West Jet vs Air Canada...the Throw Down

On Thursday I made my first ever flight with West Jet. I have been an Air Canada loyalist for the past decade – but mainly because of Aeroplan. Not surprisingly, Air Canada has done some restructuring of their reward miles; my eventual goal is to cash in my miles and fly to South America – preferably before they require an ungodly number of miles to fly. In due time…

Unfortunately my loyalty to Air Canada is waning. Their service is below par – or openly disgruntled, at the very least. Given their continual problems, negligible customer service will not help their position. Forced smiles and open sarcasm abound; but not funny sarcasm – the “I hate my job” type sarcasm. I have generally been quite shocked by what is considered appropriate by Air Canada; simple questions are greeted with clipped tones and looks of disdain. On my way back from London, I was left with an hour lay over in Toronto (to claim my luggage, clear customs & immigration, recheck my bags, reclear security, etc) - I asked the flight attendant if I could speed up the whole disembarking process. After being looked at like I was an idiot, I was informed (through gritted teeth) “No. You’ll make it.” For the record, the only reason I made it was because Security saw my departure time and expedited the clearance process.

While preparing for my first ever flight with West Jet, I was informed by my travel agent that West Jet is “way better” than Air Canada. Nice. Now in all fairness, I have flown with several other airlines, and have found that Air Canada is not alone in terms of poor customer service. American Airlines did nothing to endear me – in fact, I felt like I was imposing on a rich-man’s airline (“we don’t like dirty backpackers). Europe’s various budget air carriers are not exactly stellar examples of great customer service; but really- what do you expect when you buy a ticket for £30? My favourite airline thus far, has been Olympic Airlines; they featured a full course meal on a short flight from Istanbul to Athens.

There was a time, before cutbacks, that I actually enjoyed flying. Back in the day, the Valhalla Inn catered Air Canada flights out of Thunder Bay. The breakfast flight was one of my favourites. Before Canadian Airlines was absorbed by Air Canada, I always looked forward to the freshly baked cookies provided between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg. Eating decent food sort of broke up the mundane experience of flying. Now I look forward to the little packets of sesame seeds. Yum. For the record, my most recent flight from London to Toronto featured a pasty stuffed with curry, mango, and lamb – it was an interesting combination and far from a culinary delight.

So West Jet; so far I have no complaints. The flight attendants smile, and it seems sincere. They crack ridiculous jokes over the intercom; the jokes are sarcastic – but given that I have a fairly sarcastic sense of humour, I sort of enjoy it. As I sit in Edmonton International Airport, waiting for my plane to Calgary…then to Winnipeg…then to Thunder Bay, I realize that I miss the old days of travel. The days that you could purchase a ticket and be assured that everything was taken care of; before you had to pay for food of substance, head sets ($3 on West Jet), blankets, television ($1.99 West Jet). Granted those were the days before individually mounted televisions, and some of the additional technological perks, but really – flying can become an expensive proposition. I am waiting for the day that food is eliminated from international flights. Oh well, short of taking a boat everywhere, flying is still the only feasible option and we are forced to be willing subjects of overstretched airlines. In the meantime, I have no complaints about West Jet (thus far), and may be considering ending my loyalty to Air Canada for future domestic flights.

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