Air2Sea with WestJet and Seats

[LuCruise]

We are using Air2Sea for the first time for our December cruise.  The flight is Toronto to Fort Lauderdale.

Wondering if anyone has used Air2Sea and with WestJet and if so, have you been able to book your seats before you pay for the flight?  Our final payment isn't until October and since there are some unknowns with respect to our son at university, we are waiting a bit to pay for the tickets.  I have done a search on here and I think it may depend on the airline if they let you book seats before payment or not?

 

We did call WestJet directly and they said they can see the reservation but the tickets haven't been issued (until we pay) so they can't assign seats.  Anyone else have this?  Also just want to confirm that this is a true booking with the airline and they won't sell our seats if we wait to pay it off (until final payment or sooner).

 

Thanks.

[smokeybandit]

AIr2Sea can assign seats.

[LuCruise]

1 minute ago, smokeybandit said:

AIr2Sea can assign seats.

I called them back after talking with WestJet and they had no access.

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

Only on occaision have I found airlines would allow seat selection before Air2Sea does "final" ticketing, which they will not do until after final payment.

[Tlbecker1]

49 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

AIr2Sea can assign seats.

Not always.  I have booked Air2Sea many times and it varies.  Sometimes they can assign seats,  but you do have to wait with other airlines until the ticket is paid for and then you can call them directly or do it online.

[LuCruise]

2 minutes ago, Tlbecker1 said:

Not always.  I have booked Air2Sea many times and it varies.  Sometimes they can assign seats,  but you do have to wait with other airlines until the ticket is paid for and then you can call them directly or do it online.

Thanks. So it seems like WestJet is one that won't let you book seats until payment is made (or tickets issues from their perspective).

 

The booking is in place though, right?  i.e. these are booked seats that the airline won't sell to someone else?

[Tlbecker1]

2 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Thanks. So it seems like WestJet is one that won't let you book seats until payment is made (or tickets issues from their perspective).

 

The booking is in place though, right?  i.e. these are booked seats that the airline won't sell to someone else?

That is correct.  They have a block of seats set aside.  The final payment is made and you will be able to get seats.  Once that occurs from my experience you deal with the airline directly.  You will still receive any updates to any time changes or delays from Air2Sea.  I always establish a login on the airline and try to go online and pick my seats.

[klfrodo]

11 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

 

The booking is in place though, right?  i.e. these are booked seats that the airline won't sell to someone else?

The booking is in place. You will be flying that day.

No guarantee on the seats though. Your party could be split up in different rows with everyone in a middle seat.

Air2Sea is just a consolidator. The terms and conditions (and restrictions) were negotiated a couple of years ago. Air2Sea agreed to sell X number of tickets for a set cost to them. In return, the airline sets the restrictions (such as in your case no seat assignments until fully ticketed).

The tickets you purchased from Air2Sea are NOT the same tickets you would have purchased directly from the airline. Savings can be had, but there is a cost associated with those savings.

[Kathscof]

I believe my NON Air2Sea WestJet flights I had to pay for seat assignments, that also might be throwing a wrench into the process...

[LuCruise]

1 hour ago, Tlbecker1 said:

That is correct.  They have a block of seats set aside.  The final payment is made and you will be able to get seats.  Once that occurs from my experience you deal with the airline directly.  You will still receive any updates to any time changes or delays from Air2Sea.  I always establish a login on the airline and try to go online and pick my seats.

 

1 hour ago, klfrodo said:

The booking is in place. You will be flying that day.

No guarantee on the seats though. Your party could be split up in different rows with everyone in a middle seat.

Air2Sea is just a consolidator. The terms and conditions (and restrictions) were negotiated a couple of years ago. Air2Sea agreed to sell X number of tickets for a set cost to them. In return, the airline sets the restrictions (such as in your case no seat assignments until fully ticketed).

The tickets you purchased from Air2Sea are NOT the same tickets you would have purchased directly from the airline. Savings can be had, but there is a cost associated with those savings.

Thank you both. My concern with "no tickets issued yet" meant that WestJet could then turn around and sell the seats that we reserved.  Good to know we are fine.

Good to know too that Air2Sea will  send any updates on the the flight but to create a login with the airline once we pay. Thanks.

 

At least our kids are old that it isn't the end of the world if we aren't sitting together, but obviously not ideal, plus I need an aisle seat so I can stand up (back issues) and DH needs one to stretch his legs (as he is tall).  We booked with them more for the flexibility until our son's school dates are confirmed (although seems like he is fine based on what is posted).  I am also price watching but since it's Dec holiday time, that's not likely and cost has only gone up.

[LuCruise]

50 minutes ago, Kathscof said:

I believe my NON Air2Sea WestJet flights I had to pay for seat assignments, that also might be throwing a wrench into the process...

Yes that is true. Picking seats is generally a higher cost...as if refundable.  So Air2Sea definitely has its advantages.

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

1 hour ago, LuCruise said:

 

Thank you both. My concern with "no tickets issued yet" meant that WestJet could then turn around and sell the seats that we reserved.  Good to know we are fine.

Good to know too that Air2Sea will  send any updates on the the flight but to create a login with the airline once we pay. Thanks.

 

At least our kids are old that it isn't the end of the world if we aren't sitting together, but obviously not ideal, plus I need an aisle seat so I can stand up (back issues) and DH needs one to stretch his legs (as he is tall).  We booked with them more for the flexibility until our son's school dates are confirmed (although seems like he is fine based on what is posted).  I am also price watching but since it's Dec holiday time, that's not likely and cost has only gone up.

I'm not sure about WestJet, but most airlines allow you to establish login and can see your reservation, it just doesn't allow you to do things such as seat selection.

[RedIguana]

Westjet appears to be a "budget" airline. I don't fly often, and when I do it is usually Delta. The advantages of being within 4 hours of 4 Florida ports (technically 5, but only Carnival sails out of Jacksonville). However, Westjet is a Delta partner, so I have a non stop Vancouver to MCO flight in June on Westjet that I purchased for the ridiculous low price of 25K miles for 2 of us (12,500 each) plus Canadian taxes. The flight appears to have only two cabin types, economy and premium, with most of it being economy. As of this point, they want a minimum of $40 per seat to select seats in economy, with some being much higher. Seat selection must be made through the Westjet site, not Delta's, even though it is a Delta booked flight. First time I will not know my seat til check-in. At least they honor Delta's luggage policy for free checked bags and carry-ons. 

[RedIguana]

2 hours ago, LuCruise said:

At least our kids are old that it isn't the end of the world if we aren't sitting together, but obviously not ideal,

May end up the same way for my wife and I. I wonder who the unlucky passenger will be if they split us up? 🙄

[Ourusualbeach]

3 hours ago, LuCruise said:

Thanks. So it seems like WestJet is one that won't let you book seats until payment is made (or tickets issues from their perspective).

 

The booking is in place though, right?  i.e. these are booked seats that the airline won't sell to someone else?

Both are correct

[Ourusualbeach]

13 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

Westjet appears to be a "budget" airline

They are not a budget airline

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

11 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

They are not a budget airline

I would have to disagree, almost everywhere WestJet is described as:  "a no-frills airline, focusing on delivering low fares" , "low fare airline", "budget airline", "price concious airline" , "cheap flight airline" etc, etc, etc.

[Ourusualbeach]

7 minutes ago, Funky Fusion FoodsJ said:

I would have to disagree, almost everywhere WestJet is described as:  "a no-frills airline, focusing on delivering low fares" , "low fare airline", "budget airline", "price concious airline" , "cheap flight airline" etc, etc, etc.

Well the description certainly doesn't match what they are charging when you actually go to book them.  Just flew with the a few weeks ago and price them out all the time and typically they are the most expensive of Canada's 3 main airlines, but hey what do I know living up north here

[Kathscof]

38 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

Westjet appears to be a "budget" airline. I don't fly often, and when I do it is usually Delta. The advantages of being within 4 hours of 4 Florida ports (technically 5, but only Carnival sails out of Jacksonville). However, Westjet is a Delta partner, so I have a non stop Vancouver to MCO flight in June on Westjet that I purchased for the ridiculous low price of 25K miles for 2 of us (12,500 each) plus Canadian taxes. The flight appears to have only two cabin types, economy and premium, with most of it being economy. As of this point, they want a minimum of $40 per seat to select seats in economy, with some being much higher. Seat selection must be made through the Westjet site, not Delta's, even though it is a Delta booked flight. First time I will not know my seat til check-in. At least they honor Delta's luggage policy for free checked bags and carry-ons. 

 

 

I booked a Westjet flight via the Delta site (still cheaper than via Westjet including the seat selection price?) and I had to call Delta to get my confirmation to use on the westjet site (I was a bit antsy, I did it within a few hours of booking and that's why they didn't pull up when I used the delta number)......didn't want to wait on seat assignment I guess....

[LuCruise]

30 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Both are correct

Thanks for confining.

[LuCruise]

Tend to agree...WestJet isn't budget.  Prices are up there with Air Canada for us.

They seem to be tied to Delta as as booked WestJet last December, but ended up flying Delta.  They also often have the exact same flight times to obviously tied.

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

3 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Well the description certainly doesn't match what they are charging when you actually go to book them.  Just flew with the a few weeks ago and price them out all the time and typically they are the most expensive of Canada's 3 main airlines, but hey what do I know living up north here

LOL!  Maybe they're labled that way not for their pricing but level of service.

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

6 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Tend to agree...WestJet isn't budget.  Prices are up there with Air Canada for us.

They seem to be tied to Delta as as booked WestJet last December, but ended up flying Delta.  They also often have the exact same flight times to obviously tied.

They may be higher priced, but they are always listed as budget.  Maybe why people seem to not like them.  They've even been named the most hated airline in Canada:  https://www.narcity.com/canadian-airlines-among-most-hated-in-the-world-air-canada-not-one-of-them