15% of Flights Cancelled Through January 31

[DHC-1 Jockey]

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6300717

WestJet Airlines Ltd. is dealing with so many employees out sick with the Omicron variant that it is being forced to cut 15 per cent of its scheduled flights through to the end of January.

WestJet spokeswoman Morgan Bell confirmed via email that the airline has seen a 35 per cent rise in active COVID-19 cases among staff in recent days, with 181 employees currently testing positive for virus.

[imjustlurking]

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6300717

WestJet Airlines Ltd. is dealing with so many employees out sick with the Omicron variant that it is being forced to cut 15 per cent of its scheduled flights through to the end of January.

WestJet spokeswoman Morgan Bell confirmed via email that the airline has seen a 35 per cent rise in active COVID-19 cases among staff in recent days, with 181 employees currently testing positive for virus.

With nearly 50,000 cases reported today (some provinces didn't report over Christmas, so there are a few days worth of cases), it's no surprise that many people are being affected.

[AirportCoffee]

Good thing the company did not agree to MOA4 and felt that furloughing a further ~400 pilots would save money!

[ALPApolicy]

Good thing the company did not agree to MOA4 and felt that furloughing a further ~400 pilots would save money!

I'm conflicted on the MOA4 thing. On the one hand it put more money in my pocket but on the other hand I lost my jammy schedule of working three days a month.

EDIT: I am not sure where to begin or how to assess the causal factors in the mess that is these last two weeks. I understand that there is a marketing advantage in blaming covid and bad weather for the delays and cancellations but I wonder if management needs to accept some blame if there is blame there to be had. I think it is unfortunate that we don't have the new guy at the helm. I could see the top level adopting a "just hold the fort until the new guy gets here" mentality, but that is just me living in my head. As a pilot, I only understand my end-user position as the operator of the means of transportation. I have zero knowledge of or sensitivity to business realities. I can only press on and if I can't make things better, all I can do is try not to make things worse.

I still iron my shirt prior to each shift and usually have my shoes polished to a high degree and try to present myself as a competent and caring employee. But it is challenging right now, that's for sure. But I love my job. I like working in IROP situations because I feel very skilled at managing passenger expectations and also at keeping them informed. I take it personally when we as a company let them down.

The other morning our headstart flight was cancelled for various factors and for some passengers this was not their first delay or cancellation in trying to get to their destination. I wanted to email someone in management as did my FO but we agreed to wait 24 hours. And we did. As a result, I still have my job...

Things will get better. The Germans were voted as the most unfunny people in the world by the students at South Park Elementary a few years ago. I expect the new boss to be very serious and hopefully he will undertake a very thorough, very unfunny top to bottom analysis of what the hell is going on.

[imjustlurking]

Good thing the company did not agree to MOA4 and felt that furloughing a further ~400 pilots would save money!

I'm conflicted on the MOA4 thing. On the one hand it put more money in my pocket but on the other hand I lost my jammy schedule of working three days a month.

EDIT: I am not sure where to begin or how to assess the causal factors in the mess that is these last two weeks. I understand that there is a marketing advantage in blaming covid and bad weather for the delays and cancellations but I wonder if management needs to accept some blame if there is blame there to be had. I think it is unfortunate that we don't have the new guy at the helm. I could see the top level adopting a "just hold the fort until the new guy gets here" mentality, but that is just me living in my head. As a pilot, I only understand my end-user position as the operator of the means of transportation. I have zero knowledge of or sensitivity to business realities. I can only press on and if I can't make things better, all I can do is try not to make things worse.

I still iron my shirt prior to each shift and usually have my shoes polished to a high degree and try to present myself as a competent and caring employee. But it is challenging right now, that's for sure. But I love my job. I like working in IROP situations because I feel very skilled at managing passenger expectations and also at keeping them informed. I take it personally when we as a company let them down.

The other morning our headstart flight was cancelled for various factors and for some passengers this was not their first delay or cancellation in trying to get to their destination. I wanted to email someone in management as did my FO but we agreed to wait 24 hours. And we did. As a result, I still have my job...

Things will get better. The Germans were voted as the most unfunny people in the world by the students at South Park Elementary a few years ago. I expect the new boss to be very serious and hopefully he will undertake a very thorough, very unfunny top to bottom analysis of what the hell is going on.

There's a lot of hate for WJ right now... some of it is justified, but the company got screwed by weather and COVID in the past week or two.

With that said, the Onyx cuts during COVID hurt the brand and will continue to hurt brand image for some time to come.

[RoAF-Mig21]

How much of that "15%" is also due to "staffing issues" that affected them prior to this wave?

Toronto is having a big problem with ground support personnel. One of the examples is that I've waited, a few weeks ago, for more than an hour to get fuel.

[ALPApolicy]

How much of that "15%" is also due to "staffing issues" that affected them prior to this wave?

Toronto is having a big problem with ground support personnel. One of the examples is that I've waited, a few weeks ago, for more than an hour to get fuel.

I wish I knew the answer to that question. Cancellations and delays on a system wide scale quickly create cascading effects. A single flight, and all pilots know this, is not a single event. It affects numerous other facets of the organization. I know the more restrictive flight crew duty times have reduced the operational capability to a degree. Inexperienced contract CSAs and ground crew is another factor. Weather. Deicing equipment issues. The list goes on.

[RoAF-Mig21]

How much of that "15%" is also due to "staffing issues" that affected them prior to this wave?

Toronto is having a big problem with ground support personnel. One of the examples is that I've waited, a few weeks ago, for more than an hour to get fuel.

I wish I knew the answer to that question. Cancellations and delays on a system wide scale quickly create cascading effects. A single flight, and all pilots know this, is not a single event. It affects numerous other facets of the organization. I know the more restrictive flight crew duty times have reduced the operational capability to a degree. Inexperienced contract CSAs and ground crew is another factor. Weather. Deicing equipment issues. The list goes on.

Agreed. My observation is that the majority of the women and men that work at YYZ is that they are working very hard and trying their best to make things work. My hat goes off to 99.9% of them. Most of them have much harder jobs than I... watching the world from the right seat...

[imjustlurking]

How much of that "15%" is also due to "staffing issues" that affected them prior to this wave?

Toronto is having a big problem with ground support personnel. One of the examples is that I've waited, a few weeks ago, for more than an hour to get fuel.

I wish I knew the answer to that question. Cancellations and delays on a system wide scale quickly create cascading effects. A single flight, and all pilots know this, is not a single event. It affects numerous other facets of the organization. I know the more restrictive flight crew duty times have reduced the operational capability to a degree. Inexperienced contract CSAs and ground crew is another factor. Weather. Deicing equipment issues. The list goes on.

Agreed. My observation is that the majority of the women and men that work at YYZ is that they are working very hard and trying their best to make things work. My hat goes off to 99.9% of them. Most of them have much harder jobs than I... watching the world from the right seat...

The issues I have been having have been due to a lack of employees, not lack of motivation.

But not to fret... they will be beaten down without mercy over the course of the winter and we will be back to disgruntled underpaid ramp hands.

[QKZXKV]

250 hour Q4 pilots anyone?

[imjustlurking]

250 hour Q4 pilots anyone?

It'll look a lot like this, but a few rows forward.

[Airbrake]

This is an interesting take on the most recent events.

https://airpassengerrights.ca/en/covid1 ... ngs-hollow

[imjustlurking]

This is an interesting take on the most recent events.

https://airpassengerrights.ca/en/covid1 ... ngs-hollow

Oh yes, super interesting that someone will argue that we all knew that Omicron would infect 5 times as many Canadians per day.

I don't hear people demanding compensation for their late O-Train, SkyTrain, or TTC subway.

[sstaurus]

With that said, the Onyx cuts during COVID hurt the brand and will continue to hurt brand image for some time to come.

Ding ding. I worry the brand and product has been irreparably damaged thus far. I don’t feel bad for management. They made their bed and now have to lay in it.

[QKZXKV]

This is an interesting take on the most recent events.

https://airpassengerrights.ca/en/covid1 ... ngs-hollow

Oh yes, super interesting that someone will argue that we all knew that Omicron would infect 5 times as many Canadians per day.

I don't hear people demanding compensation for their late O-Train, SkyTrain, or TTC subway.

Yeah nothing more than a bunch of Gabor BS, because no one in the industry wanted to hire him.

[goldeneagle]

I don't hear people demanding compensation for their late O-Train, SkyTrain, or TTC subway.

Terms and conditions on a ticket are a two way street. If you are late for one of those, you can just get on the next one, they aren't going to keep your money and tell you to go pound sand.

Airlines on the other hand will do no such thing. Late for a flight, so bad, so sad, they will keep your money anyways. But the knife has to cut both ways.

[QKZXKV]

I don't hear people demanding compensation for their late O-Train, SkyTrain, or TTC subway.

Terms and conditions on a ticket are a two way street. If you are late for one of those, you can just get on the next one, they aren't going to keep your money and tell you to go pound sand.

Airlines on the other hand will do no such thing. Late for a flight, so bad, so sad, they will keep your money anyways. But the knife has to cut both ways.

LOL if any of the methods mentioned above ran at the same time interval frequency of airlines on routes. Yes you would have to buy another ticket... Trying to compare something that has a frequency of 5 mins vs 60 is a waste of time.

People complain too much in general about things because they want sympathy. Gabor has done nothing short of gaslight that for our industry.

[trey kule]

About WestJets management.

Stuff happens. It is how it is handled that is upsetting people.
A lady Acquaintance of mine got into one of the Westjet, delay, change reason, delay, new reason, cancel.
She is high enough up the food chain that she was able to get hold of a senior executive.
It was a short conversation. Apparently his arrogance and sense of superiority was just to much, and shepleasantly ended the conversation.

Then promptly sent an email to all their branches telling them Westjet was not to be flown on anymore. 7 figures a year of lost revenue for WestJet. Not because of the delays, but due to one senior executive, and a company guest service culture of not taking responsibility. When people are tired after delay after delay, cute is not going to cut it.
West Jet’s “ “ we are more popular” tweet is the epitome of detachment from their customers.

People will very soon be less forgiving and it will show.

Again. The delays are not is what is infuriating people as much as WJ’s treatment of them.
Need some of the old management back and the entitled ones out.

Sad that all Westjetters have to suffer

[ALPApolicy]

I have been here almost twenty years and lately I have been wondering if we are the baddies.

[imjustlurking]

I have been here almost twenty years and lately I have been wondering if we are the baddies.

You need a friend or a therapist to talk to. I don't think you'll find either here.