meepmix

Yeah, it wasn't screenshot above, but the email does say last to board.

aerobod

This was never more than a typical Michael O'Leary stunt, that then caused various memes and outrage that wasn't based on reality: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/char...-boss-1.716921

Social media and other similar sources propagate such crap information.

YVR Cockroach

Ironic/funny thing is that Mad magazine devoted a few pages to future airline charges - one of which may have been pay toilets - when U.S. airline deregulation first started way back in the '70s. Wish I could retrieve that to see what's come true.

smilee

Look on the bright side, with the inclusion of onboard luggage, Member Exclusive fares can now be easily distinguished from Basic Fares

I am not opposed to unbundling and actually quite enjoy the fare options on many ULCC in Europe - as for me I often just have carry on, but prefer to pay for just a seat upfront for quick boarding/exiting and an extra empty seat next to me. In fact I have had many Easyjet / Ryanair flights that have been more comfortable that a BA / Lufthansa intra european flight. Especially on a short 1.5 hour journey between countries.

What I really wish Wesjet would do is provide a better search option for non-basic fares so I could search and select easier without needing to click through the fares/departures.

PJLukasik

My booking made a few weeks ago has updated with a nice confusing message. I saw the banner on the main page about prior terms being honoured, but given my experience in the last 12 months with WS I don't trust that at all.

cgyroof

So, if you have Military, Silver status or a WestJet credit card... what does that mean for bags if you buy an Ultra Low ticket?

aerobod

They already stated in the email that WS card holders with a free checked bags allowance would be able to use that allowance with UltraBasic, but no carry-on. I expect the same for the other categories that are eligible for free checked bags.

1111aaaa

Many fares are higher with ultrabasic today than they were yesterday under basic. What a ripoff!

WestonC

• Carry-on bags: Carry-on bags are not permitted unless you are travelling on a transatlantic or transpacific flight, or if you purchase Extended Comfort for all flights in a single direction, including connections. Personal items that fit under the seat in front are allowed, and you can check a bag in advance with your free checked bag benefit.
  
  This is very confusing. If you purchase an UB fare, you cannot pay to select your seat is how I think it reads. But this line says you can bring carry-on if you purchase EC. It almost reads like unless you purchase EC you cannot bring a carry-on with any fare. it's a very confusing line. Or am I not reading it properly?
  
• EDIT - I dug down into the terms and it does say you can pre-purchase a seat. I guess that means you can pay for UB but then pay for the EC seat. I'm still confused LOL

YYCNoob

You can pre-purchase a seat with UltraBasic fare and you can pay for an extended comfort seat, but unless ALL of your seats in one direction are purchased EC seats (except TATL and TPAC), you won't get a carry on bag.

WestonC

Will be interesting to see the difference in paying UB and then EC. The last 4 of 6 flights I flew this past week, I was seated in EC but the person beside me was on a Basic fare and just didn't select a seat and they were seated in EC. All so interesting.

trtcttcgo

All for unbundling fares. Why pay for something you aren't going to use. However, I feel like they'll just changed Basic to UltraBasic without a corresponding decrease in price. Ultrabasic fares should be priced similar to Flair. Instead, it seems like it's making Basic worse to try and upsell customers to the higher tickets.

Da_Master

So flights to Europe and Asia are not affected as you're still allowed to bring a carry on. But what if you connect via Calgary from someplace else on UB ticket where carry-on is no longer allowed? Do you get it free because your final destination is Europe/Asia or lose this 'perk' because you're not flying direct out of Calgary? One would think you'd just pay for the first segment, but that's not an option and if you're checking your bag in and paying for it, might as well have it checked through to your final destination in Europe/Asia.

I was also under impression this new fare class would cost a tiny bit less when compared to Basic, instead they replaced existing basic and kept pricing the same, which is not exactly what I had in mind when reading CEO's interview about making travel more affordable to Canadians. Seating people on the same reservation separately on purpose if they don't pay for seat selection seems to be a new low for WJ and something that really leaves a bad taste in my mouth...

aerobod

Looks like UltraBasic on WS for YYC to YYZ in July is competitive with Flair, if not a bit less in some cases:

WestJet for July, YYC-YYZ:

Flair for July, YYC-YYZ:

tcuhrc

I'm not sure honestly (though I'll make a guess below), but I guess it's very Alexis to make this change, then think that sending this email is a great idea, and proceed to do all of that.

I think they have never been good at monetizing seats in the front of Economy (both Basic and Econo seats assigned at check-in are often not bad, perhaps because advance seat selection fees are quite high?) and I don't think this will help them much tbh if people continue to not widely pay to select seats in advance.

Logically (and in line with what other airlines like UA for example do), UltraBasic (honest name I guess, but...) the entire ticket should follow the intercontinental segment's baggage rules, so free carry-on, but I wouldn't be surprised if WS's systems can't deal with this properly at first/some point. Also, there is no reason for them to make UB cheaper than Basic if they still think they're competing against AC (and price match AC), because the whole point of these basic economy fares is to get people to pay more to avoid how punitive they are. That being said, I'm slightly surprised at how punitive this is - this is the most punitive fare option in Western Canada (since Flair allows changes and cancellations for a fee) except for Porter's cheapest fare (Transat and Canada Jetlines (lol) as well for Canada), so I wouldn't be surprised if WS is planning on way fewer people booking UB than Basic (which I've always done on shorter routes since Econo had few advantages over Basic if not going for status, and I don't value WS status). Personally, I'm more concerned for whether AC will see this as a green light to match, but that's beyond the scope of this forum.