Introduction

I’ve been meaning to try Westjet for quite a while now and finally, I found the time for it. It’s only been two months since I was last in Canada, but that was an unexpected visit.

Getting to the Airport

After breakfast at the Sofitel St. James, I return upstairs to my room to finish packing and check the traffic sittuation. The Heathrow Express and the Elizabeth Line are still not running and there are severe delays with limited service on the Piccadilly Line. Sometimes you really wonder how this country ever managed to build an empire… But I digress. I leave the Sofitel at 11h15. By the time I get to Heathrow it’s 12:47, two hours before departure.

Check-In at Heathrow Terminal 4

Westjet operates out of Terminal 4 in Heathrow. Their counters are located in Zone E, right next to the access point for security. There are two dedicated counters for Business Class passengers. I’m seen to straight away, and the ground staff are friendly and efficient. The agent hands me my boarding pass and gives me instructions for fast track security and then the lounge.

The Heathrow Terminal 4 Plaza Premium Lounge

Westjet uses the Plaza Premium Lounge opposite gate 10, which used to be the SkyTeam lounge. The place is very busy when I arrive, but empties quickly when Qatar’s A 380 service to Doha is called for boarding.

The views from the lounge are not bad, but visibility outside is fairly limited by the fog, so all I can make out clearly is the KLM B 737 parked right in front of where I’m sitting.

The lounge has an extensive selection of hot and cold dishes, but seeing as I had a fairly large breakfast at the hotel this morning, I just have something to drink.

Boarding

The flight is boarding from gate 14, at the eastern end of the pier. Sadly, this means that I’m unable to take even a single photo of my ride to Calgary.

Surprisingly, boarding for the 14h50 departure starts at 13h55. As I reach the gate area, they’re just calling Zone 1 forward for boarding.

The airbridge is attached to the L2 door, which means I need to make a left turn to access the Business Class cabin which is located between the L1 and L2 doors.

The cabin is kept in dark green colours that give it an elegant appearance. It’s also very spacious. Westjet has a classic reverse herringbone installed in its Business Class, but the pitch is much greater than on Air France KLM, for example. In the upright position, I am unable to reach the footstool when I stretch my legs.

Already at my seat are a pillow and a thick blanket in some velvety material that is immensely comforting and fluffy. What is noticeable about the seat is how much storage space there is, and how conveniently located it is.

I’m seated on 1K, which is the bulkhead. The B 787 is a very quiet aircraft, which is why you basically hear everthing that’s going on in the galley from 1K, even though the crew try to be quiet. On the up side, though, 1K feels very private because you have no neighbour.

From the stand at gate 14 I have an excellent view of the aircraft taxiing from Terminal 4 to the threshold of runway 27R for departure and of the arriving traffic on runway 27L. The touchdown point is more or less abeam our stand. When eventually we push back at 15h13, the cockpit informs us that, rather conveniently, there’s been a runway switch and departures are now on runway 27L, which gives us a very short taxi.

As soon as we lift off, we’re in the clouds, even before we pass Terminal 5. But shortly after, we break through the clouds into a gorgeous afternoon sky.

Amenities

The amenity consists of a small vanity kit by Herschel. It contains the basics like eyeshades, socks and earplugs, although I will say that the socks and earplugs have a nice, bright design. And I do wish the airlines would stop using those idiotic bamboo toothbrushes. They’re not fooling anyone.

The Crew & Service

The crew on this flight are just charming, so nice! I really wish more airlines made the effort to invest in proper selection and training for their crews. From the moment I step aboard, the crew are courteous and effortlessly make passengers feel welcome.

While we’re still on the ground, they pass through the cabin offering welcome drinks, in proper glass, as well as the menus. Then they take orders for the meal just as we start pushing back from our stand. Once we’re airborne, they start their service with the distribution of hot towels.

The Meal – Late Lunch

The meal service starts quickly once we’re airborne. I’ve ordered a Coke Zero, which is served with a choice of cashews roasted in spicy pickled dill or in coconut and sea salt. I have the ones with spicy pickled dill, and they’re very nice.

A short while later, the tray is delivered to my seat straight from the galley. There is no trolley service. For the starter I’m having the mezze of tabouleh salad, which is served with a flavourful muhammara and a zesty, creamy hummus and two small pita breads. Also on the tray are a warm bread roll, served with butter, a small bowl of cheese, and the dessert.

For the main course, I have the tortellini, which are just lovely. They are served in a divine tomato sugo that has a rich, tangy flavour.

The cheese is served with a handful of grapes. The orange cheese is a red Leicester and the white one is a goats cheese.

The raspberry cheesecake is okay. I think this is the weakest point of a meal, which is otherwise really nice. The raspberry is artificial in taste, while the lemon centre has an unpleasant eggy taste.

With the meal I drink Perrier. I finish off with a nicely presented mug of coffee that tastes surprisingly good for airline brew.

The Second Service – A Light Snack

The flight time to Calgary is just over eight hours and thirty minutes. I while away my time reading in my Kindle or snoozing, but not really sleeping. About eighty minues out of Calgary, the crew start preparations for the second service. They don’t turn on the lights or make an announcement. Instead, they just ask those passengers already awake if they would like to have the pre-arrival snack. Of course I do!

To drink I have a Coke Zero. The snack consists of two small, warm cheese and potato pies and a small bowl of fruit. The two pies are just lovely and hit the spot nicely. Granted, the presentation is not overly fancy.

The tray is quickly removed and I sit back and watch the world outside become temporarily bright again before evening eventually falls. The landscape below is fascinating. It’s completely flat and gives you an inkling of just how vast Canada is.

Arrival into Calgary

We land in Calgary pretty much on time and make a short taxi to our stand on the international pier. Westjet’s service from Paris and the Air Canada service from London Heathrow landed just a few minutes ahead of us. As we taxi in, a Discovery A 330 is being prepared to start pushback.

Immigration is quick and efficient. Thirty minutes after landing, I’m standing at the curb landside waiting for a bus.

Getting into Calgary

There are several busses that run to Calgary city from the airport. The bus line 300 takes you to the centre of downtown and only stops a few times on the way from the airport. The journey by bus takes about 50 minutes in good traffic. The more direct route by car would take about 25 minutes.

Tickets for the bus can be bought from the ticket machines at the bus stop outside the terminal. It’s only while I’m standing there idling, waiting for the bus to finally arrive that I realise the full extent of just how bitterly cold it is!

So, what about Westjet?

I love it! This was such a pleasant and refreshing experience. I’m not even sure where to begin. The cabin and seat are excellent. I’m still reeling from just how spacious the seat felt and how well designed it is. Westjet is very down to earth. The crew I interacted with on this flight were just genuinely friendly and unpretentious and obviously had a good grasp of their job. For example, as we taxied out in Heathrow, I could hear the two cabin crew on the forward jump seat chatting about what they had done on their day off in London. Then the cockpit announced “cabin crew, prepare for take-off”, and there was immediate silence, which is as it should be. But apart from that, requests were swiftly addressed during the service and everytime a passenger called for the cabin crew, they immediately responded. I also enjoyed the food. Westjet is clearly not aiming for haute cuisine but for offering a very solid product, both in terms of its hardware and software, and that, I think, they did exceptionally well on this flight.