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Edmonton International Airport (EIA/YEG)

David A said:
Well we are all used to getting screwed by Air Canada and WestJet over the years. Probably partly why there are now a couple of other airlines here now.

I can sort of understand not being AC's priority as they are more focused on the east, but the other one occasionally says some nice things and then it turns to crap.
Click to expand...
I think WS probably has good data which suggests it doesn't need to provide good service to Edmonton. WS is only concerned with filling planes from Calgary. It doesn't matter how big Edmontons market will become, because until airlines stop embracing the hub and spoke model, Edmontonians will always have crap transborder and international service. I would guess for every seat sold between YEG and YYC, there is at least an equivalent number of passengers that save money and drive to YYC. Especially families .... I know many friends and family who make the drive every holiday.
 
I realize the expectations of airlines, especially the existing duopoly in Canada are very low, but I don't feel "good data" ever really supports bad service when you are in a service business.

Again, this is exactly why we have other airlines now gaining a foothold in markets in Canada. WJ started and actually gained a lot of traction by being better than AC, but they now seem to forgotten what led to their success.
 
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Payd1964 said:
I think WS probably has good data which suggests it doesn't need to provide good service to Edmonton. WS is only concerned with filling planes from Calgary. It doesn't matter how big Edmontons market will become, because until airlines stop embracing the hub and spoke model, Edmontonians will always have crap transborder and international service. I would guess for every seat sold between YEG and YYC, there is at least an equivalent number of passengers that save money and drive to YYC. Especially families .... I know many friends and family who make the drive every holiday.
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Yes some choose to take the bus 🚌 from Edmonton 🇨🇦to Calgary Airport YYC & fly✈️out. Last time I was on bus between Edmonton - Calgary via Red Deer,I noticed about 10+ people get off at the (YYC Airport bus stop).
 
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Which bus stops at YYC? Last time I took the Red Arrow (admittedly about a decade ago for grad school) it went straight into downtown. Cause I'd much rather bus to Calgary if I had to fly out of there for some reason.
 
It was an Edmonton flight to Toronto that ignited this controversy with cramped Westjet seats.

The limited amount of space in the video, especially on a 4+ hour flight, is pretty sad.

calgaryherald.com

'Enough is enough': Viral video of cramped WestJet passenger sparks concerns about safety and passenger rights

A video showing a man struggling to fit into his seat on a newly reconfigured WestJet aircraft has raised questions about passenger safety.
calgaryherald.com calgaryherald.com

Making matters worse, a Westjet flight attendant accused of fat shaming a military vet.

globalnews.ca

WestJet passenger says he was ‘fat-shamed’ by staff on flight to Mexico | Globalnews.ca

It was a comfortable flight to Mexico for a Redcliff man and his wife on Christmas Eve — that is, until the final round of garbage collection.
globalnews.ca globalnews.ca

Nice work this week, Westjet.
 
ADob said:
Which bus stops at YYC? Last time I took the Red Arrow (admittedly about a decade ago for grad school) it went straight into downtown. Cause I'd much rather bus to Calgary if I had to fly out of there for some reason.
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They stop at YYC en route to Downtown. If I need a direct Eur/Asia where WJ goes, Red Arrow + YYC is a really nice option TBH.
 
TAS said:
It was an Edmonton flight to Toronto that ignited this controversy with cramped Westjet seats.

The limited amount of space in the video, especially on a 4+ hour flight, is pretty sad.

calgaryherald.com

'Enough is enough': Viral video of cramped WestJet passenger sparks concerns about safety and passenger rights

A video showing a man struggling to fit into his seat on a newly reconfigured WestJet aircraft has raised questions about passenger safety.
calgaryherald.com calgaryherald.com

Making matters worse, a Westjet flight attendant accused of fat shaming a military vet.

globalnews.ca

WestJet passenger says he was ‘fat-shamed’ by staff on flight to Mexico | Globalnews.ca

It was a comfortable flight to Mexico for a Redcliff man and his wife on Christmas Eve — that is, until the final round of garbage collection.
globalnews.ca globalnews.ca

Nice work this week, Westjet.
Click to expand...
And wait until Rouge gets back up to speed. I hear its seat pitches are just as inhuman.
 
Offworld said:
And wait until Rouge gets back up to speed. I hear its seat pitches are just as inhuman.
Click to expand...

Westjet has the shortest seat pitch among any Canadian airline - the distance from one seat to the next.

Sections of WJ now 28 inches.
Smallest on Flair, AC is 29 inches.

Westjet execs called the space "acceptable", when trying it out.

"WestJet pilots believe this reconfiguration erodes the guest experience and devalues our brand," said Jacob Astin, who chairs the WestJet contingent of the Air Line Pilots Association, in an emailed statement.

He noted that Transport Canada had approved the change, but said it nonetheless "reduces the superior safety margins of previous layouts due to increased cramping."

 
TAS said:
Westjet has the shortest seat pitch among any Canadian airline - the distance from one seat to the next.

Sections of WJ now 28 inches.
Smallest on Flair, AC is 29 inches.

Westjet execs called the space "acceptable", when trying it out.

"WestJet pilots believe this reconfiguration erodes the guest experience and devalues our brand," said Jacob Astin, who chairs the WestJet contingent of the Air Line Pilots Association, in an emailed statement.

He noted that Transport Canada had approved the change, but said it nonetheless "reduces the superior safety margins of previous layouts due to increased cramping."

Click to expand...
We all know this is about trying to make as much money as possible by squeezing in as many passengers in as possible.

Obviously, passengers don't want this, the airline staff doesn't want the problems this is causing and will cause, only the executives and owners of Westjet want this.

However, there comes a point where people do not want to be squeezed any more and I feel the push back here is because we are at that point.
 
I flew on one of the new WS reconfigured planes back from YVR after New Years. I’m not even a big guy and those seats are just awful. I can’t imagine flying to Toronto, Mexico or anything over 1 hour in them.

Maybe I’m just petty, but if I have to pay for a more comfortable seat (Flex Economy or whatever they call it), I’ll just fly AC. Even Flair has a more comfortable basic economy seat than WS does now.
 
Unfortunately, I will be flying using WestJet at the start of February to LA and returning to Edmonton VIA WestJet from Vancouver at the start of March. Perhaps this is my opportunity to take an aisle seat, where I usually take window seats.
 
Statistics Canada has published the latest data on screened passenger traffic. These are passengers passing through security screening, not a count of all passengers.

Worryingly, Edmonton was one of only two airports in Canada to post screened passenger lower than November 2019 (-0.9%). The other was Ottawa (-4.9%).

Screened trafficJuly 2025 August 2025 September 2025 October 2025 November 2025
Total passengers 344,780353,557296,857304,936276,582
Domestic sector passengers 304,933312,421260,647258,631211,817
Transborder sector passengers 32,43732,76028,66934,67732,584
Other International sector passengers 7,4108,3767,54111,62832,181
 
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