WestJet Airlines
Reviews and Complaints

Hello, I'm writing in today to voice my concerns about about several aspects of my recent experience with WestJet. My family and I flew to and from New Brunswick and Alberta this week for a funeral. Right off the bat, getting through to anyone to book bereavement flights was a ridiculously long and frustrating process. We waited on hold for five hours to get through to anybody to get the flights booked—considering the nature of dealing with family deaths, this is already unacceptable. People dealing with death do not need the added frustration of being forced to call in to ludicrously long wait times to try to get somewhere on a short time line. Your bereavement calls need to have their own queue so people get through faster during these time-sensitive situations—or better yet, allow people to book these flights online. The website cites the need to provide particular documentation to book bereavement flights as the reason we HAVE to call, and yet we were not required to provide any of the documents the website or online chat specified. If the flights can be booked without needing to provide those after all, then there's no reason people shouldn't be able to book online. There's no need to make an incredibly hard situation on families any harder than it already is.
Our flights were also delayed both headed to our destination and headed home. Yet again on a very time-sensitive issue, we were delayed around 40 minutes on our way out of Calgary, adding the stress of potentially missing our connecting flight to our existing stress. On our way home, it was the same story, being delayed over an hour—this may have been a failing moreso on Moncton Airport's part, I'm not sure, but we barely made our connecting flight to get home as well.
Now that we're home, we open our luggage up to find a number of priceless family heirlooms left to us from our family member's estate shattered into pieces, a few of them irreparably so. These items were wrapped in clothing, towels, and blankets in a manner that would prevent them from moving as much as possible and were put inside hardcase suitcases that were labelled "fragile" at my request to the airline. It's not my first rodeo bringing breakables home on a plane, and I am confident our packing of these items was more than sufficient to prevent these items from breaking. There are members of our family left behind now that are heartbroken to have lost these things, and it begs the question of how rough WestJet's employees handle your clients' luggage. We made sure these bags were appropriately labelled so this wouldn't be an added sadness on top of existing grief, and somehow someone in the WestJet line made sure it was for naught. I've previously never had an issue with flying with WestJet but the level of disappointment my entire family now has in this airline likely means we will not be continuing our business with this airline.

Booking# [protected]
Ticket# 047-[protected]
Tag1# TP751937
Tag2#TP752197
Tag3#TP752198
Trip from DSS - LIB - YYZ - YUL arrived on 2021/08/05
Baggage is originally from TAP Portugal fight TP257 until Toronto and then there was a switch to Westjet from Toronto to Montréal. My baggage was checked for Montreal. I arrived at Montréal on August 5th at flight # WS3534 but none of my tree cases was found. I need to know what happened

I was flying to work just north of fort McMurray on a charter flight out of calgary. When I arrived at my worksite airport my bag was not there. I filed for my bag to be delivered and had to wait a day at work to get my work items needed. When I got my bag I saw that it had been rummaged through and there had been $50 worth of items taken. When contacted WestJet about my items I did not hear a word back for about 6 days. When they replied they had said my items had been "discarded" by security at the calgary airport and no reimbursement was offered, nothing. This is absolutely disgraceful way to treat a customer. No respect for private items or even allowing customer to get their personal items once they return home. I would have to give WestJet airline ONE STAR for their customer service and absolute disregard for customers personal items.

Had to wait at your PG airport for over five hours with no compensation no food there isn't any taxis outside that could take me anywhere not that I could afford to take a taxi from a PG airport because it's like $50 anyhow I fly with you guys all the time I am very disappointed and I would appreciate it if I was compensated I was denied a $1000 dollar job as I deliver vehicles all over Canada… Your airport has no food I was not offered anything in charge three dollars for a bottle of water people are sitting here for six hours I can't afford to pay your absurd prices at the airport …. I will be filling a formal complaint with my receipts and a letter from my company for loss wages.. please let me know how and when this will be rectified before I file formal complaint… thanks

I am writing to officially express my dissatisfaction regarding our recent travel with WestJet. We purchased 2 tickets to Vancouver BC from Toronto on June 8th for travel from July 28 - August 2 (Flights WS 701 & WS 702). During our search we decided to use Westjet because the flight options were direct and at the times that we needed. 8 days after our purchase we were informed that our returning flight was no longer available and we were offered a connecting flight instead (Flights WS 100 & WS 656). We tried to call the customer service number provided on your email to discuss the matter with a representative and see if there was perhaps another option available but were on hold for FOUR hours before deciding to give up and just accept the option provided. This change, while annoying, was not a game changer for our itinerary.
But what was an unacceptable occurrence was the flight cancellation that occurred on the day we were to fly to BC. Our flight was to leave at 7:00am so we planned to arrive at 5:15am. When we woke up we were dismayed to find that once again our flight had been cancelled and the email stating this arrived at 2:41am, less than 5 hours prior to take off. We arrived at the airport instead of trying to call customer service only to be told that the only flight left with 2 seats was at 5:30pm (flight WS 721).
This change not only created extreme frustration, but had a direct impact on our business and work. By being bumped to an evening flight it meant that we could have worked that day instead one of us lost approximately $700 in revenue (as a small business owner) and the other used a vacation day unnecessarily, which of course WestJet in no way offered to compensate us for. We also lost an entire day of our already short vacation.
Besides the fact that you cancelled a flight so close to take off, there was zero sense of empathy from the people on the ground and no compensation offered, instead it was "too bad" and "sorry but there is nothing we can do" not even a voucher to sit in the lounge for the day or a seat upgrade.
We understand that this has been a tough year on your industry, but it has been tough for many of us and this was the first trip we have taken in 4 years so we were excited. To have it tarnished and cut short unexpectedly has definitely forced us to reconsider ever using WestJet in the future. We would rather pay more and be confident our flights will go as planned then take the risk with your company.

I booked a call back with WestJet (July 28th 2021)which was confirmed for August 4th 11 am. After waiting for approx. 30 minutes I realized that WestJet will not call.

I had an unpleasant experience yesterday morning August 3rd 2021 at WestJet from Winnipeg to Toronto. We got to the check -in point and was greatly delayed while attending to another guest for a long time, eventually it got to our turn but the customer service was asking questions that I believe they should have detailed and updated information on on a daily basis and should not be a base for delay. He also left us in-between to attend to the earlier guest despite the fact that we have limited time on a long queue.This action caused us to miss our flight. I believe WestJet just lost a customer. My lasting impression is the emotional trauma I left with.

I am highly disappointed with the customer service my family and I got at the baggage check in point in Winnipeg Canada on Tuesday August 3rd 2021. My family and I were treated with disrespect as we were trying to tell the staff Jonah to focus on our flight since we had waited for more than 45 minutes staying on the line because it was not moving... he then proceeded to waste our time attending to other guests and then asking us for information not needed as evidence was provided, he never apologized for keeping us and kept on being rude to my family and I... We were a family of 6, our tickets were divided into 2, half of us could board and the other half couldn't due to absolutely no fault of ours. We were traveling for our Mother's funeral.. I had never experienced such mystery, now I am inquiring some unexpected bills due to the lack of westjet staffs as well as staff's - Jonah and his supervisor's unprofessional behavior (by separating families without care).

WestJet arbritrarily cancels non-stop flights and rebooks you on ridiculous and unacceptable routes that add 6 or more hours to your flight time. When you try to change the flight via phone, hold times are literally hours; if you try the call back feature, we were given a day and time 5 days out! Seriously, 5 days? Also, if you cancel a flight, you would expect to get an immediate refund to your credit card. But no: "The full value of your cancelled flight will be credited to a Travel Bank, valid for 24 months from the date of issue". It's my money that they took and I want my money back, not a stupid travel bank with an expiry date!

We waited 4 hours on hold trying to reach the call center and booked a call back on monday. When they finally called back, their hang up on us. This is a terrible experience and we will reconsider airlines when booking flights in the future.

We selected the callback feature and the time allotted was 5:30AM; no call back, we have been on hold now for 2 hours and don't seem to be getting any closer - just the same monotonous tips on how to do things online. We originally tried to cancel our flight online but due to a flight change Westjet made routing us to Vancouver then back to Kelowna we have to go through an agent.

we were on flight ws0434 from Edmonton to Toronto, on Sunday 18, we had to connect to the other oversee flight and all the flights were delayed that day from the west to the east Canada, They could not allowed us on the flight to England So we lost couple of very important days to finish some business. I am also suspicious regarding the waiting time for our flights back . Only 1 hr and 30 min regarding the covid protocol on the border. 3 times already west jet was adjusting the back tickets originaly it was on Vancouver and then they turn to Toronto and now they rescheduled time knowing that the busy time of Airport in To will take longer. I am looking to get some extra time for two days and asking for compensation to fly on the 11 of August, My WG client numb is KTKWHX. Please respond and if possible Adjust the returning time,

Hello,

My husband and I booked a flight through WestJet for July 31st to August 11th from Grande Prairie to Nova Scotia. We currently live in the Northwest Territories so it was an 8 hour drive for us to get to Grande Prairie. When we were about an hour outside of our destination we received an email that our flight had been cancelled and we had been rebooked for flights that got us to Nova Scotia on August 3. This is 2 full days later. We received the cancellation email at 6:14pm for our flight that was scheduled to leave at 7:10am the next day, way less than 24 hours. We waited on hold to speak to a WestJet agent for over an hour and then spoke for additional 40 minutes while pulled over on the road so we didn't lose service. When we finally got to speak to one the best she could do (she was lovely by the way) was to keep us booked on the Calgary fight for tomorrow at 9:30am that we were connecting to from Grande Prairie. That means we now have to drive an additional 7 hours to Calgary to make this flight. By the time we got back on the road after rebooking with the agent it was after 8pm. We're now driving exhausted, frustrated and in the dark, a situation we always work to avoid. We also had to change our return flights to Calgary instead of Grande Prairie. When we land on August 11th we'll have to drive an unplanned 15 hours to get back to the Northwest Territories. My husband goes to work the next day at 7:00am. I also had to cancel a non-refundable stay at a hotel in Grande Prairie for $120. This has been an incredibly stressful and exhausting evening for us. I have always flown with WestJet and I also have the WestJet MasterCard. We are loyal to this company. This trip (as it is for many) was our first to Nova Scotia since the pandemic. This is our home, where the majority of our family and friends still reside. It was supposed to be an exciting, happy trip. This has been an extremely unfortunate experience for us starting out. I'm writing this email in hopes that WestJet will compensate passengers who have experienced challenges through no fault of their own.

Thank you for your time. I've left my information below.

Jessica MacPherson
[protected]@hotmail.com
[protected]
WestJet Rewards ID: [protected]
Ticket Number: [protected]/1
Reservation Code: GPKPOA
Flight WS3178

I filing this on behalf of my Mom, Gail Bruns, who has been a loyal Westjet customer for years and years. She has been trying to book a Guardian Fare for 2 days now, getting through a couple of times, getting transferred and then hung up on. She needs to accompany her grandchildren on a flight back to Vancouver Island, so this is not optional and not a little pleasure trip for her. She has spent somewhere between 4 and 6 hours on hold with your company. Right now she has so much going on in her home with my Dad needing care and carpenters in the home in addition to looking after 2 young kids. I am just livid that she had to go through this. It is totally UNACCEPTABLE. After being on hold for more than an hour each time of the three times, once it was over 2 hours she said, she is notified on the recording that the Agent is finally there, and then she gets hung up on. This happened 3 TIMES! I realize as a company that there must be huge struggles right now. There is for everyone going through this scamdemic, but she is also owed back over $7000 for a vacation we could not take because of this FAKE PANDEMIC. So I hope you will understand why we needed to file this. Please fix this issue so that no more people waste hours on the line, only to be hung up on. Apparently we cannot book the Guardian fare on line, so she needs and Agent for this. Thank you.

Joan Chisholm Lachance
London-Sydney Nova-Scotia, september 1st 2021
Reservation number:[protected]

To whomever it may concern,
I am addressing you this letter in order to convey my discontent in regards to the service my mother, Joan Chisholm-Lachance has received resulting in a change of itinerary imposed by your airline. Originally, she was scheduled to depart Toronto 3:15pm at and arrive in Halifax 617pm at on September 1st 2021. Following this, her scheduled arrival in Sydney was set to be at 8:05pm. Nonetheless, shortly after booking the flight, she was informed that she would be subjected to an approximate 7 hour delay in Halifax and that her flight from London would be scheduled to depart at 650am rather than 1030am as previously stated I purchased the ticket for her. Furthermore, she would arrive in Sydney Nova Scotia at 835pm rather than 805 pm as previously promised. Such an itinerary considerably extends the length of her journey which is unacceptable at best when you account for her age and health challenges.

As such, she is understanding and realizes that the global pandemic has greatly overwhelmed the travel industry. Nonetheless, as a long time customer of Westjet, the service she is receiving has been deemed unfair and inadequate at best. Throughout the course of the pandemic, my mother has been unable to visit with her loved ones. After a two year absence, I purchased an airline ticket for her by method of Flight Hub; the online platform. First, my mother is approaching 70 years old and the distance from her home compels her to depart at 430 in the morning to board her flight in London. As such, the additional layover in Halifax raises certain concerns. In short, she is a senior citizen on a fixed income that has been diagnosed with diabetes and suffers from recurrent kidney stones. Consequently, the additional 7 hours she must endure in an airport comes with certain challenges. Furthermore, not only was she informed that her itinerary would be modified, she was also informed that the original airline fare would not be honoured and she would be required to disperse an additional 40$ so she may board her flight. In addition, her layover in Halifax is being imposed without any form of compensation or regard towards her well being. Such treatment is not only unjust, it is morally bankrupt and tarnishes your reputation as an airline. As a longtime customer of your airline, I request that you act fairly and rectify this situation immediately. Otherwise, in the future, as an avid domestic and international traveler, I will be compelled to conduct all future business with a different airline while urging my family, my friends and colleagues to do the same. I ask that you contact me at your earliest convenience at [protected]@hotmail.com or [protected].

Respectfully,
David Lachance

Our connection flight
Montreal to Toronto 26/07/2021
10:00am
Was canceled without any advance notice.
The agents at the airport offered irrelevant solution
- KLM flight to Tel aviv via Amsterdam with a 13hrs layover in addition to flight time, total travel time of 24 hours. This option didn't support the 72hrs PCR travel test policy applied in Israel and international travel.
We would of been denied boarding in Amsterdam.
Furthermore, when we explained that this option wouldn't be relevant The agent on the floor was insistant that there were no other options and that our 13:30pm EL AL flight Toronto -Tel Aviv would most probably be canceled.
A blatant lie!
The agent refused to offer an alternative flight, arguing there was nothing else.
When we suggested the KLM flight to Tel Aviv via Paris, the agent continued to argue that this option wasn't available.
Due to COVID travel restrictions as well as family celebration on the 27th we were forced to purchase two tickets to Tel Aviv in order to arrive on the 27th before 2pm.
Air Canada (AC080)

Ofer Bitton
Chaily Bitton

We ask that you please contact us
Do that we can rectify this matter.

[protected]@hotmail.com

HI I have a huge problem trying to cancel a flight . I have requested call backs and gone on messenger as well to no avail. I have beeen trying for over a month. West Jet advised me that I could not cancel the flight on line because the Intinary changed. West Jet changed the intinary not me. I want to cancel flights to Maui from Vancouverr under reservation code DWVVDH Departing Vancouver Oct 31 and returning to Vancouver Dec 2nd. The reason for the cancellation of the referrenced booking is that I re booked Maui Flights on West Jet 787 Dreamliner Business class Leaving Vancouver Nov 1st and returning to Vancouver Dec 1st under reservation code DDEPYK Both my wife and I are Gold member s under WJ Reward #[protected] and my wife Germaine Harvey #[protected]

I am totally frusterated with the absymal lack of service. I need a West Jet agent to call me ASAP to resolve this

Thank you
David Harvey
[protected]

My 5pm flight was canceled at the last minute. I was rebooked for a non direct flight leaving at 7pm. Because it would be too long for my dog to be in a crate, I got in the long understaffed line to change my flight. I assumed my dog was waiting to be put on the next flight. I was in line for 1.5 hours. There was only one agent. They opened up another line and then closed it shortly after and the agent that was helping left. The two agents that were then helping people left everyone to help with an incoming flight and left everyone standing there. Not acceptable. When I finally got my flight changed, I asked where I would get my dog. The agent informed me, my dog had been sent down to the oversize baggage! When I got to the oversize bag, a couple informed me that they had taken her off the carousel 30 minutes prior. She had likely been there for at least an hour! So not only did WestJet send my dog out to oversize without informing me. They did not even have an agent take her off the carousel, so other bags could just continually bang into her crate and she was left unattended for an hour!

Hi,

Today it's the second time that WestJet has changed our flights. First time total cancellation, so as everyone knows you then need to cancel Hotels, drivers etc. All this costs money, yet WestJet does not seem to care about our out of pocket expenses, also no refunds from them unless we request it, it should be automatically refunded, they cancel not us.

Then we rebooked, now they totally changed our connection and the worse part is that we are not even sitting together. They send you the changes with one option to ‘Accept", or you can try calling, but that's another joke. Been on hold on one phone since 9:15, and left 3 call back numbers. The message you get when it says your waiting time is, you actually get this "don't worry", I thought it was a joke, you know like the flight attendants do, but no, it's real.

We read that it can take up to 12 hours. If we rebook two days prior we would get exactly what we had initially booked but at a higher price and also Hotel change costs.

Come on WestJet, you used to care and were much better than this. Why penalize your clients because you decide to layoff staff and can't handle it anymore with the "option" you made.

Do the right thing, if you change things on your own accord, be reliable for any costs to your clients.

A holiday should be an exciting and enjoyable venture.

Regards

Filomena

Hi,

- I booked my vacation to Mexico through Red Tag travel agency, the lady (Louise Wheeler) booked my vacation and charged to my credit card on July 10, 2021
- As per the attached invoice my vacation was booked Aug 13 to Aug 20, 2021
- The Sales Agent (Louise Wheeler) called me back on July 14 and told me that West Jet canceled the flight and my vacation changed to Aug 14, I said that should be fine and accepted the situation
- After 5 minutes later the sales agent called me back and told me my vacation moved to Aug 15, 2021, I said that is okay too
- After half an hour later she called me back and told me that, if I want to go on the same date have to pay $1900 extra otherwise I have to lower my room category, I asked her for explanation but she said to me this is what it is, either you have to accept it or you can go Aug 28, 2021.

They are not giving my full return, please help me to get my money. They are cheating people, they sold my vacation package to someone else for higher price

Please call me if you have any question at [protected]

Thanks

Umran Buyukkol