Review of WestJet flight from Calgary to Vancouver in Economy

Hello everyone, and welcome to the next chapter of my adventures in Western Canada!

At the time of our booking, we were scheduled on flight WS125, departing at 6:30 PM and operated by a 737 MAX 8. However, just a few weeks later, I received a notification informing us that we had been moved to flight WS127 at 7:00 PM on a 737-700, as the original flight was no longer available for our date. The layover, already planned to be long, ended up being over three hours. Here's the routing recap:

The flight report

The immigration process after our previous flight went really smoothly, with almost no one in line.

We then found ourselves in the domestic section of the airport (just 20 minutes after the photo taken right before immigration in my previous FR!). I had spotted beforehand the perfect spot to rest after our 8-hour flight: the WestJet Elevation Lounge, accessible to non-business passengers for $59 CAD (it is also accessible to passengers flying with other airlines for a slightly higher fee). Located in Hall B, we set out to reach it:

In terms of spotting, my first Canadian catch was this 20-year-old A320, heading to Vancouver:

The Calgary skyline is visible in the distance:

I had heard about this convenient mode of transportation in Calgary, the YYC Link, an electric shuttle system between terminals A and D (we arrived at Terminal E, the international terminal). Each terminal has its own little station, and it’s really handy when your legs are tired after a long-haul flight ^^:

I couldn’t help but enjoy watching these funny little shuttles come and go, so we spent a few moments watching them with my girlfriend :) :

However, we ended up walking to the lounge, where the gatekeepers at the entrance delivered bad news: the lounge was full, and unless you had a business class ticket, access was denied :(

We returned to our starting point in Terminal D, this time by shuttle! I had spotted a small, relaxing area earlier to pass the three-hour layover, but unfortunately, I wasn’t lucid enough at the time to take a picture of it ^^

After some good rest, we headed back to Terminal C, from where our flight would depart. WestJet tails are a common sight in Calgary:

We came face to face with this 737-800 equipped with split scimitar winglets, which will bein fact our plane for the next floght:

A signal system ensures safe crossing of the shuttle “road.” The light’s green — let’s go :) :

Here we are at the gate, which, as you can see, wasn’t exactly conducive to relaxation during the layover:

Boarding began perfectly on time:

Here, the jet bridge is sponsored by a Belgian financial group:

The "PlayStation moment":

And the traditional door moment:

The fuselage shot :

Entering the aircraft, with the premium seats in the front rows:

We settle into our seats by the emergency exits. Initially the flight was initially planned on the -700, which I haven’t flown yet. Fortunately our pre-reserved exit row seats were kept:

The beautiful blue sky on this side unfortunately won't reflect the weather to come during the flight:

The overhead panel feels quite dated, even though our aircraft is from 2012!

The instructions are well-lit by this yellowish neon, which definitely gives the cabin an aged look. But the seat is comfortable, especially in the exit row:

These square windows certainly don’t add a modern touch to our relatively young C-FWIJ:

Anyway, enough about that — after all this time, it’s time to eat. Here’s the modest meal I bought at the airport to complement what’s served on board:

We push back under the watchful gaze of these two 737-700s as if mocking us ^^:

The cabin is full:

Passing by an Air Canada hangar:

We let this compatriot pass:

The Calgary skyline, which will mark the final destination of our trip with many stops along the way from Vancouver:

Runway in sight…

And without transition, takeoff:

We quickly fly over the suburbs already seen a few hours earlier:

The Rockies made an early appearance:

But unfortunately, it will be the only views we’ll get before the clouds spoil the fun. Let’s take this opportunity to present the safety card, which will obviously obey the laws of gravity:

As well as the BoB, which is offered in addition to the standard service:

Here is the service itself, with a little extra from the crew:

Cheers to everyone:

The plane is equipped with universal and USB outlets, which is very convenient for charging my phone:

The sky remains capricious as we reach mid-flight near Kelowna, which will be one of our stops:

We arrive near Vancouver under a thick cloud cover:

This was the visibility for most of the approach:

The ceiling is very low, and we'll only see the ground quite late:

Landing:

Unfortunately, condensation almost immediately blocks the view, depriving me of a good shot of a Qantas plane, though you can barely see it:

And also a Fiji Airways plane, barely recognizable:

I won’t try to push further my spotting with what could have been an exceptional spotting session, so let’s move straight to the “everyone is up at the same time” moment:

We arrive in Vancouver’s domestic terminal, which is very pleasant:

It’s 7:42 PM (1 hour earlier in Vancouver), and we’re far from being the last flight at YVR. The two screen groups on the left show domestic flights until early morning, while those on the right display US/international flights:

All that’s left is to pick up the luggage…

Which we head towards quickly, as evidenced by the artistic blur in my photo ^^:

But a nasty surprise awaits us: my suitcase arrives fairly quickly, but my girlfriend’s doesn’t show up even after everyone else has left… which doesn’t bode well (noting that we didn’t need to pick up and check our luggage in Calgary). We head to the counter to report the missing suitcase… where the staff has no idea of its location (though they suggest “Honolulu” for some unknown reason ^^). The main thing is that we now have the lost luggage report paperwork.

The next episode of my girlfriend's suitcase adventures will be on the next FR!

Thus, one suitcase lighter and over an hour after our flight arrived, we go to pick up the rental car from Alamo, where we are absolutely alone at the counter — perhaps the only advantage of the time wasted at the lost luggage counter:

The day’s route:

Thank you for reading and see you soon!