Comments on: WestJet Adds Fees the Right Way

By: Westjetter

Westjetter — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:15:55 +0000

WestJet Vacations offers Car, Hotel,Flight and Activity packages.

By: A.C.

A.C. — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:14:18 +0000

As long as it was tightly integrated in the purchasing process and wasn’t a pain in the a– for the consumer then I would be all for all of this. Why isn’t the admiral’s club day pass purchasing engine tightly integrated with the booking engine so that you can just click a checkbox at the time of purchasing tickets and the day pass automatically happens? (Er, maybe it is and I just haven’t noticed? My sight is bad and I’m in a rush, if it’s in fine print I ain’t seen it, lets blow it up people!)

By: CF

CF — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:50:36 +0000

Anon Coward – Sure, that’s one good example of what they could do. Obviously they’d need to set the fee at the right level for them to be profitable, but I’m sure people would welcome that opportunity.

I also like Air Canada’s idea for offering a fee that will make sure you’re taken care of even in a weather delay. That’s something no airline does now, so it’s an added bonus.

The airlines should do a better job of bundling air with hotels and cars. They can make good money off that, but of the legacies, I think Delta is the only one who has a shopping cart feature to let you book everything at the same time.

Let people pay for priority boarding or priority check-in if they really want it. They could go behind the elites so that it doesn’t anger anyone.

While you’re at it, start allowing people to pay for these types of things at the time of booking instead of forcing it to happen at the time of service. People would feel much better about paying a single fee up front.

By: Anon Coward

Anon Coward — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:39:55 +0000

CF, I am stunned to have to ask this because I thought I saw it coming. So what are your suggestions on what new services the US legacies can offer that would bring in new revenue?

Baggage delivery guarantee, pay an extra $25 and you get an automatic thousand if your bag doesn’t make it on time, no questions asked?

By: CF

CF — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:49:44 +0000

Thanks, Ben. That makes sense to me.

By: Ben

Ben — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:33:01 +0000

Just to clarify a point in the main article, you are able to select a seat at the time of booking for all fares, including seat sale fares. However, the seats at the front of the plane may not be available for those booking seat sale fares.

By: bryan in san francisco

bryan in san francisco — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:19:01 +0000

good point about “reduction of value”

By: DRG

DRG — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:28:36 +0000

AC’s fee for seat selection has creeped up to $24 one way. I only use for long-haul.

By: CF

CF — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:20:28 +0000

Oops, thanks Oliver. It’s any time after booking for $10. Sorry, it’s fixed.

By: Oliver

Oliver — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:12:57 +0000

> Now on WestJet, you will be able to reserve
> a seat any time prior to booking for $10

Booking? Or boarding?