Westjet Major Route Announcement

[Guest]

They have posted several new releases stating:

MEDIA ADVISORY - WestJet to make major route announcement

CALGARY, Sept. 14, 2015 /CNW/ - WestJet invites members of the media to high tea on Tuesday, September 15, 2015, to announce an exciting new non-stop route from

The routes will be from YEG, YYC, YWG, YVR, YYZ AND YSJ AND THE ANNOUNCEMENTS WILL BE HELD IN EACH CITY.

[acsidestick]

The announcement announcing an announcement announcement! I can't wait.

[Guest]

Looks like they have been scooped.

Http://theairlinewebsite.com/topic/406693-wja-to-lgw/?p=1654452

[SkyBlazer]

Middle of the night this came across my screen ....

http://airlineroute..../14/ws-lgw-s16/

It appears this airline route is quick to notice new flights being uploaded into reservation systems.

Interesting times ahead for WJA

[Fido]

Middle of the night this came across my screen ....

It appears this airline route is quick to notice new flights being uploaded into reservation systems.

It is a piece of software that works off what the airlines submit to the Official Airline Guide.

Once the airline do their weekly upload which is a scheduled day of the week for each airline, then the information is out in the public domain. Many airlines use that website to keep track of what the competition is doing.

Westjets upload day must be Monday (GMT)

[Guest]

WestJet launches new Plus product features

Airline adds even more value to popular Plus fare

CALGARY, Sept. 14, 2015 /CNW/ - Effective today, WestJet will launch its new Plus product on all Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft featuring an empty middle seat, added services and upgraded meal options on longer flights.

"These changes mark the next step in the evolution of our popular Plus product," said Marshall Wilmot, WestJet Senior Vice-President, Marketing and Digital. "Business travellers and vacationers alike will appreciate more personal space and comfort, added services like hot towels, upgraded meal options and booking flexibility. Our Plus fare, combined with our expanding network and the benefits of WestJet Rewards membership, demonstrates our focus on adding exceptional value for our guests."

Guests seated in Plus enjoy more legroom and elbow room. On WestJet's fleet of Boeing 737s the middle seats in Plus will be blocked and will soon be outfitted with a new middle seat console between the aisle and window seat, giving guests more space and privacy.

Seats in Plus on WestJet's Boeing 767 aircraft will be wider than the 737 aircraft seats, arranged in a two-two-two configuration with an aisle separating each set of two seats. Premium hot meal selections are also included.

"I encourage travellers to compare our Plus fares against premium fares on other airlines," Marshall Wilmot continued, "At a time when many are concerned about their costs, our low fares, Plus product, schedule and rewards program have never been more attractive than they are today."

For more details, visit westjet.com/plusfare. More information on WestJet Rewards is available at westjet.com/rewards.

About WestJet

[deicer]

As was learned with rouge, paying a premium with just extra elbow room to show for it with the empty middle seat, while still being forced to sit in the same economy seat with the same leg room, just doesn't cut it.

[spreadsheet]

As was learned with rouge, paying a premium with just extra elbow room to show for it with the empty middle seat, while still being forced to sit in the same economy seat with the same leg room, just doesn't cut it.

They were also being sold as a full business class fare, people expected a full business class product.

[boestar]

Why are they stopping short of removing the middle seat and putting in a "business Class" seat? If you are going to sell a product at least make it attractive. I am guessing there is not enough demand

[Guest]

Seems that their 767s will be very busy. Any idea re spares? I remember the days when CP had an onboard spares kit (wheel, brake etc) carried in out DC8-63s. Will Westjet position spares at all of their destinations or do they have a "pool" partner?

[boestar]

I sure hope they have some form sf maintenance and parts pool agreement for their European destinations.

[Maverick]

I sure hope they have some form sf maintenance and parts pool agreement for their European destinations.

You really think WJ would not have an arrangement for maintenance?

[boestar]

Sorry no Sarcasm font.....

[acsidestick]

You really think WJ would not have an arrangement for maintenance?

It did take them several days to get passengers home from Hawaii over a blown aircraft tire last year Yes?

This was a 5 plane announcement, not a 4 ( I have edited this as JK pointed out I had incorrectly read the release, I do stand by the need to have recovery options on both sides of the pond) plane announcement. They are running too thin. It appears marketing has taken over from those who deal in reality. There is zero recovery ability built into this.

[AIP]

It did take them several days to get passengers home from Hawaii over a blown aircraft tire last year Yes?

This was a 6 plane announcement, not a 4 plane announcement. They are running too thin. It appears marketing has taken over from those who deal in reality. There is zero recovery ability built into this.

How much ferrying of aircraft are involved I wonder.

YWG is best example.

[Guest]

And the price war / race to the bottom commences.

London will likely be calling for plenty of vacation seekers next summer, with WestJet officially announcing Tuesday plans to begin non-stop service to the U.K. capital from six Canadian airports in May.

And customers who sign up early will get one heck of a deal.

The Calgary-based airline said it is offering introductory base fares for as little as $199 from St. John’s to London’s Gatwick airport. One-way airfares from Toronto and Winnipeg will start as low as $249 and $279, respectively, WestJet said in a series of news releases.

In total, the carrier will fly from six Canadian airports to London: St. John’s, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. One-way flights – including taxes — to Gatwick from Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver are priced at $299, the airline said Tuesday.

“Canadians have been paying far too much to fly to Europe for far too long,” Bob Cummings, WestJet’s executive vice-president of commercial affairs said. “We’re going to fix that.”

Introductory deals

Gregg Saretsky, chief executive of WestJet, said the low airfares were temporary, and would be available for a short time. After that, ticket prices to London will rise, although he said “modestly.”

In addition to the low introductory rates, the airline said it would temporarily offer $20 one-way flights from other Canadian cities WestJet flies to to the six Canadian hubs it will fly to London from.

In response, Air Canada has announced it will begin offering routes on it lower-cost Rouge service to Gatwick, it said earlier this year.

“The new routes to London will undoubtedly be very competitive next summer,” National Bank analyst Cameron Doerksen said.

Non-stop service to Gatwick will commence May 7, WestJet said.

[CanadaEH]

It did take them several days to get passengers home from Hawaii over a blown aircraft tire last year Yes?

This was a 6 plane announcement, not a 4 plane announcement. They are running too thin. It appears marketing has taken over from those who deal in reality. There is zero recovery ability built into this.

Recovery, I'm going to assume, will come in the form of agreements with partner airlines.

[acsidestick]

In reference to declaring an open seat business class, or as you could call it "Sh$t or Shinola, can you tell the difference?"

A few years prior to GS arrival on the scene, WJ had started to lose its original founders vision. Though eroding that original feel, and making some moves which created some discomfort and outright discontent for employees, he largely just steered a big ship in a slightly different and in some cases unpopular direction. It may have been good or not, but has not made that large a material difference.

Stating that a REAL business traveller doesn't know the difference between what is and is not business class is the first real frightening move I've seen from the current leadership. It shows a real lack of understanding what JClass actually is. GS seems not to understand that Business Class isn't a mechanical series of events, but is a mindset of those who can, and are, willing to pay more, while sitting in the exact same aluminum tube as a guy 13 feet away. He must not only be getting better service, he must believe he is getting a better flight.

Service Directors have been disciplined because they were so busy that they didn't draw the curtain. The silly curtain, butt of comedian jokes, has more power than you can imagine. People want to be on one side of it, and those on the wrong side want to one day sit on the right side.

When AC first installed the Pods, and it continues to this day, the look of astonishment on economy travellers faces as they walk by the Pods, often stopping to have their friends take their picture sitting there says it all, by creating grins that clearly said "someday, I'm going to sit there".

A business traveller, who has just been moved from one side of the airport, to the other in a ramp side BMW 740 Chauffeured Limosine, wined and dined, but then broke his iPhone in flight only to have a Consierge waiting at the gate on arrival with a NEW phone until his gets fixed, knows what business class is.

He isn't fooled, because as amazing as having someone standing by to purchase him a free new phone for arrival, he EXPECTED it to happen.

A hot towel, and a seat left open doesn't cut it.

Westjet is trying to play both sides. In the 737 product, leaving a seat open up to row 6 and then having a Business traveler turn around and notice that the first economy row behind him also has an empty middle seat will be a telling moment for WJ. You can fool some of the people, some of the time, but the people WJ is trying to attract aren't fools.

Flying great distances requires investment in capital to create havens of IROP security. That has not been accomplished with this route announcement. For instance, in Europe, AC keeps a 767 ( maybe now a Dreamliner) sitting at all times in LHR. The plane is rotated daily into the schedule, but there is always an extra waiting to go. The customer doesn't see this, but in the event that a European AC goes U/S, people are delayed hours, not days, and at most a couple of flights have their schedules affected, not an entire timetable. They will still grumble, not knowing how great the delay would have been if this invisible behind-the-scenes planning wasn't in place.

This planning costs money, and in a pay to play system, either the airline or the customer will pay. The business class traveller pays enough so that the " in the event of" problems aren't his. If you attempt to pass the problem on to him/her, you'll never see them again.

We saw it last year when it took nearly a week to get "guests" home from Hawaii.

[acsidestick]

Recovery, I'm going to assume, will come in the form of agreements with partner airlines.

CanadaEH, I agree that is what common sense would say. However, last year WJ refused to pay (plus) passengers flights home on other scheduled carriers, leaving them stranded for a week, rather than spending the money to get them home.

[j.k.]

From the schedule it looks like a 3 aircraft rotation...

Are the crews going to groom to make the 90 minute turn in Gatwick? Maybe the outbound crew will get on and they can both tag team the garbage.

Are they doing those western flights with 2 guys up front?

[acsidestick]

I just read my entire Diatribe, and though I won't erase it, I realize it comes across as a rant. My original intention was lost somewhere in the middle.

WJ has for years, had the luxury of tightly controlled costs, and the indoctrination of employees believing that Competors high cost were related to bloated pensions, yachting weekends, and overpaid lazy employees.

It has worked well. It also has never been the truth.

The reality is, that running an airline on a worldwide basis every day of the year isn't cheap or easy, and entering this new phase isn't going to be without its pains. You can plan for and pay insurance against those pains, or you can roll the dice and hope they won't happen.

They always happen.

[better4me]

How much ferrying of aircraft are involved I wonder.

YWG is best example.

The WS aircraft pivot in LGW. My guess is the 763 will be maintained in YYZ. From YYZ there are two sources of 763 without resorting to deadheading the aircraft; YYZ-LGW is daily and there will still be YYC-YYZ rotation. YWG/YVR/YEG aircraft all return immediately to LGW. As for YYT, who cares cause its a 737; got lots of those hanging around.

[Fido]

This was a 6 plane announcement, not a 4 plane announcement.

1 fin for YYZ-LGW

1 fin for YVR and YWG

1 fin for YYC and YEG

3 out of 4 flying

[better4me]

1 fin for YYZ-LGW

1 fin for YVR and YWG

1 fin for YYC and YEG

3 out of 4 flying

Plus .5 fin for YYC-YYZ; leaves lots of slack in the schedule to account for delays and unscheduled maintenance.

[SkyBlazer]

rumour is a total of 10 will be in the lot within the year.