WestJet or Air Canada

[Leleluvsdis]

DH and I are planning to take an Alaska Cruise for our 10 year anniversary in 2018. I'm looking at flight prices based on 2017 and it looks like WestJet and Air Canada have the best prices. Has anyone ever flown these? If so, what were your thoughts?

For reference, we typically fly Southwest or American. It will be DH-36, DD-3 1/2, me-33, DM-72, DDad-78.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I believe WestJet code shares with American, which may mean you can use points, if you have them. Have you checked on that?

These are Canada's two national airlines, but Air Canada is the older one with more routes. WestJet is owned by it's workers, so some say they are friendlier and happier at work. That's probably just opinion. If all things are the same (routes and pricing) I would look at which terminal (if there's a difference) each uses in Vancouver. Is one better situated for your needs or smaller or larger than the other? Also, if there are delays or cancellations, which airline can offer you alternative flights to get you to your cruise on time?

 

[Broncobait]

We did alaska this year and booked through west jet The only problem we had was connecting through LAX We departed memphis using Delta and then transfered to wwestjet what we didn't know was westjet and delta don't use the same terminals at LAX so we had to leave terminal 2 and tranfer by shuttle bus to terminal 5 and had to go through security both in memphis and lax major headache

 

[bcwife76]

I've flown both many times - both this year alone - and far prefer Westjet. But sometimes it comes down to price and itinerary. For example: we flew to Maui (direct) from Vancouver this past May. Paid $1800 total for 4 of us. Westjet wanted $2600. Yes the price went up for Air Canada as well but I never saw Westjet go down. The crew were....meh......the flight was 90 minutes late leaving Maui on our way home for an unexplained issue that they kept glossing over. Still worth saving $800 though lol

 

[Canooknic]

The only time we use Air Canada is if we are using our airmiles to pay for our flights.
I used to be a fan, and used them several times when I was coming to Canada from England, but their level of customer service has definitely dropped.
My husband flies between Edmonton and Vancouver at least twice a month and will always choose Westjet. The flights are similar times but Air Canada always seems to have delays.

That being said, if the price is right and the flight is short Air Canada shouldn't be a problem!!

 

[Wileycoy]

If you have long legs you may wish to check if the offered flight is Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge. The Rouge flights have seat pitch of 29" versus Westjet 31" or mainline Air Canada. Cheers.

 

[hcox31]

West jet if it fits your travel plans. I've flown both many times. Air Canada is awful. Flight delays, especially if code shared with Rouge or Georgeian airlines, and the service is meh. West jet is friendlier and overall ran much better IMO. But west jet doesn't have as many flight options.

We booked air Canada for our cruise in January only because there were more flights available should our chosen one get cancelled due to weather.

 

[Starwind]

We much prefer WestJet over Air Canada and will gladly pay some extra to fly with them.

In addition to reasons mentionned above, other considerations include things like their change/cancellation fees.

SW

 

[LindyWebb]

Leg room and price are much better on West Jet. We never take AC anymore. Way too expensive.

 

[scgustafson]

DH and I are planning to take an Alaska Cruise for our 10 year anniversary in 2018. I'm looking at flight prices based on 2017 and it looks like WestJet and Air Canada have the best prices. Has anyone ever flown these? If so, what were your thoughts?

For reference, we typically fly Southwest or American. It will be DH-36, DD-3 1/2, me-33, DM-72, DDad-78.

Have you thought about flying Southwest into Seattle and renting a car to drive up to the pier? For us, it was much cheaper to fly from Phoenix to Seattle non-stop on Southwest and rent a car for the drive both ways, than it was to fly into Vancouver, which would require a plane change.

 

[xlxo]

I used to like AC for the generous baggage allowance over WestJet. However I don't like getting ROUGED.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...stomers-angry-over-bumping-to-rouge-1.2633845

 

[kiford]

. WestJet is owned by it's workers, so some say they are friendlier and happier at work. That's probably just opinion.

They are definitely happier and friendlier to customers than AC. We always have a dilemma. We have Aeroplan so if we want the points so that we can use them to fly overseas business class we have to fly AC. But we prefer to fly WJ if we can as they are so much more pleasant, efficient and informative. They actually give you regular updates if your flight is late. And they're a lot more fun. Flight attendants will often tell jokes and sing amusing songs. Once we were waiting for our flight which was a bit late and they called somebody up to the counter. He comes rushing up wanting to know what's wrong and they announce on the PA that it's his birthday and can everyone sing to him (which we all did).

Worst possible is AC Rouge. Smallest seating I've ever been in. Unfortunately, AC only flies Rouge to Orlando so we're stuck unless we go WJ and WJ has terrible flight times on the weekends so it's either fly Rouge on the weekend or stay an extra couple of days and fly back on a Monday - something I was planning to do. I was determined never to fly Rouge again but DH had to fly AC for business a few months ago and they cancelled the flight on him then sent him a voucher for 20% off a future flight. We couldn't justify flying WJ to Orlando this December when we have 20% off (WJ & AC flight costs are about the same) so we're stuck flying them again. Ugh.

 

[xlxo]

Here's a popular feature for kids...

 

[DisneyKeepsUsYoung]

Have you thought about flying Southwest into Seattle and renting a car to drive up to the pier? For us, it was much cheaper to fly from Phoenix to Seattle non-stop on Southwest and rent a car for the drive both ways, than it was to fly into Vancouver, which would require a plane change.

I've been casually looking into flights for an Alaskan cruise as well and the options from my airport stink. So this idea crossed my mind, but I wasn't sure if you could do 1 way car rentals across borders. Did you have any issues with this? Who did you use? We also plan to do a couple days in Vancouver beforehand so a car could be nice to have.

 

[Jillywilly143]

I've been casually looking into flights for an Alaskan cruise as well and the options from my airport stink. So this idea crossed my mind, but I wasn't sure if you could do 1 way car rentals across borders. Did you have any issues with this? Who did you use? We also plan to do a couple days in Vancouver beforehand so a car could be nice to have.

I did this in August. I rented from National @ SeaTac and returned at the port in Vancouver. It was awesome. I unloaded my bags at port, drove down one floor, parked the car, and walked right into the cruise terminal. It saved me hundreds of dollars in plane tickets.

I rented early, though. I think they have a limited amount of cars to do that with.

 

[anricat]

We booked WestJet via Travelocity. Some of our flights were on Delta and since we booked 11 months in advance, Delta saw fit to change our flights several times. One time one of our flights were changed to have unviable connected and needed to completely rebook that leg. Travelocity was a nightmare, eventually washing their hands of the entire situation. WestJet was AMAZING. Their customer service was top notch. I never was in a queue for more than a few minutes and every time they were friendly and professional and understanding. It turned into a complete cluster---- when WestJet sent the changed back to Travelocity and without rhyme or reason, Travelocity completely cancelled our return flights from Vancouver to home, unbeknownst to us. The only way I found out is that, being the binder toting, crazy organized lady I am, went back to the Travelocity website to print all our final itineraries, only to find we had no flights home! In a panic, I called Travelocity and again, they were NO HELP. I called WestJet and they said that they sent the changes to Travelocity, but that Travelocity then cancelled our return leg. They asked if we received a refund (no) and then rebooked us again, this time they upgraded us to economy plus, gave us seat assignments, the whole deal.

Lesson learned - I will never ever book with Travelocity again. Instead, I will book directly. It was a nightmare. Thank goodness for West Jet's awesome customer service. Our flights with them were all really great and we were very pleased with their portions. We would fly them again in a heartbeat.

 

[DisneyKeepsUsYoung]

I did this in August. I rented from National @ SeaTac and returned at the port in Vancouver. It was awesome. I unloaded my bags at port, drove down one floor, parked the car, and walked right into the cruise terminal. It saved me hundreds of dollars in plane tickets.

I rented early, though. I think they have a limited amount of cars to do that with.

Sounds nice! How early did you book your rental? We are still deciding between May 2017 or 18. We have a deposit down on 17 but haven't looked to book anything else as we aren't sure we'll keep it.

 

[xlxo]

Thoughts....

• also check Alamo and Thrifty. I often see out of province/state vehicles in Vancouver.
• Alamo, National, Enterprise have a tiny fleet at the cruise terminal. Hertz has a location 3 blocks from the cruise terminal.
• if you want to get a luggage friendly minivan.... book early!
• check out the one-way price premiums
• with a rental car... you may want to stay in the airport suburbs where parking is free or cheaper. Downtown parking can be $40 or more for the night.
• Tourist attractions charge for parking too. Many popular attractions have hotel shuttles so you may not need the car.
• Think about where to refill the tank.... there is no gas stations near the cruise terminal.

 

[Jillywilly143]

Sounds nice! How early did you book your rental? We are still deciding between May 2017 or 18. We have a deposit down on 17 but haven't looked to book anything else as we aren't sure we'll keep it.

Probably about 10 months because I'm a huge planner. The great thing about rental cars is that you can cancel at any time with no penalty.

 

[Jillywilly143]

Think about where to refill the tank.... there is no gas stations near the cruise terminal

There is one about 10 blocks away. That's the closest we found gas.

with a rental car... you may want to stay in the airport suburbs where parking is free or cheaper. Downtown parking can be $40 or more for the night.

There were 6 of us, so renting a house ended up being cheaper than 2 hotel rooms. It was in a gorgeous Neighborhood and had free street parking.