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.

  • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    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”.

    • Beaver@lemmy.ca
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      5 months ago

      Whaaat you don’t like high prices and poor service?

      The propagandists said Air Canada would be better off privatized.

        • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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          5 months ago

          And America is RIGHT THERE to show them otherwise, and still they pitch that to their slobbering crowd of knuckledraggers.

          • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            It isn’t about providing health care, it is about generating profits while pretending to care about health care.

  • 8ender@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    The other thing WestJet has been doing lately is charging you full price for a ticket and then shoving you on one of the cramped former Swoop planes.

  • TheHarpyEagle@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    God damn it’s so stupid that we fill plans front to back just so people can feel special about sitting down first.

    • rab@lemmy.ca
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      5 months ago

      Front is the best so you can get off the plane immediately

      I never understood why people dick around with their bags after a 10 hour flight, I want to get the fuck out immediately

      • alyth@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        I’m the opposite. I’ve already spent 10 hours so what’s another 15 minutes waiting for the corridor to clear up.

        • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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          5 months ago

          Yea, my partner has mobility issues, so we tend to wait until most of the other people are off before trying to get canes out and the deplane without the stress of being in front of people pushing to get off.

      • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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        5 months ago

        If you’re the type who immediately stands up and blocks everything, then you’re definitely on the list of flying gripes; sorry to say.

        Boarding back to front, windows-in, was definitely really cool when I was on a plane with that rule.

        A way to lock the overheads and publicize that info would go a long way, I think.

  • Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de
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    5 months ago

    So… You wear 10 layers of clothing, and shove everything else into a CPAP bag? (Medical things are often excluded)

    • MutilationWave@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      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.