Westjet "New and Improved" res system

[Four1oh]

How's the instructing going Blastor? Still in YYC?

[greenasgrass]

Here we freakin' go again!! Made the "mistake" of trying to change a seat with less that 24 hours to go until departure. When will I ever learn!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! On hold now for 76 minutes, and at this point I just don't care! Just let me check in for my flight! Gimme the wheel-well seat!! I just don't care anymore!! Just get this flight over with, so that I can try AC for a while. There is NO WAY that AC can be this bad! OMG!!! Hey, WJ, why not claw back some profit-share and get a res system that works, before it's too late. Wow, I sit here in utter amazement.

Word to the wise, never thought I'd say his but, fly AC!! Really, I have had it with this B.S. that they purport will be "a great system, once we get the bugs worked out".!! Just got back from a WestJet vacation... that will be another post, but in a nutshell, word to the wise, bring your own food! DO NOT believe that they will have food, because they will not. Ran out of sandwiches after only 7 rows, not very happy bunch on the way to PVR, and NO FOOD AT ALL on the return flight... go buy a sandwich if you think you'll get hungry enroute. So, I'm guessing I'm gonna get hungry on a 5:32 flight! Duh!! And pay your Bell ExpressVu bills... system on and off more than a bride's nightgown!!! And PPV not working. Great! Hungry, no food, late departure, wait hours on hold. I would GLADLY pay for a REAL AIRLINE in this country that treats the passenger the way Max Ward used to. Anyone out there remember Ward Air? What a fabulous travel experience! No "cattle-car" philosophy with them!

Wow, WJ, I am in amazement...

UPDATE... Just got off the phone... 116 minutes!!!!!! They have "no idea what seat I am really in. Maybe show up 90 minutes prior to departure to get your seat confirmed". I have better things to do. I've done my last 90+ minute hold, without satisfaction, so I think that this is about enough for me. Best of luck, WJ, but off I go after this to the Red Team I think.

But, before I go, does Sabre come with a money-back guarantee?? Hahahah!!!!!

GreenAsGrass

[HavaJava]

I would GLADLY pay for a REAL AIRLINE in this country that treats the passenger the way Max Ward used to.
GreenAsGrass

Will you really? I wish that were the case, butI find that hard to believe.

When push comes to shove, (unless you are a business traveler) the lowest fare wins the day.

[greenasgrass]

Yup, really would. Time was airline travel had a certain "air" about it. I think back to when the fare of the day wasn't Bits n' bites and stale cookies. Are there really only two kinds of cookies in North America now?

Regardless, WJ has forgotten that the travelling public is what keeps them afloat. Maybe it's time to pass along the wake-up call to Mr. Durfy that while their passenger base is shrinking, AC's is growing. Doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure out why. I also notice that ALL the blame is being placed on their "new" Sabre system. Sabre isn't that new, been around a long time, and works for everyone but WJ. Maybe a conspiracy in the works? Didn't American Airlines sell Sabre to Air Canada a few years back? But, maybe I'm wrong... lol!!!! Now THAT would be pure poetic justice!!

WestJet maybe needs to set their sights on cargo, find a new use for all them empty seats!


G as Grass

[invertedattitude]

Wow Christmas should be fun this year

[Jastapilot]

with regards to the imported reservations, by Christmas, the vast majority of them will have been dealt with. By February, it should only be a distant bad memory for most of us, including the travelling public. We will and are doing our best to make it up to our guests, and we ask for patience and understanding while we adapt to a new system. The service dream is not over at Westjet, and we are already back on track and giving 1st class treatment to our guests just like we did before the changeover.

[sky's the limit]

The service dream is not over at Westjet, and we are already back on track and giving 1st class treatment to our guests just like we did before the changeover.

As I posted in the airlines forum a few weeks ago, I think talking about service and pulling it off are two entirely different things. WJ has a long way to go in the service department imho. My last three trips have not been good, and that's not to say there aren't lots of good people working hard at WJ, but sometimes even a team made up of good, well-intentioned people doesn't work as it should. Just look at the Canucks....!

stl

[Donald]

greenasgrass = AME 283 ???

[MacStork]

I do not understand aviation...... been in it for 44 years and I still do not understand it. I am beginning to think that understanding this industry is comparable to understanding a woman......it is not possible.
My aviation business sense is very basic and very simple.....but it works. When you step off a flight, you have two things ..... a receipt and a memory. If it is a good memory ...you will use that service again. If it is a bad memory, you will most likely try another carrier.
Air Canada has yet to figure this out. WestJet appears to be heading full throttle down the same road. But then this is only my simple opinion and what the F&*k do I know. I am just a dumb ass passenger that is expected to accept this shit.
Keep smilin' folks....it is a great little valley we live in and we are only going by here once.

[Conquest Driver]

I think SABRE is going to bleed Westjet, perhaps more than most people think.

I'm trying to remember some of the ancient history regarding one of the Canadian industry mergers. As I recall SABRE or AMR or American Airlines was prepared to make a highly dubious loan of 200 Million dollars, on condition that the Canadian airline switch to SABRE. Two hundred mil isn't chicken feed and it was even less so back then. So why do it? It appeared that AMR or SABRE was going to get their money back in a very short time, in SABRE fees.

I doubt those fees will decrease for Westjet. I doubt Travelocity is working for cheap and as I understand it Travelocity is now trying to assist in the Westjet reservations system. Travelocity is owned by SABRE.

The way things are going, AMR is going to have a pretty good stranglehold on Westjet.

You'd think that with a $52.50 fee to change a reservation, the call centre might actually be a profit centre. But I guess not right now.

[greenasgrass]

"Donald", Neg on the AME 283.

Sorry

[invertedattitude]

I think this forum is a little biased in certain areas on this subject

95% of the "WestJetters" on here are pilots, so they don't actually have to deal with any of the frontline booking issues like call centre agents and gate/counter agents have to deal with.

I'd be willing to bet the attitude towards Sabre's future is somewhat different from managment and the flight crews perspective.

I'm not saying flight crews are not affected, just not to the degree the front-line workers jobs are.

[gianthammer]

I for one would like to thank the WestJet counter individual that helped me change my ticket from one day to another, I was experiencing the Horror stories of others above. For a month I was trying to get through to change my dates from one day to another, and was at my wits end as I wasn't able to get through to anyone and had been on hold for hours at a time on a dozen occasions. So I went into the terminal and the ticket counter, the Gentleman there changed my ticket for no cost what so ever!!! Wow what a way to keep a customer, that jesture has renewed my faith in West Jet!!!

Thanks

[fogghorn]

I think SABRE is going to bleed Westjet, perhaps more than most people think.

I'm trying to remember some of the ancient history regarding one of the Canadian industry mergers. As I recall SABRE or AMR or American Airlines was prepared to make a highly dubious loan of 200 Million dollars, on condition that the Canadian airline switch to SABRE. Two hundred mil isn't chicken feed and it was even less so back then. So why do it? It appeared that AMR or SABRE was going to get their money back in a very short time, in SABRE fees.

I doubt those fees will decrease for Westjet. I doubt Travelocity is working for cheap and as I understand it Travelocity is now trying to assist in the Westjet reservations system. Travelocity is owned by SABRE.

The way things are going, AMR is going to have a pretty good stranglehold on Westjet.

You'd think that with a $52.50 fee to change a reservation, the call centre might actually be a profit centre. But I guess not right now.

I was told that ppl have been spending hours and hours on the phone to get nowhere in changing a res and if they do get hold of a human it's someone in India. Sounds like WJ really crapped the bed on this one and for a public company to get into this sort of mess is gonna cause heads to roll. Also, this economy is just not the time for such a screw up, why did they fix something that was not broke in the first place

[rightseatwonder]

FogHorn,

the old system worked fine you're right. But it limited the expansion of the airline in terms of code-shares, interlines etc. The move was supposed to go so much better than this of course. It seems the problem is the bookings made in the old system are not being decoded properly into the new one, so when those people have to make changes, call in to switch flights, try to go online to pick seats etc, the new system is having major trouble "finding" their info so it all has to be done manually. hence the major jam ups in the call centre.

The only light at the end of the tunnel is that a vast majority of the old PNR coded bookings will be done by mid december, and all done but feb.

As a Westjetter myself, Im sorry for the troubles. Hope we can make it up to you next time you have to go somewhere.

cheers,
RSW

[fogghorn]

Well, that would make sense then, guess by '10 they will be past this bump in the road.

[rightseatwonder]

Lets hope.
cheers,
RSW