took several phone calls.

 

[Shanti]

You’re right. We had this happen with Air Canada some years ago. We are a family of five, so rebooking is always tough. I pressed it up the chain of command and was finally able to rebook. You may have already done this, but I thought I’d mention it. I had to be really forceful. It took several phone calls.

Did they give you a refund?

 

[quandrea]

Did they give you a refund?

Yes. Full refund. I rebooked with Airtransat. Air Canada never did strike that time.

 

[joelkfla]

I don't think this rises to "Never fly WestJet." Strikes are a difficult situation to everyone involved.

If they had a pattern of safety violations, or of excessive cancellations, that would justify black-balling them.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

I'm on the pilots' side on this one... I hope they can get things running smoothly and QUICK! For everyone's sakes...

 

[Shanti]

I'm on the pilots' side on this one... I hope they can get things running smoothly and QUICK! For everyone's sakes...

I hope so, too.

 

[StarSeven7]

We've been flying with Westjet for more than 10 years and they're the best airline in terms of customer service in my opinion! I know it's really frustrating waiting to see what will happen, but I think they're not wanting to refund everyone at this point since they don't know for sure if the strike will happen or not. I'm sure if the strike is officially announced, Westjet will definitely give full refunds. They have a reputation for going above and beyond in terms of customer service and our experience with them has reflected this as well, so I would be really surprised if they didn't take care of their customers who are impacted by this.

 

[LAX]

I don't think this rises to "Never fly WestJet." Strikes are a difficult situation to everyone involved.

If they had a pattern of safety violations, or of excessive cancellations, that would justify black-balling them.

I can understand OP's frustration, but a strike can happen just as easily at other airlines. It's definitely a tough situation to be in as most airlines are running fairly close to capacity nowadays, which makes for rebooking that much more difficult even if OP ends up getting a refund.

LAX

 

[Shanti]

In the midst of the potential strike that 91% of its pilots agreed to, WestJet just finished a week-long seat sale in which they aggressively tried to commit more unwary travelers to flights that might end up being cancelled. They aren't doing anything to warn potential customers about the risk of booking flights with them in the near future, quite the contrary. When asked if they were concerned about ticket buyers getting lured in by the sale and then having their travel plans ruined by the threatened strike, WestJet responded that it's "business as usual". That's the same line that the customer service rep said to me when I called in concern about our booked flight. Here's an article:

https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/20...sale-with-possible-strike-on-the-horizon.html

WestJet is a corporation and there is nothing surprising about a corporation behaving this way. But there is nothing good about it, either. No one can accurately say after this that WestJet is an "airline that cares" or that it offers better customer service than it's competitors. Maybe it did once, but those days are over.

 

[bumbershoot]

This is how unions negotiate. In my area nearly every year kids get ready for school to start and then at the last minute the teachers strike. It’s business as usual. Sometimes it’s wotked out before school starts and sometimes not.

I once bought tickets in England for a train trip. Birmingham to London then London to Nottingham. As I finished I was taken to a page telling me that my trip to Nottingham might be severely impacted by a planned walkout.

This not a WestJet thing. This is a union thing. It could happen on any airline.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The fare sale was planned well before it actually took place.

even with 91% agrement, there may still not be a strike. Unless westjet refuses to negotiate (unlikely) the two sides may come to an agreement.

westje t has numerous interline partners https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/about-us/airline-partners

 

[jaceraden]

I agree with above. It's not a WestJet thing.

WestJet is the best of airlines in terms of customer service. Yes, in the end, they are all airlines, peddling squished seating in tin cans. But, WestJet does some really cool customer service stuff compared to most of the options out there.

 

[StarSeven7]

For what it's worth, a settlement has been agreed upon and a strike has been averted. https://globalnews.ca/news/4232716/westjet-pilots-settlement-agreement/

 

[sam_gordon]

In the midst of the potential strike that 91% of its pilots agreed to, WestJet just finished a week-long seat sale in which they aggressively tried to commit more unwary travelers to flights that might end up being cancelled. They aren't doing anything to warn potential customers about the risk of booking flights with them in the near future, quite the contrary. When asked if they were concerned about ticket buyers getting lured in by the sale and then having their travel plans ruined by the threatened strike, WestJet responded that it's "business as usual". That's the same line that the customer service rep said to me when I called in concern about our booked flight. Here's an article:

https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/20...sale-with-possible-strike-on-the-horizon.html

WestJet is a corporation and there is nothing surprising about a corporation behaving this way. But there is nothing good about it, either. No one can accurately say after this that WestJet is an "airline that cares" or that it offers better customer service than it's competitors. Maybe it did once, but those days are over.

I know PP said the strike has been averted, but what did you want WestJet to do? Say "Here's a sale, but we may have a strike." That makes absolutely no business sense.

 

[MarBee]

I know PP said the strike has been averted, but what did you want WestJet to do? Say "Here's a sale, but we may have a strike." That makes absolutely no business sense.

Business sense? No. Moral sense? Yes. Unfortunately corporations aren’t people and have no moral compass.

 

[kaytieeldr]

WestJet IS a corporation, though.

 

[Shanti]

I know PP said the strike has been averted, but what did you want WestJet to do? Say "Here's a sale, but we may have a strike." That makes absolutely no business sense.

The decent thing to do would be to not hold a sale at that time, but rather to postpone it until after the strike issue was settled.

WestJet IS a corporation, though.

Yes, I know. I mentioned that in my post, saying it wasn't surprising that a corporation would behave that way. The fact that they are a corporation doesn't make that behavior right or acceptable.

No customer should have to go through the stress we went through in this situation. I'm glad the strike was averted and we didn't have to spend over a thousand dollars on additional plane tickets at the last minute. However, I am resolute in my decision that I will never book flights via WestJet again. This matter was not handled in a customer-friendly manner. I will take my future business elsewhere.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yes, I know. I mentioned that in my post, saying it wasn't surprising that a corporation would behave that way. The fact that they are a corporation doesn't make that behavior right or acceptable.

It is right, from a business perspective, to operate in business as usual mode. Especially while negotiating. You expect business to continue as normal, while having non-publicized contingencies in place in the off-chance of an actual strike. You absolutely hold and advertise a long planned sale.

 

[georgina]

No customer should have to go through the stress we went through in this situation. I'm glad the strike was averted and we didn't have to spend over a thousand dollars on additional plane tickets at the last minute. However, I am resolute in my decision that I will never book flights via WestJet again. This matter was not handled in a customer-friendly manner. I will take my future business elsewhere.

And that is your right! We had a horrible experience on Delta years ago, so now I avoid them. However, I had to fly my son from Seattle to Cleveland on one day's notice for my mom's funeral, and ended up booking him on Delta. Just my luck, it was within the 2 weeks last fall they had a data breach!