Westjet Direct Flight Toronto to Kelowna (YYZ to YLW) Rules! (Security YLW Sux)

I had booked a direct flight on Westjet from Toronto (YYZ) to Kelowna (YLW) (see earlier post) and I want to go on record here and now as saying, for me, this is the best way to get from the East to the West!

The main reason I booked Westjet to Kelowna is I swore I'd never fly to Kamloops again via Air Canada. Westjet now flies to Kamloops (YKA) but it's a puddle jumper flight from Toronto. I like direct flights so I went to Kelowna and had a friend meet me there instead.

I absolutely LOVE being able to be out west in just over 4 hours! BUT, even better! On the outbound flight, apparently there were no headwinds or jet stream to fight or anything, and we landed 45 minutes early! (I can hardly keep from using all caps!)

This flying time HAS to be a record! We left Toronto on time (9:30 a.m. EDT) and about three hours into the flight, I realized that according our location on the seat back map that we were way further west than we should be, and ahead of our 4 hour-35 minute flying time.

(It's always a longer flight across Canada when going east to west due to jet stream, etc. When flying west to east, you can almost count on landing a half hour ahead of the posted time.)

Mind you, the flight speed was showing 699 mph to 712 mph (1125 mph-1146 kph) so I knew something was up, and we were at 40,000 feet for much of the flight. However, the top cruising speed of Boeing 737s is not this fast by a long shot, so perhaps the seat-back map reported kilometers per hour as miles per hour.

If not, we were in some super secret new plane, and I for one loved it!

Cabin crew confirmed we were indeed ahead of schedule, and all of us were happy. My flight (WS 631) outbound becomes WS 632 inbound, and the Ontario-based crew do a daily turnaround, so it behooves them to keep on schedule.

As we were going over the Rockies, I snapped this picture with my little Canon digital. That it came out at all is another miracle!

Canadian Rockies from Boeing 737 window

The time of day when I snapped this was about 10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (11 a.m. Mountain Daylight time).

A word about airport security:
In Toronto, airport security was pretty much as expected. Empty my water bottle (refill from fountain in boarding lounge), put jacket and purse and backpack on belt, and walk through the machine. No beeps, no probs. Small amounts of liquids in small bottles placed in a clear ziplock bag. Shown to person at entrance, and not to anyone else. Backpack opened after x-ray and operator ran wand over contents.

In Kelowna (sigh), airport security caught a beep from three dimes in my jeans pocket (had forgotten them) and also from my lipstick in a pocket -- the same lipstick I had in same pocket in Toronto -- I am a creature of habit. My watch beeped, my bra hooks beeped, my beltbuckle beeped and the female guard put her hand inside my waistband, on my own personal tummy skin, to check for Lord knows what.

I told her I usually get dinner and dancing first, but she was not amused. Then she had me take off my shoes. In all my travel days, I have NEVER been asked to remove my shoes. My beloved Chang Sha's are so unthreatening! I suggested that perhaps the settings on her little wand were too high by far. She said all standard. I said no way.

Anyhow, my theory is that these small airports get so much less traffic that they need to jerk passengers around just to keep from going blind with boredom.

My mom is flying Air Canada to Kamloops next month (see this blog entry), as she does each summer. She knows she will get her mid-80s person annoyed and hassled by Kamloops security. They have to be the most miserable crew I have ever seen anywhere. At least, the Kelowna security people were a bit nicer.

I can only imagine the impression given by these security dragons to first-time visitors to Canada. And no, don't tell me that they are keeping our airplanes and airports safe. Canada airports are a tragedy waiting to happen.

Anyone can walk into any Canadian airport without any sort of screening whatsoever. No one is watching what's in their bags, or checking to see if they have a ticket or are just bringing in some device likely to make a huge BANG!

In Addis, Ethiopia, in Bangkok, in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, in Hainan, China (likely more but that's all I can think of right now), anyone entering an airport is immediately screened, as is their luggage. (Heck, even the Addis Hilton screens like this!) No one gets in with any iffy packaging. Bags are tagged/marked that they have been screened.

Yet in Canada, they continue to allow anyone to wander in and around airports with impunity, all the while hassling the paying customers for bits of creams and gels and a bottle of water.

Okay -- rant over! Let me know your experience at airports and with Westjet / Air Canada. For my other posts about security, google security on this blog.

Update June 23/09
I totally forgot to mention the comfy seats on this plane! The pitch - distance between rows of seats, I believe - is about 32 inches - which is considerably more than many charter flights who try to squeeze us into 27 inch deep rows.

I' 5'8", and had a lot of room to stretch out. The fellow across the aisle said he's 6'3" and was doing just fine.

The seats are leather, and the head rest curves a bit to cuddle your head.

Treating passengers like guests makes a huge diff to customer loyalty and that's what Westjet seems to do very well.

And no, I am not a shareholder and yes, I paid for my own flight :-) (though I would be happy to accept flight coupons if offered)

West Jet to Kamloops B.C. New Route December 2008

Finally! West Jet will begin flying to Kamloops, B.C. ! That is the good news. Friends and relatives in Kamloops have been longing for the day that West Jet will come to town to give them a choice in air carriers. Finally! Yes!

The not so good news is the new route, via Calgary Alberta (YYC), is set to begin December 15, 2008. Though this date will undoubtedly gladden the hearts of Christmas travellers, it's a few months too late for the early September trip that my mom has planned.

The closest she can get flying West Jet to Kamloops (YKA) in September is to fly to Kelowna, B.C. (YLW) and either take the bus, or have someone in Kamloops drive down to meet her plane, and then take her back to Kelowna for the return trip. It's about a 2-hour drive each way, and a major inconvenience.

In any event, I went to the West Jet site to see what the current fares were for her September trip. Here's what I found: Total including taxes is $665.00 CAD, just as far as Kelowna (gas or bus fare to Kamloops is extra).

And then over to Air Canada to compare fares. I selected the Tango class (the cheapest) with no meals (you can prepay $6.00 for a meal/snack voucher). Total: $735.35 to Kamloops via Calgary.

Air Canada also flies to Kamloops via Vancouver, but this routing adds another 2 or more hours to total travel time as you retrace your route.

So as it stands now, mom will likely choose to pay the $70 fare difference and take Air Canada so she won't have to worry about buses or having someone transfer her to and from Kelowna. But come next year, she will most likely choose to fly Westjet. We'll decide once we see the routing, the fares and the planes. But if customer satisfaction counts for anything, West Jet should win the route hands down.

How to Get To Moncton NB from Toronto - Comparing Air Canada, WestJet, and VIA Rail

Update Moncton NB trip -- See Road Trip NB.
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I spent an enlightening half hour last night, looking for ways for my mom to get to the Canada Senior Games in Moncton New Brunswick (well, Dieppe, actually, but the same airport).

Mom had thought she would fly, as it's a short flight (about 2 hours) from Toronto (YYZ) to Moncton (YQM). Since I have the computer and the credit card, I checked flight times, availability and rates for her.

Off the top of my head, I thought it would be about $400 to fly, and that WestJet might be cheaper. I added VIA Rail as an afterthought, since I'd heard that travel from Toronto via Montreal to New Brunswick required a stopover in Montreal.

Here's what I found out:

WestJet flights from Toronto to Moncton leave at 7:30 a.m. or 8:20 p,m. The first (early) flight means mom would have to take a cab to the airport (about $45 from her home) as Mississauga Transit would not get her there in time for check-in. The later flight would mean arranging for a late check-in at her hotel in Moncton.

WestJet returns from Moncton to Toronto at similarly unsuitable hours for her: Departing Moncton at 6:30 a..m. or 11:05 p.m. The first is just inconvenient; the second more so, as she'd have to take a cab home after midnight.

Cost: $589.55, return, taxes etc included.

Air Canada Tango has lots of flights to and from Moncton each day, so I checked details on flights leaving around noon. The cost for round trip showed as $652.55, taxes etc. included. (Don't even THINK about getting free food on board! Bring a snack, as those available for sale at inflated prices are suited only to those in advanced stages of hunger.)

I checked for other, regional carriers and found CanJet. Their website shows they do charters only for tours, etc., so that's out.

When I last flew to Moncton about 6 years ago, I paid about $400, taxes in, return. Welcome to the wonderful world of fuel surcharges!

Not liking the prices I was being quoted, I went to VIA Rail's site, and entered the dates for a round trip, ticked the box that said 'Senior' and clicked 'go'.

The train trip from Toronto Union station to Moncton via Montreal takes just under 24 hours, so it's long, but no overnight in Montreal is needed (though if you had time, this would be a nice place to spend a few days sightseeing).

Departing at 11:35 a.m. from Toronto Union Station (an easy GO train ride costing about $3 from her home), it arrives in Montreal mid-afternoon, then leaves for Moncton a few hours later, reaching Moncton just after 6 p.m. the following day.

The return trip has similarly good departure times: Depart Moncton at 6:19 p.m., arriving Toronto Union at 5:30 p.m. the following day.

Cost for the round trip on VIA: Senior - $291.90 (the only tax shown is GST, and it's included in that price). If she upgrades one class, it will cost another $15 or so, but she can make changes to her ticket for a minimal fee.

This is the economy fare, with no sleeper or berth, just the coach seat reclined. Not conducive to the best night's sleep, but Mom, my daughter and I have slept on trains like this before and survived!

And, on a train, it's a ground level tour of the country, and easy to get up and walk around.

Since the train trip takes much longer, Mom would have to leave 2 days earlier than planned and therefore arrive one night earlier at her hotel in Moncton (cost for one night at hotel is about $100 CAD).

So here's her choice : Go slow, and save $300. CAD. Or go fast, and pay a lot more.

Guess which one she's booking? You got it. But Mom's not happy with saving a lot of money -- she wants MORE! She asks me to check out this thing VIA calls a 'Companion Fare', where the person travelling with you travels for free. She thinks she will get another competitor to travel with her, and so halve their costs.

I checked: VIA does have the Companion fare listed, but only for select, more tourist-destination routes, and Moncton isn't one of them.

Another option to get to the Canada Senior Games this August is to drive from Toronto, in a van with her fellow competitors. But relying on the schedule and vagaries of others is simply not reliable. Better to book VIA then cancel with a small penalty than not to have gotten a ticket at all.

Daughter Jen has driven to Saint John NB a number of times. Jen says it takes 4 tanks of gas, and about 16 hours, depending on traffic through Toronto and Montreal. The trip can be made in one long day, but it's best to stay east of Montreal for one night en route.

If you assume a tank of gas costs $100, then gas alone is $400 each way. Assume a hotel is $100 for the night, and the total return costs for driving would be $1,000-$1,200 CAD roundtrip. Divide by the four sharing costs, and it's $300 or so per person.

Makes VIA seem more than reasonable, doesn't it? Of course, gas prices could come in lower, and hotel prices could be slightly higher.

As for meals, you are on your own here. Simply too many variables to generalize. You know what you spend and what and where you like to eat, so budget for food, too.

And do post a comment if you can think of an alternative!

Winter Getaway Puerto Plata Dominican Republic

I've booked my holiday in Puerto Plata DR! Yes, it was on impulse, prompted by a very good (read Cheap -- under a thousand dollars, all taxes and single supplement included at a 4+ star resort) all-inclusive package from Toronto. Catch is, I have to be ready to travel in 10 days.

What started out as my comparing possible winter getaways to Turks and Caicos, Bermuda or Costa Rica turned into Puerto Plata. (See earlier posts for comparing air fares and Bermuda vs Turks etc. )

Bonus! This vacation package is on WestJet, a Canadian carrier with a good reputation. This will be my first flight on Westjet and I am looking forward to seeing for myself if the service is as good as others maintain.

I've been to the Dominican Republic but this time, rather than stay in Sosua, I want to check out the resorts at Playa Dorada (see Puerto Plata hotels, resorts), the large complex closer to Puerto Plata. This trip, I plan to take as many excursions as I possibly can in the all too short week I will be there.

I hope the whales aren't following their calendar as I arrive about a week before the start of the official whale watching season at Samana. I'm also early for the Cabarete Windsurfing Championships, and Carnaval. Taking my holiday a few weeks before these major tourism draws is likely the reason I was able to get such a good price for my trip.

This is a trade off I can easily live with.