Additional Details Regarding Westjet's Fare Class Realignment
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Additional details regarding WestJet’s fare class realignment In the late third quarter or early fourth quarter of 2018, WestJet will update our existing fare class structure and how we define our fare classes to better align with industry standards. At the same time, all our aircraft will move to a multi-cabin configuration. These changes will have an impact on your business and as a valued partner, we want to give you advance notice so you can start making any necessary preparations. To help get you ready for this change, we have outlined the following details below: OVERVIEW OF WESTJET FARE CLASS REALIGNMENT ...................................................................................................2 WHAT’S CHANGING ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 WHY WE’RE MAKING THIS CHANGE ............................................................................................................................................. 2 SAMPLE FARE STRUCTURE ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 NEW: OVERVIEW OF MULTI-CABIN AIRCRAFT .............................................................................................................3 WHAT’S CHANGING ................................................................................................................................................................. 3 WHY WE’RE MAKING THIS CHANGE ............................................................................................................................................. 3 SAMPLE CABIN STRUCTURE ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 SCHEDULE CHANGE DUE TO FARE CLASS REALIGNMENT .............................................................................................4 GENERIC WAIVER CODE FOR FARE CLASS REALIGNMENT ............................................................................................4 2018/2019 WINTER SCHEDULE CHANGE .....................................................................................................................4 ALL CONTRACTED PARTNERS ......................................................................................................................................5 HOW WESTJET WILL SUPPORT YOU ............................................................................................................................5 REPORTING............................................................................................................................................................................. 5 PARTNER CARRIERS .................................................................................................................................................................. 5 COMMUNICATION ................................................................................................................................................................... 5 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ................................................................................................................................6 WHICH FARE CLASSES ARE CHANGING FOR THE FARE CLASS REALIGNMENT? ....................................................................................... 6 WHEN WILL YOU PROVIDE THE EXACT DATE OF THE SCHEDULE CHANGE RELEASES? ............................................................................. 6 ARE YOU PROVIDING GENERIC WAVIER CODES FOR THE SCHEDULE CHANGE RELEASES? ........................................................................ 6 THE LATE THIRD QUARTER OR EARLY FOURTH QUARTER IS A BUSY TIME FOR MY AGENCY. CAN WESTJET CHANGE THE LAUNCH DATE? ......... 6 WHEN WESTJET UPDATES THE CLASS OF SERVICE(S) ON MY BOOKING, CAN I ACCEPT THE CHANGE(S) WITHOUT REISSUING A NEW TICKET? .. 6 WHAT IS THE FIRST FLIGHT DEPARTURE DATE MY CLIENTS WILL BE IMPACTED BY THE CHANGE? ............................................................. 6 SHOULD MY AGENCY CHARGE A PENALTY FEE WHEN PROCESSING THE SCHEDULE CHANGE? .................................................................. 7 WHAT WILL MY PNR LOOK LIKE AFTER THE FARE CLASS REALIGNMENT AND HOW DO I PROCESS THE SCHEDULE CHANGE? ......................... 7 1 Additional details regarding WestJet’s fare class realignment Overview of WestJet fare class realignment What’s changing To align with industry standards, we are restructuring all our fare classes and how we define them. • EXAMPLE ONLY: Today, C class for WestJet is our lowest Economy class of service. IATA and other carriers define C class as a business class of service. WestJet will align with the industry and redefine our C class as a future business class of service. • All other fare classes will also be updated. Why we’re making this change • By aligning our class of service definitions with industry standards, we will be easier to do business with. • There will be less confusion when you book with WestJet and/or our partner airlines. • Our fare classes will be more consistent with other carriers and IATA-defined classes. • Via classic availability requests, our fare classes will display in order of Business, Premium Economy and Economy in your GDS — highest to lowest. Sample fare structure Please note the chart below is a sample only. It does not include our full fare structure and is not based on a final product. Current fare class Future fare class Class of service and fare bundle examples examples Business class (TBD) N/A J Premium Economy (Plus) K W Economy (Flex) Y Y Economy (Econo) D K Basic Economy (Econo Lowest) Z E 2 Additional details regarding WestJet’s fare class realignment NEW: Overview of multi-cabin aircraft What’s changing Currently, WestJet sells Economy fares and Premium Economy fares. Our aircraft are sold as a single cabin, which we define as an Economy cabin containing both Economy and Premium Economy seats. In the late third quarter or early fourth quarter of 2018, all our aircraft will move to a multi-cabin configuration. Why we’re making this change • By introducing multi-cabin aircraft, we will be aligned with industry standard cabin structures and therefore more consistent with other carriers. • This will give us more inventory control over our cabins. In the event of an aircraft change, it will be less likely that your clients will be moved out of Premium Economy. • Currently, some systems do not show seat maps or offer seat selection ability. As part of this change, we will be working with these systems to display Premium Economy and Business Class cabins and have the ability to select seats. Sample cabin structure Please note the information below is a sample only and is subject to change. It is not based on a final product. Current cabin Future cabin examples Class of service examples (industry standard) Business class (TBD) N/A J Premium Economy (Plus) Y W Economy (Econo and Flex) Y Y Basic Economy (Econo Lowest) Y Y Aircraft type Future number of cabins Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner 3 Boeing 767-300 2 Boeing 737 MAX 2 Boeing 737-600, 737-700, 737-800 2 Bombardier Q400 (WestJet Encore) 2 Saab 340B (WestJet Link) 2 3 Additional details regarding WestJet’s fare class realignment Schedule change due to fare class realignment We must perform a full schedule change to update the newly defined class of service in your existing bookings. That means there will be a higher than normal volume of schedule change messages. All unflown flights will be updated in your bookings with the new class of service. In all cases, an even ticket exchange will be required to update the new class of service before your clients’ scheduled departure dates. Generic waiver code for fare class realignment To support this change, use the generic waiver code *WSFCR18* in the endorsement field. You may also follow WestJet’s regular schedule change process by adding SKED CHNG or similar into the endorsement field. Please use the appropriate process as approved by your organization. We will make this waiver code available on the TA resource site (westjettravelagents.com). For more details on the schedule change process, see the frequently asked questions section on page 7. 2018/2019 winter schedule change In mid-August, we will release our 2018/2019 winter schedule. We anticipate that this schedule release will be significantly smaller than the 2017/2018 release. We will provide more detail closer to the release. As the 2018/2019 winter schedule release and fare class realignment are taking place over a short period of time, we recommend that travel agents using the GDS (including already claimed bookings) take the following actions for winter schedule changes only: • Ensure your flight and inventory details are actioned when the schedule change is released. • Do not action your ticket unless it is required due to your client’s travel plans or your agency’s business practices. If you are required to action your ticket before the fare class realignment, use the generic waiver code *WINSKED2018* in the endorsement field to process the winter schedule change. • This process will allow you to leave your ticket in the original state until after the fare class realignment to minimize the need to process multiple ticket exchanges on the same booking. We recommend that travel agents booking via WestJet Agent (TA