Westjet seat selection

We just booked Kelowna - Calgary - Orlando and because we have kids (aged 4 and 6), they offered for us to pay to select seats (no thanks) or they could pre-select seats in the back 30 rows at no charge. I love that this is now the requirement.

OH yeah, that's what we refer to as "the WestJet Nursery"
 
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I fly on WestJet frequently - usually once or twice a month for work. You do not need to pre-select your seat. It's a cash grab. most airlines are doing it now. 24h before your flight, you check in on the app and can select your seats for free at that time. Provided everyone in your party is booked on the same reservation, they will already have you seated together somewhere. You can get into the app and change your seats, or just live with what you have.

Really, it makes no difference where you sit. They all get you there at the same time. I have a strong preference for window seat, exit row and have yet to not be able to get that on any of the flights I've taken. Just set an alarm for 10mins before your 24h check-in mark and do your online/in app check-in on time.

The ONLY seats that are "better" are the premium seats, and they're only better because someone isn't immediately beside you. There is no first class. There is no business class. Just get the Econo fare, it's wasteful to get anything else.
 
I fly on WestJet frequently - usually once or twice a month for work. You do not need to pre-select your seat. It's a cash grab. most airlines are doing it now. 24h before your flight, you check in on the app and can select your seats for free at that time. Provided everyone in your party is booked on the same reservation, they will already have you seated together somewhere. You can get into the app and change your seats, or just live with what you have.

Really, it makes no difference where you sit. They all get you there at the same time. I have a strong preference for window seat, exit row and have yet to not be able to get that on any of the flights I've taken. Just set an alarm for 10mins before your 24h check-in mark and do your online/in app check-in on time.

The ONLY seats that are "better" are the premium seats, and they're only better because someone isn't immediately beside you. There is no first class. There is no business class. Just get the Econo fare, it's wasteful to get anything else.
There is definitely some truth to this and if you're a single business traveler I'm not that fussed about where I sit (apart from the centre seat). And if you book as one family you will get seats together.

BUT I will disagree that it does make a difference where you sit. Rows 4-6 have more pitch than rows further back. We flew down to FLL in Row 10 and back up in Row 5 and you can tell that there is more legroom there. And the thing is, if you want to sit 4-5 people together up there it's unlikely you will get those seats once the check-in window opens, so my opinion is that you are better off "biting the bullet" and paying for those seats.

But to reiterate, if your primary concern is being seated together, then you don't need to pre-purchase seats.
 
The emergency row seats have more leg room and the seat in front does not recline. Hard to get for free however.
 


The emergency row seats have more leg room and the seat in front does not recline. Hard to get for free however.
Agreed. I've not been able to get one of those for business travel during the check-in window, although my business travel in the last 5 years has been quite light, so I'd defer to roxysmum as she has the much larger sample size to draw from.
 
I can't answer about family seating but here's a screenshot of what the actual cost for seats coming back from Orlando are, this is for the economy fare, but NOT the basic level, those are STUPID $$$$. Personally I'd never pay the fare that includes a bag and seat selection up front because again, far too $$$$. I'd rather pay the $30(I think that's the current price ) for one bag between the 2 of us and pick our seats at the 24 hour mark
View attachment 463100
We just pick our seats when we check in 24 hours prior. I refuse to pay $35-60 to pick a seat that isn't going to be much better than what I can get at check in. We are okay not to sit with each other if that's what happens but we don't have kids so it's not an issue. We usually fly AC because of points so we only do WJ occasionally (though I prefer them) and we generally manage to get seats together but, again, just 2 of us. Mostly the same experience on AC although DH is a something something level Aeroplan member and our seats are assigned when we book so that may not reflect the usual practice. I think they will try to seat families with young children together, but I wouldn't say that they absolutely do without intervention. I don't personally always rely on common sense and rationality coming into play automatically when it comes to airlines. If you do wait until check in to select your seats and you don't get them together, I'd ask at the desk or gate if they can rearrange if possible to at least not seat a child on their own away from a parent if you don't want to spend the outrageous fees to select.

By the way, West Jet doesn't charge you for seat selection as a family if your kids are under 12. Just call them.
 
Also, not sure why this happened, but I attempted to "select seats" for my flights a few days before I left on Westjet and it allowed me to select my seats for free. Up until this point, it had always given me a cost to book the adult seats and the kids were free. I couldn't select any of the premium seats, but rows 8 and back seemed to be available for no charge for all members of my party.
 


The westjet CEO was interviewed by marketplace about this. He stated no matter what a plane will not take off with a child not sitting next to their parent/guardian. He said you do not have to pay for this. Personally I don't see this as a money grab. They could let everyone pick the seats at time of purchase, but charge more for every seat, or they can make the people who care where they sit pay a higher markup ( like the do now). I think the current system works best. We choose to fly business class if available on the plane, if not we choose premium.
 
We just booked YVR to MCO with Westjet and didn't have to pay for our selected seats. Granted we are in row 15 one way and row 17 the other way but it was still free....which I found odd because I've always paid for seat selection (being a family of 4 I want to make sure we sit together and don't want to worry about getting all the seats we want at the 24hr mark). We are flying to Hawaii with them next month and paid in advance as there was no free option (except at the 24hr mark) so I don't know why we got seats for 'free' this time lol
 
Is this requirement to seat kids under 12 with their guardian just a WestJet thing or all airlines in Canada? I haven’t heard of it before but I think it’s great! We’re flying Air Transat in the fall and we got free seat assignments with them since our kids are youngish. I personally don’t care where we sit on the plane as long as we’re seated together. Actually if I can select I usually choose the back of the plane because if there are empty seats they’re likely to be back there! I hate paying for seat selection and we usually fly from the States since we live in a border town and I usually just gamble and don’t pay - we’ve been fine so far! I did pay on our last flight since we were returning from a cruise and wouldn’t be able to check in right at 24 hours. It was definitely more relaxing! 😉
 
I just did a mock booking and it was showing me free seats for row 10 back. 2 adults and 2 kids under 12.

also mentioned:


Family Seating
If you don’t see standard seats together now, don’t worry, you’ll still have options. Ask a WestJet agent on your day of travel about family seating.
 
Hello - can anyone share their experiences with seat selection on Westjet? In particular for YYZ - MCO, but I'm sure other routes are similar.

I don't mind paying extra for better seats, but I don't really understand how much I would be paying. The website says $5-$50 which is a pretty big range. Also I understand they will seat families together but do you have any choice (for free) as to where?

I know once I buy tickets I will see the actual costs, but debating whether the fare type that includes one bag and seat selection is worth it. Thanks!

Advanced seat selection is free if you are travelling with a child under 12. You just need to call WestJet. If you speak to someone especially helpful, they may just help those over 12 in your travel party sit with you as well.

I have a WestJet Mastercard and on top of the $99 companion fare per year, you get one free piece of luggage checked for everyone on the same reservation. This savings makes up for the yearly fee for our family of four.
 
I'm willing to pay more to sit closer to the front (not necessarily the premium seats) and always pre-book the seats. Whether I am arriving at MCO or arriving home, I hate waiting for 2/3 of the passengers to get off the plane before I have my chance. I'm anxious to get off as soon as we land.
 
Exit Row is not hard, I get it 90% of the time for free. This last trip, my aunt paid $140 to pre-select Exit Row Seat for both flights. My mom and I sat next to her for free ... as I checked in right at the 24 hour mark and got the exit row seats, both flights. (had to she told me she was going to pre-select, I would have told her to not do it)
 
Exit Row is not hard, I get it 90% of the time for free. This last trip, my aunt paid $140 to pre-select Exit Row Seat for both flights. My mom and I sat next to her for free ... as I checked in right at the 24 hour mark and got the exit row seats, both flights. (had to she told me she was going to pre-select, I would have told her to not do it)
Maybe it was because I was flying at Christmas and March break that the exit row seats were gone?
 
I just booked our tix YVR to MCO for this summer (nonstop!!! first time flying nonstop!!!) and was able to use the free seat selection for Family Seating - it came up automatically. In fact I think it's now applicable to kids 14 and under. Pretty well every seat was free, except for the first 6 rows or so (after Premium). Actually, I could have selected the pricier seats for the kids for $0, but not the adult one. I opted for all $0 seats and we are in Row 21 there and Row 12 back - not terrible. Family Seating on WJ
 
I don't pay to advance book my seat because I've had the plane swapped out too many times to bother. I flew the other week and the plane was grounded because of mechanical difficulties. I was put in a completely different seat at the gate when boarding because the new plane had a different configuration. My window seat was replaced with a middle seat. I wait until 24 hrs before the flight and just choose a seat without additional fee. Many unhappy passengers who will now have to contact the airline by email and request refund for the paid seat, extra leg room or extra wide comfort seat that never was.
 
I just booked our tix YVR to MCO for this summer (nonstop!!! first time flying nonstop!!!) and was able to use the free seat selection for Family Seating - it came up automatically. In fact I think it's now applicable to kids 14 and under. Pretty well every seat was free, except for the first 6 rows or so (after Premium). Actually, I could have selected the pricier seats for the kids for $0, but not the adult one. I opted for all $0 seats and we are in Row 21 there and Row 12 back - not terrible. Family Seating on WJ

Good to know that you don't necessarily end up at the very back of the plane!
 
I want to add another recommendation for the Westjet Master Card. We got it when it first came out over 10 years ago and we have likely saved more than $20,000 with it since between the companion passes and westjet dollars. We put everything on our card and pay it off fully each month. We have two kids and would travel back east from Calgary each year to visit in the summer and my husband and I both used a companion pass each for the kids. It has a $99 annual fee which pays for itself easily. It is a great card.
 
I have the WJ MasterCard too but have been thinking about giving it up. It would be much better if I lived in Calgary, but I’m finding that from
YVR, the prices are almost always higher than AC (enough to offset the companion voucher) and/or the flights are less convenient.
 

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