If there's anything people can agree on these days, it's that flying sucks.
And between the delays and cancellations, extreme turbulence, and jets literally falling apart in the sky, it seems that some people have had about enough of flying experiences getting ostensibly worse instead of better.
Which may partially explain the online roasting of WestJet's new UltraBasic fare, where you can board the plane and that's about it.
Announced Tuesday, the new "no-frills fare option" doesn't permit carry-on baggage (unless you're flying overseas), has pre-assigned seats at the back of the plane, and those who select the fare will be the last to board the plane. They also can't collect WestJet Rewards.
Even then, an UltraBasic round trip from Toronto to Calgary at the end of June costs about $650.
Just so everyone is clear on this, the airline isn't trying to sell to a lower market. They're trying to normalize higher prices for standard fares. By itemizing the things that are normally included, they can pin values on all of them and then make it seem like a deal to "upgrade".
Oh man I had a friend that did the clothes thing. It was his first time flying and the didn't bother to learn or ask about carry-on stuff. He flew to visit his girlfriend's family wearing all the clothes he would use that week.
This is why having classes in transportation is bad. You are literally in the same vehicle, but companies are trying to convince people to pay more. The only way for this to actually work is to make the cheaper options suck ass.
Airlines have ended up with a business model that depends on them providing bad service.
Unless I’m going on a really long trip I never bring carryon. Just my small backpack with enough clothes for the trip (plus 2 socks and underwear). I feel like I should be given a cheaper [e] ticket for that.
Actually, you can put four passengers in a Chevy Suburban with a big V8 and they'll be polluting less to travel the same distance compared to doing it in a passenger plane, the shorter the trip the better as well because planes burn a shit ton of fuel for takeoff.