7636 replies to this topic

[spanky123]

Agreed. Alaska is my preferred carrier for US travel.

 

They are great for leisure travel or if your business travel is primarily in the pacific NW. The vast majority of business travelers will pick another airline though.

[shoeflack]

^maybe. But Alaska has one of the better miles programs out there, so a lot of professional/business travelers live by them. Or at least try to transfer their points to Mileage Plan.

[Victoria Watcher]

social media:

 

bc ferries

84360 twitter

39612 facebook

21485 instagram

// 145447

 

winnipeg

11894 twitter

11325 facebook

3769 instagram

// 26988

 

st. john's

13825 twitter

18204 facebook

1293 instagram

// 33322

 

kelowna

9029 twitter

7962 facebook

2851 instagram

// 19842

 

saskatoon

4157 twitter

14911 facebook

1269 instagram

// 20337

 

victoria

5828 twitter

2829 facebook

1556 instagram

// 10276

 

edmonton

29749 twitter

49443 facebook

7229 instagram

// 86421

 

halifax

25168 twitter

18342 facebook

1833 instagram

// 45343

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 12 March 2019 - 11:44 AM.

[Mike K.]

Nevermind the fact an inbound flight from Calgary is delayed this afternoon, this is what the airport's social media folks want you to know. Surely this isn't something head office sanctioned directly, is it? 

 

[AllseeingEye]

/\......maybe that is the issue: YYJ is a very small operation comparatively speaking so I have to ask: do they in fact have "social media folks" (plural, an actual member or members of a broader marketing team?) whose function is to cover cyberspace - or is their lack of online presence a consequence of having some part time contractor paid peanuts to halfheartedly post whatever piece of fluff that comes into his/her head?

 

Considering its 2019 and not 1953 their online efforts truly are wholly inadequate. Frankly I'm still trying to digest the comment a couple of pages back about how they (apparently) don't go to tender, or at least formal RFP, and supposedly have used the same contractor over and over and over for 20 years? How is that possible? How would they know if they are getting the best services(s) for dollars spent without a formal competition? Someone tell me I got that wrong and that isn't the state of affairs please.....

 

I commuted to Calgary during the time they were doing that $2.5++ billion dollar expansion to YYC including building a new $600 million dollar runway not to mention a new international terminal building encompassing two million square feet: perhaps the laissez-faire attitude of Victoria explains why Calgary finished that project in < five years - while we'll take about half that time simply to build a very minor add-on extension of an existing departure lounge. I don't know for certain but I'd happily hazard a guess the bidding/competition to build the various components of their facility was intense, while Victoria was.....ah, yeah......you know........zzzzzzz.

Edited by AllseeingEye, 12 March 2019 - 06:04 PM.

[spanky123]

^maybe. But Alaska has one of the better miles programs out there, so a lot of professional/business travelers live by them. Or at least try to transfer their points to Mileage Plan.

 

They have a good points program but that is only part of the game for true corporate travel warriors. Once you start hitting the 100K plus tiers on major airlines you are treated like royalty and the perks far outweigh anything that Alaska can offer.

Edited by spanky123, 12 March 2019 - 06:26 PM.

[tjv]

Agreed. Alaska is my preferred carrier for US travel.

Except I remember the pre-Delta days when Alaska wanted $350US to fly to Seattle and if you carried onto another city they didn't give you a break at all.

 

With Delta you can fly to the US east coast from YYJ for $400CDN.  I will miss Delta, they are my go to airline, at least until Sept 2nd

[G-Man]

Alaska has had a real YYJ tax in about 10 years and Delta has only been here for two...

[vortoozo]

Well, that and Customs at SEA and YVR can be pretty bad if you time it behind too many pan-Pacific flights. 

 

Use the Mobile Passport app at SEA. You skip the first lineup, get dumped right in the baggage area, and have a cursory chat with an agent on the way out of the baggage hall.

 

In YVR, if you are connecting to YYJ on the same ticket on the same carrier from an eligible destination, you are now eligible for OSS. The involves a separate line up, no need to claim & re-check baggage, and no need to clear security again.

[jonny]

I have a sneaking suspicion that Westjet and Delta's recent agreement to work more closely together on CAN-US transborder travel, including codesharing and aligned frequent flyer programs, has a lot to do with Delta leaving YYJ. 

 

 

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and WestJet (TSX: WJA) have signed a definitive agreement to create a comprehensive transborder joint venture arrangement that will offer customers an extensive route network within the U.S. and Canada.

“Delta’s future is global and together with WestJet, we can augment the two airlines’ capabilities and bring together our strengths in this important transborder market,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s CEO. “Combined, we will be able to offer more destinations to customers with an integrated network, superior airline products, improved airport connections and significantly enhanced frequent flyer benefits. The JV will provide an unmatched passenger experience for customers travelling between the U.S. and Canada.”

“WestJet continues its drive toward becoming a global airline, and the signing of this agreement marks a major milestone in that journey,” said Ed Sims, WestJet President and CEO. “Working together with Delta, the premier U.S. carrier, we are looking forward to providing enhanced offerings and more choice for guests. The joint venture will allow us to maximize our existing partnership with Delta to benefit customers by bringing greater competition to the trans-border market.”

The agreement deepens the existing codeshare partnership between the carriers and follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding in December 2017 announcing the intention to form a joint venture. The joint venture will provide substantial reach into Canada and the U.S. with transborder service to more than 30 cities covering over 95 per cent of U.S.-Canada demand, providing customers of both airlines with more travel choices than ever before. The new JV will also enable Delta and WestJet to compete more effectively against other carriers.

Upon receipt of regulatory approvals in Canada and the U.S., Delta and WestJet will work together to implement all aspects of the enhanced cooperation including expanded codesharing, more closely aligned frequent flyer program and reciprocal elite benefits, joint growth across their U.S./Canada transborder network, and co-location at key hubs with more seamless passenger and baggage transit. The agreement will also include the ability to work together on cargo accompanying passenger flights as well as corporate contracts.

Delta has a strong track record of partnering with airlines around the globe, in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia and now Canada. These joint ventures connect complementary networks, allowing the carriers to expand service options, add more convenient connections, and provide a more seamless customer experience than would otherwise have been possible.

As WestJet continues its global transformation, its airline partners connect the growing WestJet network to an extensive list of international destinations. WestJet has one of the youngest fleets in the airline industry and  continues to provide award-winning guest experience, recently being named Canada’s Best Airline by TripAdvisor and North America’s Best Low-Cost Airline 2018 by Skytrax.

 

https://news.delta.c...r-joint-venture

[Mike K.]

Yes, you might be right.

[Bob Fugger]

I suspected that may have been the case.  I have two international trips planned this year and both of them are variations of codeshares on WJ/Delta/KLM/AF.  Sucks for the Delta gate agents here, though, as I doubt they will be picked up by WJ.

Edited by Bob Fugger, 13 March 2019 - 11:11 AM.

[Missed Approach]

I do follow their Twitter feed on social media platform along with Facebook...….A lot of their twitter posts are auto-generated and pop up time and time again, and when something does happen it's hours later or I see replies to questions or comments days later. 

 

 

Nevermind the fact an inbound flight from Calgary is delayed this afternoon, this is what the airport's social media folks want you to know. Surely this isn't something head office sanctioned directly, is it? 

 

Screen Shot 2019-03-12 at 4.13.25 PM.png

[Hotel Mike]

We have received a number of spam calls with recorded messages that start "Thank you for choosing Westjet."  I have no idea what comes after that because I hung up. The phone number showed up as Qualicum Beach.

[DustMagnet]

We have received a number of spam calls with recorded messages that start "Thank you for choosing Westjet."  I have no idea what comes after that because I hung up. The phone number showed up as Qualicum Beach.

 

Nothing to do with Westjet (or Marriot, if that's the call you get instead) and the phone number is spoofed* on a pattern that makes it look (relatively) local to you to encourage you to pick up.

* Well, determined by the originating VoIP system that is.  You can't really compromise a system not designed to be secure nor authenticated.

[Hotel Mike]

I never answer unless I'm sure of the number. It was my wife who got sucked in by the Qualicum number. Thanks for the explanation, even including an asterisk.*

 

 

*so sophisticated for vv

[Mike K.]

I just had a call from an uncle in Rwanda!

[LJ]

Use the Mobile Passport app at SEA. You skip the first lineup, get dumped right in the baggage area, and have a cursory chat with an agent on the way out of the baggage hall.

 

In YVR, if you are connecting to YYJ on the same ticket on the same carrier from an eligible destination, you are now eligible for OSS. The involves a separate line up, no need to claim & re-check baggage, and no need to clear security again.

Does the mobile passport app work the same or similar to Nexus? 

[vortoozo]

Does the mobile passport app work the same or similar to Nexus? 

 

It's separate from Nexus. You don't need to pay a fee or have an interview.

Simply download the app & pre-enter your passport info.

Once you land at a participating airport, fill out your declaration on your phone. The immigration agent will scan your phone and you're good to go unless they have additional questions.

 

https://mobilepassport.us/

[lanforod]

Canadian citizens can use it too or only US citizens?