Air Canada left with egg on its corporate face

[Pixelated]

WestJet rules!

I seriously hope that WestJet pilot not only got reimbursed, but also gets a nice bonus at some point. This was PR gold.

[Mr Hero]

How long before SC's start complaining about the wrong toppings?

[Rosco the Iroc]

The point it he did it to an Air Canada flight. That's the win. Made them look helpless.

[KuariKaydrith]

I'm already not a fan of Air Canada so the WestJet pilot's actions made my day! I can still remember when Air Canada got the bailout that Canadian Air didn't and just how many people were pissed off about it. Canadian Air was miles better in terms of customer service than Air Canada, but because Air Canada had government contracts they got the bailout while Canadian was forced out of business. To this day I go do anything I can to avoid flying Air Canada because they suck, and that started even before Canadian went under, due to a personal experience a great many years ago.

[Pixelated]

The point it he did it to an Air Canada flight. That's the win. Made them look helpless.

It was funny reading the Air Canada reps' attempts to acknowledge their shortcomings ... without actually acknowledging their shortcomings.

[lordlundar]

This is not a total surprise. WestJet's marketing is centered around their people being responsible for the company's success and them being a more relaxed company to the public. They also allow (and even encourage) air staff to, shall we say ad-lib the standard announcements you hear. A personal favourite that I heard of is this one:

If you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing. If you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em.

[Dreamstalker]

That's great.

Southwest does a similar thing with the preflight announcements...my favorite is "Our seats are perfectly fine, nobody needs to bring their sofa anymore although we'd all love to know how you got it through security" (calling out a few people who were trying to overload the overhead bins and holding up boarding)

[Jetfire]

Yeah, that is my airport that the flight was diverted to. The airport (like many airports) is outside of town, in a village called "Lincoln" who's sole raison d'etre is the airport basically. Most of the time the crews will fly in on the last flight of the day, go to a local hotel (which is only there to serve the crews basically) for the night, and then they fly out on the first flight in the morning. It's very likely the actual air crew has no idea how far away the actual city is, nor what it might have available for a late night food service. (Since this was a diverted flight). The airport itself only has a small independent cafe that is only open when out-going flights are scheduled, so there would be no food options available at the airport at that time.

But the city isn't that far (10-15 minute drive) away, and as the Westjet pilot pointed out, there are plenty of pizza places and other late night eateries available who would gladly deliver a largish order out to the airport for some hungry passengers. And the airport staff would also know where to order from as well. (Hell, they probably ordered from a place in Oromocto; a town on the other side of the airport with CFB Gagetown; so lots of late night options there as well and slightly closer than the city for the most part).

So yeah, lots of egg on Air Canada's face. I can cut the pilot and crew a bit of slack for being under extra stress due to the diversion and trying to figure out what to do next. But at the very least, they should've pushed the passengers off to local Airport staff to ask about local options. The Commissioner is always at the exit when flights come in, ready to help people call taxis and make sure everyone knows where to go. (And the exit is literally a few steps away from the luggage carousel; it's not a big airport. )