| Travelonly with Kevin Visser |
| Travel tips, specials, news and insider information… |
WestJet is making some serious moves these days, and they don’t seem to be slowing down. Just a few months after signing a code share agreement with low cost pioneer Southwest Airlines, they have announced a similar agreement with AirFrance-KLM. Read the USA Today Article here. WestJet loves Travel Agents, so be sure to contact me to book your next WestJet flight!
Some crazy stuff happened last year year in the airline industry - I came across this article on the 10 Strangest Airline Stories of 2008, and thought you might find it entertaining!
Westjet drops Fuel Surcharges
In response to dropping fuel costs, WestJet has done the unthinkable and removed the the recently added fuel surcharges. Now, that’s refreshing! While the major US legacy carriers continue to add on fees and remove service while wallowing in self pity, our very own (not so) ’little Canadian airline that could’ does the right thing and continues to win more fans and stay profitable while doing it. Nice.
Why else should we love WestJet?
Zoom Airlines was grounded on Thursday, as the recent spike in fuel prices was too much to handle for the 
popular discount airline. Operations are suspended immediately, and all flights are cancelled, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
Customer funds are covered by TICO (the Travel Industry Council of Ontario) for Zoom flights booked with an Ontario Travel Agent.
HERE is the Reuters report on the story
Computer viruses are an unfortunate reality in the highly connected world we live in, and they are often spread through e-mail attachments. The main way to combat those viruses is to simply delete the e-mail without opening the attachment. The problem is that the dredges of the computer world are getting more creative, so it is often far from obvious when an e-mail is a phony.
Rising fuel costs are forcing airlines to become more efficient, to add ‘fuel surcharges’ to their flight prices, and to get very creative in cutting costs. This means that they are eliminating or charging for things that we have taken for granted in the past, such as snacks, pillows, and even luggage!
| Check out this classic video from the Carol Burnett Show, also featuring Tim Conway and Harvey Korman. Maybe it’s not as far off from reality as it was in the 60’s! I do think that the most successful airlines know the value of customer service (and of not tossing passengers out of airplanes) though! Enjoy!! |
Or how about this more recent (and shorter) interpretation of airline gouging from MAD TV:
