WestJet Airlines
reviews and complaints

We have flown several times on WJ premium economy flights and were very content with the service. On our return flight 9 from Paris to Calgary on October 25 we were offered only juice before take off. On previous flights we had the choice of sparkling wine or juice. We were told that it was the end of flying season to Paris and not enough sparking wine had been provided. Meanwhile we observed passengers in business class being served with the wine.

During the flight we were asked if we would like something to drink. My husband looked at the drink menu and requested scotch. He was told that there probably wasn't any but the hostess would look. She returned with one mini bottle. I had asked for some Bailey liquor and was told there was none. On our previous flight in 2019 all of those were available.

The dinner was good but the breakfasts were very plain. There was no hot meal suggestion or choice. Again, in 2019 we had a wonderful egg breakfast.

The airfares have gone up drastically but the service has deteriorated.

The movie selection was minimal. We are in our seventies and many of the movies were sci fi or horror. The average age of the customers flying in premium was likely 60 plus and we doubt they were interested in the movie selection either.

We are generally not complainers but were very disappointed with both of our flights to and from Paris this time. On the other hand, our connecting flight from Calgary to Victoria - 227 - was very good. We were offered more than one refreshment and a snack pack and the hostess was very pleasant.

It's very disappointing as we now don't know what to expect on our next two flights booked in 2023.

We look forward to hearing from you in connection to any improvements that can be made in the future, John and Wendy Campbell, Victoria.

Hello I travelled by Westjet on 18th June from Gatwick to Vancouver, returning on 30th July, Booking number lADDVJ. The booking was made through Gotogate, and their order number is L17CG3. Unfortunately, although I paid £88 to them for a checked suitcase, in each case when I arrived at the airport I had to pay again.

I was told by the check-in staff that you are normally helpful in cases involving third party companies and would refund this. Would you let me know if this is the case?

I promise never to use a third party again!

I was going to Thunder Bay Oct 26 2022 with westjet this was the worst staff help at the front desk i was in line at 8:45pm my flight was bording at 9:55pm and it was delay the lady at the front desk we cant do any thing for you so i had to rebook and pay for other tickets for me and my wife and i mis one day.

It was with westjetJLSTGF . Westjet 3219 Operated

I have spent 2 days on Twitter and/or the phone with Expedia and Westjet just trying to change the seats I have booked and paid for on my upcoming flight to London. Not asking for a freebie here just trying to move and pay extra for seats with more leg room. Should be a no brainer but neither Westjet nor Expedia will do it. they each point fingers at each other and I am stuck in the middle.

Tried to do it on line but I am unable to do so.

My flight from Toronto to Gatwick on 30th September 9.15pm was cancelled even though I had checked in and got my boarding card. A WestJet rep got me a hotel overnight saying that WestJet would pay. the booking was made on my debit card but no compensation from WestJet has been forthcoming.

I eventually got a flight the following day 1st October and arrived back in Gatwick on 2nd October. It is not easy to get in tough with WestJet from UK or on line. Please help.

I have submitted a receipt for hotel /also looking for compensation for the flight cancellation .this has been submitted in August ...I have still NOT heard anything from Westjet...also Francis Schidlowsky (my companion )hasnt heard anything .whereas other people that we know have submitted for expenses have received a refund long time ago.

this was for flight WS3371

please handle as soon as possible .

Thank You

Firstly, Abir from Guest Support at Expense Delays sent me an email on 11 Oct 2022 outlining what was approved and not approved regarding my claim for out of pocket expenses due to WestJet cancelling our Toronto to Punta Cana flight on 19 Jun 2022 WS2766 and rerouting us through Montreal over 48 hours later. The first refund amounted to $90.00. But my claim was $700+.

There was no refund for the cost of the hotel accommodation we had to book ourselves in Montreal as WestJet had failed to organize this for us and we did not receive any meal vouchers from them either hence our necessity to pay for our own evening and morning meals.

Secondly, on 12 Oct 2022 I received two separate emails one saying that a payment for $70:00 would be refunded and the other one said that I would receive another payment for $133.50. There is no explanation as to why this amount differed to the one Expense Delays had sent. Or any breakdown of the amount.

I want to know why there is no recompense for taxi fares from the airport to the hotel, and there was also no reimbursement for the loss of pre-paid WestJet seats due to flying with a different airline - Air Transat. We were also charged again by Air Transat for the excess baggage – where is the payment for this?

I booked flight WS1535 from Houston (IAH) to Calgary (YYC) on Oct 12, 2022.

I made the booking through Delta (been a customer for many years - great company), however the flight was operated by WestJet. This was a business trip, as I had to present at an Innovation Expo in Calgary today.

The flight was scheduled to depart at 6:10 PM CT.

I checked in online and got my boarding pass with seats assigned (was not on standby). Did not have any bags to check.

The boarding pass showed that the gate closing time was 5:55 PM CT, which is standard; 15 min before departure.

I got at the gate at 5:42 PM CT to find out that the flight had left at 5:40 PM CT, which is 30 min ahead of the scheduled departure.

There were no formal notifications of this schedule change through text, email or phone. The airport monitors were still showing the plane scheduled at 6:10 PM CT.

On top of that, the WestJet employee at the gate was extremely dismissive and rude. I asked what was the reason for the change in schedule and who's decision it was, especially knowing that I was checked in and I had seats assigned. She did not offer any useful answers, all she did was blame me.

She was very dismissive and explicitly told me that she will not offer any assistance on this matter. I then asked her if I can speak to her supervisor.

She "kindly" replied that pretty much she is running the show and I had no business to talk to the "Regional Manager".

I went to the Delta check-in booth. The behavior of the Delta employees was the exact opposite (which is what you would expect). They were able to confirm in their system that the WestJet flight left 30 min ahead of schedule. They did try to book me on a different flight, however there was no option to get me there in time for my meeting.

Ended up not going.

This situation has caused quite a bit of damage for me.

I had to call my boss late at night and let him know I wasn't going to make it. A missed direct flight doesn't look good on my part, regardless of the reason.

I also let my colleagues down by not helping with the presentation today. I am very upset and disappointed, as I hold myself to high standards when it comes to my job.

I am looking for a written letter (email) from the WestJet gate agents and the "Regional Manager" that explains why the flight left 30 minutes ahead of schedule with no formal communication and who's decision it was. I also want them to acknowledge that the gate closing time printed on the boarding pass was 5:55 PM CT and that I was at the gate well within that time.

I do not want any apologetic language, as I could care less. I know they don't give a s#&t anyway - saw it first hand. I need this letter within 7 business days to provide a written proof of the incident to my employer.

If this is not provided, I will use all possible legal avenues to get compensation for the damage caused by this incident.

Pax: Sandra Huntley

WS Locator WZDAAB

Tknm: [protected]

Booked in "R" Class-Plus Seats

From YYZ to YLW roundtrip

Outbound 20 December 2021

Inbound 5/6 January 2022

Fare $1588 + taxes for a total of $1938.49

Selected seat 2F in each direction

Departures were changed by WestJet and the Pax was seated in Economy in each direction.

To date no-refund for the downgrade has been received

Two application on the WestJet site were submitted in March, one by myself and the other by the Pax

But no response has been received to either request

I arrived at the airport kiosk for a 6:00am flight at 5:00am this morning October 11 2022. I had checked in prior and was in the process of printing my baggage ticket and boarding pass. After receiving my baggage ticket the whole process of receiving the boarding pass did not complete. I then went to log back in to the system to print my boarding pass and could not do so. A message similar to cannot retrieve info was present on the screen. I then proceeded immediately to the customer service agent next to me who was at the priority line and explained my situation of not being able to get back in and i could not receive my boarding pass. The agent instead who clearly saw i had received my baggage tags inspected my tag and as i was not a "priority: customer directed me to the back of the lengthy line to see another agent. I waited for approx. 15-20mins and and when I was able to get to a customer service agent the boarding pass was printed and my bag was put through. This easily could have been addressed 20 mins prior with the original agent and there was no one in the "priority" line up who would have taken precedence. I then passed through security at 5:45am and sprinted to the gate arriving at 5:50am. Flight was scheduled to depart at 6:00am and i was informed the gate was closed and I would not be boarding the plane. I was then directed to customer service as there was another flight at 9am. Upon arriving at customer service i was informed the next flight was booked and i would not be able to travel until 3pm in the afternoon. This was aa 1 day work trip planned and arriving at the end of the business day would not work for me. I have a return flight booked for tomorrow that will not be used as well. After talking to customer service I was directed to baggage services as my bag was on route to Grande Prairie however i was not and needed to make arrangements to have my bag shipped back. This in my opinion was a situation that could have been dealt with very quickly however because I was not a "priority "customer, I was directed to the back of the line.

I have now flown 3 times each time they flag my name for some darn reason, I just got back from the us , booked delta , on the way there no issues , got a boarding pass they told me about what was happening when I board etc , on the way back from lax it’s a WestJet partner , they flagged my name , I had to get there 3 hours early just to get the boarding pass, if this was isolated I would say ok , but same thing to the uk , flagged there, flagged back , missed my flight , no compensation or apology, plane got canceled while getting on a second plane because of technical issues but not really it’s because the pilots couldn’t fly for x hours as we waited on the tarp, now they know that way in advance that this was a risk but still kept us on the tarp, this is unacceptable and my goal is to let as many people as possible on how bad service it is… let’s see what happens

Flight WS4 on September 30th from Gatwick to Toronto, had to return to Gatwick due to flight attendant smelling burnt plastic.

We were only told that we had to collect our luggage and then go to customer service.

Which we did, there were 300 people in line.we stood for approximately 5 to 6 hours to find out there wasn’t ANY CUSTOMER SERVICE! 1 lady from the airport was trying to help people. Most of us hadn’t had supper etc. as we didn’t want to lose our place in line. WESTJET DID NOT CARE ABOUT US!

I think the first class since they would have been the first in line got hotel rooms at the airport. We were told by the airport lady trying to help 300 people that we might be able to get us someplace 45 minutes away, but how we got there and would get back the next day was our problem, because of the rail strike occurring the next day, we choose to stay at the airport.

Everyone should experience how it awful, no sleep, hunger, uncomfortable.

We tried phoning several times, in line our phones are going dead, do you understand how very helpless and abandoned we felt.

When we got emails with alternate flights there was no one to check with about them.

We did finally not get put on hold and get to talk to someone which helped us for the next day.

But no one to help us that night.

We were originally scheduled to fly from Toronto to Vancouver on October 4th at 9am. We were in Baddeck, Nova Scotia when Hurricane Fiona hit which was not a wonderful experience. We decided to cut short our trip at that point to WS727 flying from Toronto at 8pm on October 1st. We were charged almost $500 for that privilege. I was completely shocked at that because we have been Westjet members for a long time however we went ahead because we wanted to get home. We flew A/C from Halifax to Toronto on October 1st arriving at 3.27 pm (a travel agent booked this part of the trip for us - we booked the Westjet flights ourselves). We were told by the Westjet agent upon changing our flight, that there would be no time to make it to terminal 3 for a 5 o'clock departure. We were at the agent wicket at 4.45 pm and there was room on the flight and we could have been on it but we were going to be charged an additional amount of $167.00 each person (party of 2). We just about fell over with that news. We did not want to pay the additional monies. Your agent in Toronto could not have been less sympathetic and I found her extremely rude. At one point, one of your agents through my several phone calls suggested that the hurricane was not in Toronto and the change of flights was voluntary. I find this kind of service deplorable and deeply maddening. The Air Canada staff who we flew with from Halifax were extremely attentive and empathetic to us and even went so far as to see if they could connect our luggage with Westjet to make it easier for us to get on the 5 o'clock flight if we chose to from Toronto (had no idea at that time that there was additional monies involved) which they were unable to do because of Westjet policy. The 8 o'clock flight was not full and with a flick of the computer button we could have been on the 5 o'clock flight which would have saved us having to stay in Vancouver for the night (more money). The whole thing felt like price gouging and desperate ways to make money after the pandemic. Additional monies for what? No screens, no snacks, a charge for wifi and 2 glasses of water. Westjet has gone from being one of my favourite airlines to the last one on my list to book with ever again. You have become a 3rd class airline and frustrating to deal with. The I don't care attitude we received to absolutely no compassion was enough to make us revisit our loyalty program and the collection of Westjet dollars which are good for absolutely nothing. I booked my husband on the companion fare which was $199.00 I was told they had to charge for the change because I only paid half price for the companion fare? I am fed up with your airline along with several other people we spoke to who were in the same situation. You should be ashamed of your customer service level.

I refer to our WestJet flights from LAX to YYZ on 9 Sept: WestJet reference QZDKVP.

Our initial booking with Qantas included 2 premium economy seats and a 4 hr (approx) transit time at LAX before our WestJet flight departed.

WestJet then rescheduled this flight, so we had 17 hrs transit time at LAX, and then we were given economy class seats without any refund. In addition we have not received any compensation from WestJet for the delay at LAX.

Email sent to Westjet: Sept. 23, 2022

Yesterday I had a very poor experience with Westjet and I am hoping this email will get to someone who can rectify the situation.

We were sent an email at about 4:30am on Sept 22 advising us that our Sept 24 flight had been canceled and we had been tentatively re-booked out for Sept. 28. Unfortunately, we were sleeping and did not get the notification until much later.

When we received the notification, we paniced as we did not want to be in Halifax thru the hurricane and could not afford the additional costs of the extra 4-night stay. No mention was made that an earlier departure may be possible.

We panicked and started looking for another flight out of Halifax. We found one for yesterday and immediately booked it as our thought was Westjet would ensure the booked flight would simply replace the flight at no cost to us and we did not want to lose our chance to get out of Halifax before the hurricane.

We then contacted Westjet and advised them of our arrangements. After two phone calls and over 90 minutes in phone calls (was cut off on 1 after 40 or so minutes, we were we had acted inappropriately and that they would provide us some compensation for our original flight but would need to pay the very high costs of the newly booked flights. The bottom line is we are now out well in excess of $1000.

In retrospect we did not complete the process as instructed, however, Westjet also did not do a good job of informing us and advising us what our departure options might be. Our thought was Westjet would only get us out after the hurricane and that was not acceptable.

I realize there might be some internal work that might need to be done to get this rectified but I am sure it is possible to do.

We have been loyal Westjet flyers and expect Westjet to treat us as such and not look for ways to get additional funds from us in this type of situation. I am hopeful this will get to someone inside WJ who can make this right.

There should be plenty of notes under the following 2 flight codes:

YCGOMD

ATDCND

I hope and expect someone will provide me a written response to my complaint within the next few days.

Thanks, Ron

[protected]

I have been denied a refund for a family trip to Orlando in 2020 cancelled due to COVID and would like this decision reversed.

We had a family trip planned for July 2020 that we cancelled as the pandemic was announced and travel advisories began. I have filled out the WestJet refund request form 3 times and have been denied a refund each time. The reason given is that because there were no changes to our flight made by the airline before we cancelled the trip ourselves, we are not entitled to a refund. This should not matter - regardless of who cancelled the trip, we would not have been able to travel in July because of the pandemic. We knew that this would be the case, so we went ahead and cancelled. Rather than refunding us, our funds were put in a travel bank and we therefore cannot get a refund through our travel insurance.

We now have finally started planning the same trip for 2023 and the flights to and from St. John’s are terrible. We have over $1700 in a travel bank that we cannot use. A 22-hour return flight from Orlando, leaving us sitting in TO airport overnight is not something we can because of my husband’s Parkinson’s disease. He would not be able to handle that.

Essentially, waiting in the airport for hours is not an option, the layover is not long enough to get a hotel room, and the flight that would give us the longest layover so we could get a hotel room cost $3000! WestJet has stated that they are pulling away from Atlantic Canada towards their western roots, so flights improving are not very likely. I feel like I am being robbed - a company pulls services away from the area and takes your money with it - that’s unacceptable.

We are simply trying to rebook our trip, but cannot do so because of changes made to the WestJet service in our area. The money is there for us to book with another airline that is offering reasonable flights, but WestJet will not refund it because is a simple loophole. This cancellation would have happened regardless, so we should be given a refund since the same flights, or at least reasonable flights are not available to take the same trip with WestJet that we cancelled.

If WestJet cannot offer a reasonable service to our area, why should we be penalized?

We were leaving las vegas on Sept 25 at 1:15 pm flight WS1401. We were delayed according to West jet due to weather but it was sunny and 37 degrees celsius. There also was a man arriving late on plane. Otherwise everyone was ready to go. Mid flight I asked the stewardess about our connecting flight in Calgary to Saskatoon. She was very rude and said we would find out when we landed. There was no attempt by their staff to let connectors off first. We raced from the plane, through customs and arrived at our terminal A23 flight number WS 3370at 6:10pm Boarding was at 6:20pm. We had all our boarding passes etc. When we got to gate person, he told us all of tickets had been cancelled because they didn't think we would make it. There were 13 of us and 10 seats left open on that flight. We were turned away rudely and told to go C55 to West jets complaints area. The next available flight was 2 days away. NO FOOD, NO HOTEL, NO MONEY BACK FOR LOSS OF FLIGHT and NO RENTAL was offered. We found a rental for $400 and drove 7 hours to Saskatoon and arrived at 3 am. Their service was absolutely brutal and manager we dealt with was Leanne. No last name would be provided, however we were told she is the only leanne there.

My husband and I were planning to visit family from Toronto to Halifax Nova Scotia on September 26 th at 10:00am. I booked the flights through air miles it’s took me 20 years to get these points! We are seniors and only have our pensions. When Fiona Storm hit Nova Scotia we were devastated luckily our family was alright but the roads were blocked with all the trees down and were without power which they said would be about a week.

I called air miles to cancel the flight but they said it wasn’t covered as Westjet needed a confirmation number and because I paid a basic flight! At this point I did manage to cancel the hotel and the rented car they didn’t hesitate to cancel because of the storm! I called Westjet this morning and they said there was nothing they could do as the advisory had been lifted!,

So now you want us to go on holiday to a state of emergency province with no

Power and devastation. You need to think again!,

September 23rd Vancouver to Calgary Flight 106

It is well documented at the airport and on the airlines sites that we are allowed to bring on board: 1 piece of luggage (within the measurements well written on said sites) to go in the upper compartment and 1 smaller piece of luggage to fit under the seat. Westjet doesn't re inforce the rules and as a result, I have seen people boarding that flight with 4 or 5 bags. Those of us in Zone 3, the last ones to board, don't have room left in the upper compartment for their 1 piece of luggage and are then asked to have it placed in cargo. I don't know about you, but what I hand carry on board is of value or fragile and would not survive the rough handling (read destroying) from the baggage handlers. If the person refuses to let their fragile piece be placed (read thrown) in cargo, they are bumped to the next flight. People seated in Zone 3 are being penalized. Why having rules if they are not being re-enforced?

Sept 7th,2022

Flight WS3463 leaving Ottawa 11:30am-arriving TO 12:41

Connecting flight WS518 arriving in TO 2:10pm- arriving in Deer

Lake, NL6:15pm Boarded at 1:30pm

Prebooked seats.

Flight WS3463 Delayed in Ottawa to 12:30pm arriving in TO at 1:53pm

Missed connecting flight

Offered new flight WS254 from TO at 10:20 arriving in Halifax at 1:22am

Accepted dinner vouchers.

We were told a West jet representative would meet us at the gate in Halifax and offer hotel rooms and breakfast voucher. There were no representatives but managed to wave down a rep who was offering wheelchair service to another passenger. She took us to a computer that took 1/2 hour to reboot. An email was sent to the ten of us who missed the flight that would arrange a hotel room and breakfast voucher. There were no rooms available to six of us. We slept in the airport as it was now 3:30am and we were catching a flight #PB 1953 the next day at 9:35 am to Deer Lake NL. The restaurant would not accept the digital voucher for breakfast and paid out of pocket $36.23.

Needless to say, we missed our first day of our bus tour.

I'm not sure why Toronto West Jet rep could not have called Halifax West Jet rep to have arranged rooms and a shuttle upon arrival. Perhaps we should have had arrangements made in Ottawa knowing we would miss our connection. In hindsight we should have investigated staying in TO with a flight to Deer Lake NL the following day. It would have been more of a comfort then sleeping on a bench.