Latest news with #WestJet
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
‘I was gobsmacked.' They paid WestJet hundreds for a ‘premium' upgrade and ended up in economy with a glass of bubbly
Nancy Tennyson and her husband Paul arrived at the Vancouver airport hours ahead of their scheduled departure in May hoping to catch an earlier flight home to Toronto. WestJet confirmed it had room for them but no premium seats. 'We declined,' said Tennyson, a fitness YouTuber in her sixties known as Mama Tenny. 'I have been dealing with a back issue, and we purposely booked premium for the wider, more comfortable seats.' But what the Tennysons got when they boarded their regularly scheduled flight four hours later, was a laminated placard on the back of an economy seat titled: 'Aircraft reconfiguration coming soon.' WestJet's notice told passengers, who'd forked out hundreds of dollars more for wider, premium seats, that 'we recognize … that your journey with us today does not reflect the interior cabin experience you expect' and thanked them for their 'patience and loyalty' as the airline worked to reconfigure its planes. 'I was gobsmacked,' Tennyson said. 'They knew right from the get-go they weren't going to give me what I paid for.' The flight attendant, Tennyson said, carried on as if nothing was amiss, offering sparkling wine to the first couple of rows. Other passengers seemed equally confused, so Tennyson gently pressed the attendant for details. Why would WestJet have sold premium seats on a flight it knew had only rows upon rows of three small seats scrunched together? 'She said that soon this aircraft would have a premium cabin with premium seats,' Tennyson said. 'I said that currently this was 'an economy seat with a glass of cheap wine,' and she nodded in agreement.' The Tennysons reached out to WestJet to formally complain about what they described as a 'premeditated fraud.' The company initially offered each of them a $50 travel credit, which incensed Nancy even more. 'I want them to admit what they did was wrong.' The Tennysons were not the only ones complaining. Scores of other air passengers have shared similar stories on TripAdvisor, Reddit and Facebook, warning consumers to not fall for WestJet's 'premium scam.' The airline's unorthodox sales tactic 'has definitely generated a lot of public backlash,' said Alia Hussain, president of CUPE local 8125, representing WestJet and Sunwing cabin personnel. 'Our crew members felt the weight of this disappointment.' WestJet confirmed to the Star by email that between Nov. 4, 2024 and May 15, 2025, the airline sold premium and extended comfort products, 'on a subset of our Boeing 737 aircraft that are currently configured exclusively with 3x3 economy-only seating.' The airline told the Star it's sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. 'We recognized that this experience did not meet out guests' exceptions,' said Julia Kaiser, a WestJet media relations adviser, 'which is why we made the decision to roll the product back.' When a customer service rep from the airline called the Tennysons at 8:30 p.m. last week to ask about their experience, the 32-minute conversation did not go well, Tennyson said. WestJet told the Star it was 'under the impression that a resolution had been found.' The agent, Tennyson said, insisted the couple knew they were getting a 'modified premium' fare. But the email the airline sent them 72 hours ahead of their flight made no obvious mention of the word modified. The conversation continued in circles, Tennyson said. Passengers, he told her, 'were made aware that some amenities might be different.' Like the seat ?? Tennyson replied. 'You make it sound like we were trying to hoodwink you,' the agent told Tennyson, whose husband Paul was in the background on speaker. 'You absolutely did,' she said. Tennyson said she felt the agent's questions suggested she was complaining over nothing. 'Did you have anybody between you?' he asked. 'No,' she said. 'But I couldn't lift up the armrest.' 'Did you not get priority boarding? A cold meal? a drink?' 'Those things meant nothing to me,' she said. Tennyson said the agent told her not everyone who books a premium experience wants a wider seat. 'He's trying to suggest people are delighted to pay extra to board early, get a cold meal, cheap wine and free Pringles. 'Do you think if I knew that I was signing up for bogus premium economy — this hack — that I would be complaining now? Absolutely not.' WestJet told the Star that 'feedback from guests' prompted the airline to stop selling premium and extended comfort tickets on planes that have only smaller seats in groups of three. 'We are actively working to reconfigure these economy seating only aircraft to include the seat options that are available on the rest of our fleet for consistency,' Kaiser told the Star by email. 'In the interim, these aircraft remain in service with economy fare bundles only. Having these aircraft remain in service makes it possible to fulfil our schedule and meet the travel needs of all our guests.' Hussain said the union's intervention 'is what led to the network changes made to sell only economy fares in economy-configured cabins.' The Union, Hussain said, asked for a several meetings with the company 'and communicated our concerns on behalf of our guests and our members, emphasizing the need for better management of guest experience and support for our cabin crew — which is what led to the network changes made to sell only economy fares in economy-configured cabins.' WestJet has since provided each of the Tennysons with a $150 credit for future travel but the experience has soured them on booking another flight. 'I don't think I'll ever use that,' she said. Jamie Thornback, a partner at CFM Lawyers in Vancouver, which represents victims in aviation accidents and consumers in class actions, said the Tennysons and other airline passengers 'could sue WestJet using normal consumer protection legislation,' like Ontario's Consumer Protection Act or the British Columbia Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, 'which generally prohibit companies from engaging in deceptive practices with consumers.' Depending on the number of passengers impacted, a class-action lawsuit could be in the cards. 'Whether they would be successful would depend on what WestJet disclosed when they bought the tickets,' Thornback said. 'Given the number of people who seem to have complained, it's likely that WestJet did not effectively communicate that these were not actually premium seats.'
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Yahoo
Stolen small plane circles Vancouver airport as controllers ground flights and pilots abort landings
A stolen private plane caused a temporary shutdown of the airspace over Vancouver International Airport, one the busiest in Canada, on Tuesday. The Cessna 172 took off from Victoria International Airport, where it is used for flight training, and flew north about 40 miles to Vancouver and started circling. 'We do have an aircraft that has been hijacked and is in the vicinity of the airport,' a tower controller warned other planes in a recording from the website 'Just in case anything starts heading toward your you have the ability to move at your discretion.' People on the ground watched the plane dip low and circle as air traffic controllers moved other aircraft out of the way. One of those planes was a WestJet Airlines Boeing 737 which was instructed to abort its landing due to the 'rogue 172' crossing about four miles in front of them. 'He was doing quite a radical turn at low altitude,' witness Paul Heeney, told CNN newsgathering partner CBC. 'I went wow, I wonder if he is in trouble.' The stolen plane eventually landed safely at Vancouver International and was immediately surrounded by police. The suspect, who was not identified by authorities, was the only person inside and was arrested. 'A security incident involving a small private aircraft in the airspace near YVR prompted a temporary ground stop for arriving aircraft,' the airport said in a statement. Planes were stopped from arriving for 39 minutes and nine planes were diverted to other airports. Police and the airport did not provide any motive or other explanation as to why the plane was stolen. CNN's Paula Newton contributed to this report.
CNN
16-07-2025
- CNN
Stolen small plane circles Vancouver airport as controllers ground flights and pilots abort landings
A stolen private plane caused a temporary shutdown of the airspace over Vancouver International Airport, one the busiest in Canada, on Tuesday. The Cessna 172 took off from Victoria International Airport, where it is used for flight training, and flew north about 40 miles to Vancouver and started circling. 'We do have an aircraft that has been hijacked and is in the vicinity of the airport,' a tower controller warned other planes in a recording from the website 'Just in case anything starts heading toward your you have the ability to move at your discretion.' People on the ground watched the plane dip low and circle as air traffic controllers moved other aircraft out of the way. One of those planes was a WestJet Airlines Boeing 737 which was instructed to abort its landing due to the 'rogue 172' crossing about four miles in front of them. 'He was doing quite a radical turn at low altitude,' witness Paul Heeney, told CNN newsgathering partner CBC. 'I went wow, I wonder if he is in trouble.' The stolen plane eventually landed safely at Vancouver International and was immediately surrounded by police. The suspect, who was not identified by authorities, was the only person inside and was arrested. 'A security incident involving a small private aircraft in the airspace near YVR prompted a temporary ground stop for arriving aircraft,' the airport said in a statement. Planes were stopped from arriving for 39 minutes and nine planes were diverted to other airports. Police and the airport did not provide any motive or other explanation as to why the plane was stolen. CNN's Paula Newton contributed to this report.
CNN
16-07-2025
- CNN
Stolen small plane circles Vancouver airport as controllers ground flights and pilots abort landings
Aviation news Air travel safetyFacebookTweetLink Follow A stolen private plane caused a temporary shutdown of the airspace over Vancouver International Airport, one the busiest in Canada, on Tuesday. The Cessna 172 took off from Victoria International Airport, where it is used for flight training, and flew north about 40 miles to Vancouver and started circling. 'We do have an aircraft that has been hijacked and is in the vicinity of the airport,' a tower controller warned other planes in a recording from the website 'Just in case anything starts heading toward your you have the ability to move at your discretion.' People on the ground watched the plane dip low and circle as air traffic controllers moved other aircraft out of the way. One of those planes was a WestJet Airlines Boeing 737 which was instructed to abort its landing due to the 'rogue 172' crossing about four miles in front of them. 'He was doing quite a radical turn at low altitude,' witness Paul Heeney, told CNN newsgathering partner CBC. 'I went wow, I wonder if he is in trouble.' The stolen plane eventually landed safely at Vancouver International and was immediately surrounded by police. The suspect, who was not identified by authorities, was the only person inside and was arrested. 'A security incident involving a small private aircraft in the airspace near YVR prompted a temporary ground stop for arriving aircraft,' the airport said in a statement. Planes were stopped from arriving for 39 minutes and nine planes were diverted to other airports. Police and the airport did not provide any motive or other explanation as to why the plane was stolen. CNN's Paula Newton contributed to this report.
Calgary Herald
15-07-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
WestJet expands winter schedule with five new sun destinations
Article content WestJet recently revealed its winter schedule, featuring five new sun destinations from Calgary, Montreal or Toronto starting this December. Article content The Canadian air carrier is adding Panama City, Panama; Guadalajara, Mexico; Tepic (Nayarit), Mexico; Havana, Cuba; and Managua, Nicaragua to its roster in addition to other new routes. The schedule also marks Mexico City's first winter season of operation since becoming a year-round service. Article content Article content Article content As part of the announcement, WestJet noted seat capacity across the Latin America and Caribbean region is scheduled to grow by six per cent overall, with popular vacation hot spots like Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Mexico in focus for new route growth. Article content Article content WestJet is also launching new routes from Calgary to Cozumel, Mexico and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; Vancouver to Liberia, Costa Rica; Montreal to Samana, Dominican Republic; Quebec City to Montego Bay, Jamaica; Thunder Bay, Ontario to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and Winnipeg to Liberia, Costa Rica. Article content Article content The expanded routes come on the heels of a sharp decline in Canadians travelling to the U.S. in recent months, due in large part to ongoing trade tensions and comments made by the president of the United States about making Canada the nation's 51st state. Article content According to Airways, the commercial aviation publication, Weatherill confirmed during the press event that WestJet has 'seen some decline in demand to the U.S. — and as a result, we've redeployed some of our capacity into domestic markets, across the Atlantic and to Latin America and Caribbean destinations.'
