Making Your Brand UltraBasic

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WestJet used to be the darling of the Canadian airline industry. It's UltraBasic fare, which seems like a race to the bottom, changes that.

However, we now have a major air carrier in Canada offering people the worst seats on the plane, with no perks and those seats aren't even much of a bargain.

Race to the Bottom

I can remember when WestJet started up. New, brash, customer-focussed, inexpensive and fun. Where did things go so wrong?

Last week, without any fanfare (maybe for good reason), it unveiled UltraBasic fares.  They’re cheaper, but you can’t bring a carry-on item, you get a middle seat, no seat selection and load at the end. You have to pay through the nose for any seat or luggage upgrades.

Some have wondered on social media whether WestJet will start to charge for trips to the bathroom next.

To make matters worse, when you book a flight on WestJet, it now looks like the classic bait and switch. The lowest fare is no longer the Econo fare, it's now UltraBasic.

Late last week I got on the WestJet site and looked for a return flight from Calgary to Toronto. It looked like the cheapest flight to Toronto was on June 12 (only about $300), so I chose that as my departure date with a return exactly a week later. Both are mid-week flights, which are usually the cheapest.

I selected the Economy fare, for just under $300.

However, when I clicked View on the lowest fare, these were my options (below). UltraBasic was what I got for the Economy fare. The two other pricier fares both had Economy in their names, but were double the price.

If I wanted to pay for the type of WestJet trip I had in the past, which included a carry on, the cost wasn’t $298, but instead $585.

It was the same thing on the return. The lowest advertised fare was $301, but a step up from UltraBasic was $553.

The cheapest non-UltraBasic return fare to Toronto from Calgary was actually almost $1,140.

What has happened to the WestJet we used to know? Have prices doubled in the last few years?

The Bad Guy Isn't So Bad

All of a sudden, Air Canada is starting to look good – better than WestJet. For years we made jokes about Air Canada. People said Air Canada’s real slogan was “We’re not happy until you’re not happy” and things like that.

Now WestJet is the bad guy and Air Canada looks better by comparison.

It even took a dig at WestJet on social media, in a classic move of kicking a competitor while down. This is a screenshot of a popular Tweet the day after it was posted.

Porter Airlines followed suit by mentioning on social media that Air Canada has actually followed its lead by offering free beer and wine and wondered if it would use a racoon mascot next. Clever.

How Did This Happen?

I remember when WestJet was launched in the 90’s. It was the little airline that could out of Calgary. It offered friendly service and great prices for flights. Flight crews seemed like real people. They were introduced to us by their first names. Flight attendants told jokes, sang Happy Birthday at times and said things like “We’re going to get this Boeing going.” WestJet even had funny April Fool’s Day videos and heartwarming Christmas promotions.

Meanwhile, Air Canada seemed stuffy and bureaucratic. Why fly Air Canada when you could get to the same place on WestJet, pay less and have fun while doing it?

Somewhere though that started to change. WestJet is now owned by the Onex Corporation, which controls over $50 billion in assets. Bringing in more revenue is obviously more important to Onex than brand reputation.

Maybe this all goes back to when WestJet started to charge for checking a suitcase? Air Canada followed suit, but the writing was on the wall. WestJet was suddenly the same as Air Canada.

You actually might be able to trace the UltraBasic fares back to that decision to charge for checked bags. Boarding and deplaning have been a nightmare since, as travellers try to save a few dollars by lugging their own carry-ons aboard. I’m sure that at least 80% of them are bigger than what’s legally allowed, but the airlines rarely seem to bat an eye.

The UltraBasic fare may also accomplish something else we should have seen coming – putting an end to everyone dragging a suitcase onto the flight. With UltraBasic, you need to pay for a checked bag, so you can add an extra $100 to your trip to check a bag both ways. WestJet has made it clear you don't get a carry-on with UltraBasic and if you do, you have to check it and pay the price.

What I do know is WestJet’s brand took another big kick in the shins with the introduction of UltraBasic fares and suddenly Air Canada seems like the good guy.

Just when you didn’t think anything could get any worse, WestJet said hold my beer. Or in this case, hold my middle seat. You know, the one you get assigned at the back of the plane and can only get out of it by paying a huge upgrade. Hold that one.