WestJet v. Air Canada

[cammie1229]

Which carrier do you prefer for flights to Orlando and why??

Thanks!

 

[madonna31]

If money is an issue; then neither. A charter airline such as Sunwing offers FAR better rates to Orlando from Toronto than these two carriers. Compare $390 (taxes included) for a Sunwing flight vs. $541 for a WestJet one. Multiply that by a family of four and well...that's a HUGE savings.

If money is not an issue, then WestJet as they are more flexible with their 'change fees' then Air Canada is. Both are great airlines though, you really can't go wrong with either one.

 

[tchan03]

We flew with WestJet & Air Canada before. I would pick WestJet. Why ? $$$

We purchased the tickets in early Dec . About 2 weeks later we got some credit (points) back because of Holiday discount.

I wouldn't be surprised that you can luckily encounter that as well.

 

[calliemom]

We've had positive expreriences on both carriers, although I have to admit that the employees on Westjet are much friendlier and their planes are great (seats with tv on the back of the headrest).

 

[canron]

if you li ve anywhere near buffalo i would fly out of there its 1 third the cost with southwest and direct flights .we do it 3 to 4 times a year its so cheap check it out .

 

[Torontogal]

I flew on Westjet in March and so happy with their level of service. We were travelling with 2 kids and 2 seniors and had many carry on items. I was shocked when the flight attendants helped us with our bags. They were also very friendly and made a point of talking to the kids.
We have never heard a bad thing about Westjet -- Air Canada a different story.
We are flying on SW in 2 days so I will let you know how it goes when I get back.

 

[minikk]

My vote is for West Jet. It was so nice when having such a long flight to watch what you wanted on TV and not have to watch what everyone else was. Plus I find them much friendlier on West Jet.

 

[MikeyNS]

I've never flown WJ, but have never had a bad experience with AC. Got to go on Air Canada's fancy refurbished A320's with personal TV's and movies in every seat during our October flights. What a difference that made! I like getting Aeroplan points so I will keep flying AC.

 

[drag n' fly]

Flying out of Calgary we do not have a lot of low cost carrier options like you do out east. The charters out west are horrible and have enough legroom if you are 5'5 or shorter LOL.

If I were to vote it would be Westjet for the friendly customer service.
However on our first flight to Florida, Air Canada got our business...why? The flights were 2500.00 dollars cheaper than Westjets. For a 2500.00 dollar difference I am willing to put up with a few less jokes from the staff. Westjet is based out of Calgary for goodness sake! I suspect that prices have gone up to pay for the multimillion dollar lawsuit Air Canada filed and won and all those fancy tv's on board.

My vote would still be for Westjet though....

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

If you can't fly out of buffalo then I pick Westjet!

We just did Westjet for our trip with the IL's (was fil's first time flying and we wanted to make sure he had a good first experience) and I love their friendly customer service. The seatback TV's were a blessing too to keep the 6yo and 12yo occupied during the flight.

We flew A/C in May home from Calgary and it just wasn't as good as the Westjet flight on the way there.

Next time we are going to give Southwest a go

 

[cammie1229]

I'd love to save money on flights but we just find some of the charters way too cramped which is why we're looking at AC and Westjet. Does Southwest fly out of Toronto or is that only a Buffalo option? I doubt we'd want to do the drive to Buffalo.

 

[canron]

southwest is only out of buffalo its well worth the drive the price of the flight is cheaper than the taxs to fly out of toronto .drive to buffalo and save $600.to$800.00its worth the drive i live in kitchener and we do 3 to4 times aa year leave at 330 get to the boarder your across in 5 minits then to the airport its 25 minits from the boarder if that.then you can eat at the airport its weel worth it im looking for dec and we just got back in sept.

 

[DCA_MillionaireFreak]

WestJet. Why? Look at your alternative.

 

[drag n' fly]

WestJet. Why? Look at your alternative.

What is your opinion on Westjet's prices right now. We really wanted to fly Westjet but it was so expensive. I see that Herald subscribers get 2 for 1 flights until December.(338.00) That is the price we paid including taxes on Air Canada!

 

[biggroofy]

I think I will consider WestJet or AirCanada. Looking at SunWing but doesn't like their schedule (departs at 6:00am)....would be tough for my DD3.

I read many +ve comments of WestJet, and experienced a few -ve facts of Air Canada. The only reason I will go for AC is because I am collecting Aeroplan points

A quick question - for both airlines, do you clear US customs & Immigration in Canada (Airport), or you do it at Orlando? I took another charter flight last year (Air Transat) and we cleared US customs in Toronto (Terminal 3).

 

[luvdiz2]

Westjet - we have flown both and I have one word for you

LUGGAGE

the allowances and sizes. We go for three weeks at a time and you wouldn't believe how much stuff you take down and how much more stuff you bring up!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

My family & I have always flown Air Canada to Orlando, but this December we are going to try WestJet for a change. When we made our reservations this past March, WestJet's fare was cheaper then Air Canada's fare. It was not by a lot, but we still thought we should give WestJet a try.

 

[homercrispy]

Living in a smaller city like Winnipeg, we always have to fly to a hub city first making direct flights a luxory. We flew North West to Orlando last month and were amazed at how old and decrepit their plane were. My wife flew Westjet and enjoyed the service and watching live tv on the plane

 

[Disney-For-Life]

WestJet over AirCanada anyday. Better service, competitive pricing on most flights, individual TV's, more customer flexibility, and less taking the customer for granted.

 

[pxlbarrel]

Flown both, like both.

West Jet - flown them on 4 legs (ie. 2 return trips) and only had a tv on the backseat once so don't make that your deciding factor on flying them. They also are the only airline that I've ever travelled that actually weighed my carry-on and told me to check it or lose some of the stuff inside it (it had some books in it...) so watch your carry-on weight. Really don't like the fact that you can't assign seats at the time of booking.

Air Canada - I like 'em. They assign the seats ahead of time and they've got lots of flexibility in scheduling time. Their cancellation/change policy sucks though. West Jet is way ahead in that department. Like West Jet, I've had one flight with a tv on the backseat.

My decision is usually based on two criteria....price being first and then seeing if their flight times fit my schedule. I'm flying to Las Vegas in December. I ended up on Air Canada because their schedule was better than West Jet's, the price (after some patience and perserverence) was better than West Jet's AND I got seat assignments for 4 people...something I couldn't do on West Jet. Now...had West Jet's prices been crazy cheap, I might have gone with them and sacrificed my schedule. LOL