West Jet through Toronto

[restful urchin]

Just some expert opinions needed here. Due to odd circumstances I'm off work until March 1. That means I can plan a trip to WDW anytime between now and then.
In looking into airfare.(I'm in Edmonton) I was considering West Jet but all the direct routes via Calgary are either not available or very expensive.
How bad is going through Torono for 2 adults? I keep hearing that it is a nightmare.. and it may be.. just wanting to find out since the better fares on WJ are through there.
I usually fly Northwest via Min. I find the fares to be cheaper.(am kicking myself because last week the fare was 350.00 return through Min. I slept on it and they had gone up to 550 overnight.. arggggggghhhh!! )

So, any thoughts on WJ??? (love the tvs in each seat!)
thanks
Liz

 

[happycamper83]

I've flown westjet YYZ to MCO, but I didn't have to make a connection for that particular flight. It was fabulous and I love westjet!!!

I've flown with air canada from Northern Ontario to Connecticut through YYZ on a Canadian flight connecting into the US. It is a bit of a pain... nothing to do with the airline and just everything to do with security procedures.

When you land from your domestic flight, you have to collect your luggage and have it with you as you go through US customs. The wait for luggage and the wait for customs can be long. I was thankfully going carry on only on this particular trip and didn't have to wait for my luggage or else I would not have made my connection. Allow LOTS of time. Once you're through customs, you can drop off your luggage again and go through security AGAIN and then finally carry on to your gate.

I had an hour between my flights and I felt rushed.

 

[Jax]

I think it depends on the flights.

Last time DH and I took the flight that left Calgary just after midnight, arrived in TO just after 6 am, took off again at 9 am and landed around 2 pm. By the time we arrived at our hotel we were exhausted. Love Westjet but would not recommend this flight. If you can sleep on a plane this might not be as bad, but we aren't those type of people.

The stop over in Toronto was fine, we didn't run into any problems.

As far as Westjet goes, they are my favorite airline, pretty much the only one we use.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Don't forget that when connecting threw YYZ you need to pick up your checked bags after landing, go threw USA Customs and once again place your checked bags on the luggage carousel before going threw the security check point.

 

[angela1044]

Other than dealing with customs and security, YYZ is not a difficult airport it's just bigger than the others in Canada. You'd be flying into terminal 3 which is huge but easy.

I've never flown WJ but I've heard of lots of people liking it. I'm thinking if you liked Northwest you will be more than happy with West Jet because I find the US charter flights to be disappointing compared to Air Canada. However, I'm looking forward to flying with Southwest this February because it is so much cheaper than flying out of YYZ.

Best of luck on your decision.

 

[chimo2u]

Just some expert opinions needed here. Due to odd circumstances I'm off work until March 1. That means I can plan a trip to WDW anytime between now and then.
In looking into airfare.(I'm in Edmonton) I was considering West Jet but all the direct routes via Calgary are either not available or very expensive.
How bad is going through Torono for 2 adults? I keep hearing that it is a nightmare.. and it may be.. just wanting to find out since the better fares on WJ are through there.
I usually fly Northwest via Min. I find the fares to be cheaper.(am kicking myself because last week the fare was 350.00 return through Min. I slept on it and they had gone up to 550 overnight.. arggggggghhhh!! )

So, any thoughts on WJ??? (love the tvs in each seat!)
thanks
Liz

Hello! We are in Edmonton too. I just booked our flight for Sept. for our family of 4 (2 adults 2 teens age 13 and 17). Last time we flew, we went United through Chigago. I was very dissapointed in the service with United. a flight with 2 teens and no radio or TV from Eddytown was soooooo boring!!! Long 7.5 hrs. This time my hubby absolutely refuses to fly anything but a canadian carrier. We booked prior to Dec 22 when they had the 50% off sale. Previously all year it was looking like $4000.00 for 4 tickets, with the AC sale, we got all 4 tickets for $2,4000.00! Much better deal. We fly out of Edmonton at 1:05 am on Sept 01 (red eye flight) land in Toronto at 6:55 and depart for Orlando at 10 am.... arriving around 12:50 pm. Not bad timings, hopefully we will be able to sleep on a plane!! I like AC much better for the individual TV.s and newer airplanes.....hopefully the customs thing will go smoothly. We are all happy to be headed back to WDW!!!

 

[restful urchin]

Thanks everyone for their replies. Going through TO sounds like a bit of a pain but easily doable especially with no small kids. And I like the idea of seat back entertainment.
Maybe I'll give that red eye a try!
Thanks again!
Liz

 

[Sillyminny40]

It is not a big deal anymore. We flew to jamaica via YYZ in November with Westjet. They were great.

You should try to keep your luggage as small as possible and keep essentials in a small tote with you. They lost my bag but we got it 28 hours later right to our Negril hotel. (only one lost on flight out of T.O.)

I survived with one swimsuit, skort, tank and toothbrush and was just fine (I am a makeup, moisterizer, etc girl but was amazed I got by with lipstick, mascara, eye liner that was in my purse).

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

To speed things up in Toronto, you could get a Nexus pass. That way you can walk right through customs. My wife, daughter (4) and son (2) all have one and it was very easy to get. Sign up now so you have enough time before your trip.

-Dean

 

[restful urchin]

I looked up the Nexus pass and am not sure if it will be that helpful or not. I go south twice a year,(not counting Disney trips), and go through Edmonton which is pretty darn easy. I admit it could be a plus at the bigger airports such as VANC or TO .. not sure about using it for one trip.. on the other hand.. could be fun!
thanks for the info... I just might do it!

 

[puppyears]

We flew WJ in July out of Toronto to Disney. Loved every minute of it. There are several channels to watch on the back of the seat ahead of you. You can even watch the flight (sort of) too.

Will only fly WJ, the total packages were fabulous, cheaper by thousands from the ones we looked at back then.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

And I like the idea of seat back entertainment.

Don't forget that it costs between $3.00 - $5.00 for the head phones to watch the TV on the flight, however I believe if you bring your own those will still work.

 

[happycamper83]

That being said they are fairly decent headphones (way better than AC ones) and I ended up using mine after my flight (still do use them actually!!) as they are "normal" headphones.

 

[Sillyminny40]

We all used our ipod headphones, no problem.

 

[scraphappyjones]

I love West Jet and can't say enough good things about them. I fly them about 10 times a year with 2 kids on my own and they are so helpful and funny.

Anyway, we just booked a flight on Westjet from Orlando to Toronto and it was only $79, it was an amazing deal. You can also bring your own headphones.