With the holiday travel season upon us, WestJet is providing guests travelling across its network with helpful tips to navigate this busy time of year and prepare for a smooth holiday travel experience. Given the challenges the Canadian air travel industry faced last year over the holidays, WestJet has implemented a number of measures to improve the guest experience this year including the guest experience across all touchpoints of the travel journey with a strategic focus on digital enhancements, IT infrastructure management and operational resilience.
As WestJet prepares to transport approximately 1.5 million guests across its network this holiday season, the airline has prepared the following tips to help guests navigate a smooth travel experience this year.
Self-Serve
When and where possible, guests are encouraged to self-serve throughout their travel journey to minimize wait times and expedite their airport experience. This includes:
- Check-in online at westjet.com or using WestJet’s mobile app to save time at the airport and allow push notifications from the WestJet app to receive important updates and flight information.
- Utilize the Manage Trips function on westjet.com to self-serve in the event of a disruption, manage booking details, purchase baggage and select seats.
- Guests who check-in online will be automatically signed up to receive SMS text notifications, providing timely updates on flight changes as information becomes available.
Pack some patience
With millions of Canadians expected to travel through airports across the country over the next ten days, guests are encouraged to pack their patience this holiday season. To avoid lineups at airport counters, security and customs, guests can:
- Check the status of their flight and for any travel advisories before departing for the airport.
- Pre-pay for baggage and select seats online through Manage Trips.
- Check out WestJet’s Flight Guide for details on what to expect during their in-flight experience.
Guests travelling should also plan to give themselves time when getting to the airport. Guests travelling domestically are encouraged to arrive at least two hours in advance of their scheduled departure time, and guests travelling internationally are encouraged to arrive at least three hours in advance of their scheduled departure time.
Baggage
Knowing things like size and weight restrictions on all types of baggage and pre-purchasing baggage ahead of travel are just some of the ways guests can seamlessly manage their travel experience this year. Additionally, guest should:
- Pack essential items and valuables in carry-on baggage, such as medications and jewelry.
- Wait to wrap all gifts both in checked and carry-on baggage until arriving at their final destination.
- Remember that carry-on items items such as snow globes are still limited to CATSA’s liquids, aerosols and gel limitations.
Check travel documents
Ahead of their planned travel, guests should always check all travel documents to avoid any last-minute issues. When checking travel documents, guests should ensure that their identification for travel is not expired and that all names on itineraries and tickets match that on their identification. Identification requirements for domestic, transborder and international travel can be found here.
Have a very happy holiday and get travel ready
For more information and details on how to best navigate the holiday travel season visit WestJet’s Get Travel Ready Hub for information on baggage, travel insurance, health and safety and what to do in the event of a disruption.