Is Westjet worth $ 500.00 more than Air Transat for pretty much the same flight ? What am I missing here ?

book the cheapest, unless you're getting premium seats/business or something for that money

Yah book the cheapest. Nothing special about WestJet at all.

Maybe flying time makes the difference. Like WestJet leaving at 8 AM (you get at least half a day there), while Transat is leaving at 12 PM (both go and back days are lost).

Not related, but related, WestJet needs to update or replace their fleet of 737s soon. They're trying to compete with AC, but all they can compete with is AC Rouge.

No screens, terrible seats, average legroom. Blah. I wouldn't take them for anything over 3 hours and I'd only take them if it's a significant discount over AC Rouge, which is rare.

Isostar wrote: ↑ Maybe flying time makes the difference. Like WestJet leaving at 8 AM (you get at least half a day there), while Transat is leaving at 12 PM (both go and back days are lost).

If it is on time and not delayed or cancelled again.

500$ more ? Wow... book with Air Transat no doubt about it. They’re both the same anyway

Cancun is not a long flight. I would book the cheapest. To me, flight is just another way to get me from point A to point B, much like Greyhound. If you wouldn't shop around for Greyhound, then you probably wouldn't need to bother for flights. All these luxury upgrades makes a very mild difference in my opinion. On a short flight, it's no different than a day trip to Algonquin park. On a longer flight, take some sleeping pills and read a book or something. More leg space is nice but when I travel, I focus more on the destination than how comfy my ride is.

$500 will buy mucho cervezas, go Transat.

Thanks everybody. Booked direct flight Air Transat. It actually had the best times as well, arriving in Cancun at 1230. Departing and arriving back at Pearson at 1630.
It's the same planes South West uses when I fly to FLL.

Never had an issue with Air Transat. If booking a package, it's usually better and offers more for the same or less money than AC or WJ.

Transat is a charter airline and relies on vacation travellers (who tend to book in advance). They do not tend to offer connections (although Transat does offer this in limited scenarios) and rely on passengers and a local market that will be boarding a flight from point A to B (example: Toronto -Cancun).

Westjet is a scheduled carrier. So if you live in (for example) Halifax or Winnipeg you can book it as one ticket (example: Halifax - Toronto- Cancun). Their only other competition that has this ability is Air Canada. Hence, they have a bigger market and can charge more $$

Have flown both airlines to Cancun this year and I like Transat and all my flights left on time including 2 trips with them overseas this year (also, Westjet has horrid gates at YYZ that require a very long walk which is probably a pain with kids. It’s hit and miss if you get unlucky with those gates).

tkl wrote: ↑ Thanks everybody. Booked direct flight Air Transat. It actually had the best times as well, arriving in Cancun at 1230. Departing and arriving back at Pearson at 1630.
It's the same planes South West uses when I fly to FLL.

Just remember to pay for your bags in advance (outside of I believe 48 hours from departure) as it’s cheaper. Like Westjet, Transat’s Eco Standard Fares do not include checked bags.

If you booked as package via Transat Holidays then it’s included regardless. Westjet Vacations packages however no longer include checked bags anymore.

iEyeCaptain wrote: ↑ Not related, but related, WestJet needs to update or replace their fleet of 737s soon. They're trying to compete with AC, but all they can compete with is AC Rouge.

No screens, terrible seats, average legroom. Blah. I wouldn't take them for anything over 3 hours and I'd only take them if it's a significant discount over AC Rouge, which is rare.

Westjet's 737 fleet is relatively young as far as airline's go. AC's is older on average. Westjet were adding new 737-MAX, but most people are aware of what happened with those.

Given that the majority of people travel in Economy class (especially on vacation) and given that Westjet and AC seats are virtually indistinguishable, I fail to see any basis for your assertion about seats and legroom. Rouge has a knee-crushing 29" pitch in regular Economy; Westjet 31-33".

Yes, Westjet has been removing the screens from their 737 aircraft - but given the number of people that have their own laptop/tablet/big-screen-phone to watch movies for free - it hardly seems a major issue.

iEyeCaptain wrote: ↑ No screens, (..) I wouldn't take them for anything over 3 hours.

What did you write this on? If you don’t like watching movies on your smartphone, get an iPad! Netflix et al will let you download content if you are too cheap for iTunes. Battery on an iPad or smartphone is really good with cell and wifi off.

I've noticed Westjet don't seem to be interested in competing this year.

BrunetteGirl wrote: ↑ Just remember to pay for your bags in advance (outside of I believe 48 hours from departure) as it’s cheaper. Like Westjet, Transat’s Eco Standard Fares do not include checked bags.

If you booked as package via Transat Holidays then it’s included regardless. Westjet Vacations packages however no longer include checked bags anymore.

yes I noticed that when I went to their actual website after booking from Expedia TD. I booked my all inclusive and flight separately because it was cheaper than the package offered from any of the tour providers.

I only did Air Transat once. Flew from Vancouver to London, and then on the way back Amsterdam->Vancouver. What you need to watch out for is sometimes they book your flights on other airlines. The one to London was on Thomas Cook and it wasn't good. I'm resigned to be taller than average and airplanes skimping on room, but it's the worse I've seen. I was stuck for 9 hours (or whatever it is) with my knees jammed into the seat ahead of me. On top of that they announce the in flight entertainment was broken so I was bored out of mind. This was 8 years ago mind you, so I now load my cell phone with content before boarding any plane.

The way back was fine. It was on an actual Air Transat plane. More legroom, more space, no crunching kneeds, and the inflight entertainment worked fine.

So basically i'm saying make sure it's actually an air transit flight

robsaw wrote: ↑

Yes, Westjet has been removing the screens from their 737 aircraft - but given the number of people that have their own laptop/tablet/big-screen-phone to watch movies for free - it hardly seems a major issue.

I miss the screens. They're propped up on by themselves and at eye level. Trying to watch a move on the phone is tough because there's no where to prop up the phone. I could make do if Westjet installed something in liue of the srcreen that could mount your phone so it would hold it up at eye level. I also miss the live sat. tv the TV's in the seats had. Loved watching live sports on my flights. The stuff they have available on wifi isn't that great.