This is an old thread started by me. Is WestJet still a good choice?
Thanks again,
Nancy
Not sure where you are from, Nancy. It would be useful to have your location in your profile. I am therefore going to assume you are not Canadian, since all Canadians are certainly aware of WestJet. Did you not end up using them on your previous trip? If so, nothing has changed much in the last three+ intervening years, anymore than with any other airline: more charges for things that were free, shorter pitches and less comfortable "new" economy seats in the same aircraft.
To put things in perspective, WestJet is Canada's second largest airline, after Air Canada, and offers both domestic and international service. As with any airline, it has customers that have had both good and bad experiences, although generally it is considered to have above average service compared to many other airlines. However, as Crafty71 points out, that bar isn't that high these days!
I have often flown WestJet, but more often fly Air Canada. I have been fortunate to have had some exceptional service from both airlines and even more fortunate to have never had a terrible experience with either. Overall I give better scores to Air Canada for equipment choices, comfort (seat) choices outside of standard economy, food service and obviously number of flight options, but that is only my personal experience. I do give WestJet the edge for overall customer service.
They have finally started making some strides in their upgraded seat classes. Their 737s are now finally getting proper business class seats for their front section and their new 787s are replacing some of the 767s on longer transoceanic flights and even have a first-class-style, lie-flat bed section.
So as others have stated previously, WestJet is a good airline and whether you use them will be more determined by whether they fly to where you are going and the cost of the ticket.