WestJet to Europe

Yes, I would say WestJet is akin to a budge airline. I don't know if it's any worse. I've flow on WestJet, but only to/from Canada and US, not anywhere else.

WestJet is not a budget airline. It is Canada's 2nd largest airline after Air Canada. It's my airline of choice and I highly recommend. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner it uses for overseas flights is fantastic. I am surprised it is by far the cheapest, you must be looking on a good day, as with most airlines prices change daily. We paid $1050 Canadian per person for our flight from Calgary to Rome last April.

Allan is correct that Westjet is not a budget airline. From watching comment threads here, fares for folks in the US just generally seem cheaper on comparable routes/airlines. I assume that factors such as exchange rates and taxes make a difference.

Periscope

I beg to differ with you. I only fly Westjet because I accrue Westjet dollars through my cc. I have flown within Canada and overseas. Yes, they don’t fly to each European destination 365 days of the year, but there are a lot of flights to choose from. As Allan says, their Dreamliners are fantastic. Certainly not a budget airline.

I’m surprised by your loyalty to Air Canada. With the recent bad press from numerous human rights infractions and poor responses from the airline, I find them a national embarrassment.

I would add that from Vancouver, depending on time of year and airline, some of the European airlines don’t fly 7 days a week either. Plus AC doesn’t have as many Vancouver-Europe routes as those are covered more by Toronto and Montreal while we cover Asian routes. AC goes daily to London and I believe Frankfurt all year round.

I loathe Westjet. They aren't quite a budget airline, but they are pretty close to it. Their seats in Economy are very squishy and uncomfortable (and I'm not a large person). They are also rarely on time going to/from Europe.

That said, I often have to fly with them, because there aren't a lot of other options where I live. They get the job done, even if the experience is sub-par.

If they have a good price, and if you can afford Premium Economy or Business Class, take it.

PLUS, they rarely offer daily international service to the same
destination so if the equipment goes mechanical you may be left high
and dry.

For the OP's situation from May through October, Westjet has direct flights to Rome 5 days/week. And while it does not have an alliance they do have codeshare agreements with multiple airlines flying to Europe including Delta, KLM and Air France.

Their seats in Economy are very squishy and uncomfortable (and I'm not
a large person).

I'm 6'2", 210lbs and have never been troubled in Economy.

Might as well chime in as the 3rd from Calgary!
I think you may be benefiting from the current conversion rate with Westjet, as the Canadian dollar has now dropped to a paltry 73 cents US.

We use Westjet a lot due to Calgary being such a hub. When booking watch the different categories. For basic fare you will pay quite a bit extra to book a seat, and you cannot cancel. The Econo fare says that you can make changes, but they charge $100 ( CDN) for each change. Econo flex is the best, but you will then pay more. If you feel you can splurge with your US dollars, premium is fantastic.
We flew premium to Rome last year and sat with the regular folk on the way back. The food was also much better in Premium!

Disclaimer: i have not flown Westjet.
A poster I got to know this spring booked Westjet Portland to Rome for RS 14day Europe tour. The day of the flight, Westjet cancelled the only flight that day. And rescheduled them for the next day. They lost their free day before the start of the tour. Because it was too late to cancel one day of their hotel, they were charged as a no show. It was a lot of stress for first time travelers to deal with. Travel insurance reimbursed the hotel.
My attitude is sometimes cheap isn’t worth money saved. Hope your experience is better than hers.

Horsewoofie, it is challenging when that happens. In Canada, west of Toronto, we just don’t have the options all of you in the US have with more airlines and flight options. If I was flying to Paris from Vancouver on Air France on a Wednesday and that flight was cancelled, I’d be waiting until Friday for their next flight. They might be able to put me on KLM to Amsterdam but in high season, these flights are quite booked up. Western Canada is a small market for Europe and a larger market for Asian destinations. The challenges aren’t unique to WestJet.

Claire, thanks for explaining. As busy as PHX is, there are few direct flights to Europe. American and British Air sometime fly non-stop to LHR. Condor during summer might fly direct to FRA. All others have a connection somewhere in the US.

Lots of interesting information here! The WestJet one way to Rome is $500, everyone else is $1000. We will be returning out of Frankfurt back to Seattle, which apparently WestJet refuses to do, so that might make my decision for me. From what I've seen trolling through airline websites, round trip, even if multi city, is cheaper than two one way tickets.

I have no dog in this fight, but WestJet certainly began as a low-cost air carrier and I still think of them as that. You can Google or read up its history on Wikipedia. They’re like Southwest in a way.

Being second largest airline in Canada doesn’t make them necessarily not a budget airline though. Ryanair is huge.

Per Wikipedia, WestJet announced in 2018 that they are moving to become a full service airline. Then more recently:

“On June 16, 2022, WestJet announced that it will be reaffirming the airline's commitment to "embracing its cost-conscious roots in service of affordable air travel for Canadians". With this in mind, the current CEO has announced that the airline will be returning to its low-cost roots, shifting its focus to western Canada, and investing in leisure routes. This change resulted in numerous routes and destinations in eastern Canada to be dropped. (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WestJet?wprov=sfti1# )”

We live in Calgary and fly internationally with them 2-3 times per year, and have for years. In fact, we are in Italy now, having flown direct to Rome and returning direct from London Heathrow. The Dreamliner is fantastic being quiet and comfortable. We reserve exit seats as I am tall. From Calgary prices are good for direct flights to Europe, when compared to other airlines. I read a few months ago that many USA travellers are choosing WJ from Calgary due cost and routing. We have never had a lost bag, had reasonable service, and the flights have departed on time with only minor exceptions. We do have a Westjet World Elite Mastercard.

I guess some of this comes down to semantics. I think of a budget airline as like RyanAir where there really are few or no ‘perks’ and the price corresponds to that. Westjet offers Business Class (in an equivalent form to other major carriers) on a number of its flights including to Paris CDG which to me is a characteristic of a full service airline. Having daily international flights to specific destinations is highly variable even with large carriers.

Westjet has always focussed on being ‘affordable’ as a bit of a shot across the bow to Air Canada because Westjet has had the luxury as a younger airline to not have to have routes on essential but expensive routes within Canada such as to the north.

WestJet Business class seats in July from Seattle to Rome are $2000 one way. Compared to other airlines, that is very low. It's tempting, but I'm galled at the idea of paying for business class for my 4 year old, who will probably insist on sleeping with me anyway. What price being ready for a lot of traveling and a traditional Italian family wedding, though?

We've booked flights from Portland to Rome (and back) for next spring on WestJet. They were several thousand $'s cheaper than other options for us. The CAD/USD exchange rate also really, really helped there.

I'm a bit nervous about flying with them, but on the flip side we flew to Milan last year on United which also only has 1 flight/day on the route we took (through Chicago). I think from the West Coast US you have to pick your poison in regards to costs and flights. Iceland Air is a big favorite from PDX to Europe, but you run the risk there of cancellations as well with only 1 flight/day.

I'm a bit nervous about flying with them,

My opinion only, but if you're happy with what you get on United, you'll love WestJet. My airline preference in order; WestJet, Delta, Air Canada, United, with American a distant last. Never flown Alaska or Southwest.

Yeah, I don't think there's much to be worried about regarding WestJet. They seem to have a good/good enough reputation. The one thing to consider is if they'll be able to re-book you on flights that occur in a timely manner given that they are not part of a alliance. However, they do partner with other airlines like Delta so probably is ok. WestJet isn't some fly-by company.

It's been a while since I've flown WestJet. I do know that United economy slimline seats are terrible for international travel. They have almost no cushion and is very hard on the tush. I bet WestJet's seating is better.