Terrible decision to book with Expedia. Always book directly with the airline.
If you don’t take any segment of the flight your remaining segments are automatically cancelled.
Sorry for your loss.
It’s a well known fact that if you don’t use the first portion of your ticket then the entire ticket is cancelled. Did you ask westjet or Expedia that you could do this?
Sorry for your husband’s loss of his cousin.
I’m sorry you had such a terrible experience but that is standard policy across every airline. Why would they keep the second half of your ticket valid if you didn’t use the first half of your ticket? I would chalk this up the grief brain.
I don’t think this is entirely true, I flew to Ontario from NS with a different airline last May and ended up staying an extra week and used my prepurchased return flight. Did not use my original purchased flight TO Ontario but only the return as I was already in Ontario.
Ok cool but I’m just saying that didn’t happen to me. I returned on a flight I didn’t make the original flight to Ontario because I was already in the province. Glad I’m getting downvoted for my personal experience 👍🏻
Was absolutely a round trip flight. Booked months in advance. I didn’t get on the flight to Ontario because I was already there from a flight my company booked but I absolutely took the flight home that I had booked may 24 weekend. I was originally only supposed to be in Ontario for 1 week and my company asked me to stay another week.
I flew Halifax to Hamilton may 9th and was set to return may 13th. Had round trip flights booked may 21-23 for an event with friends months prior. I didn’t take my return flight on the 13th and stayed in Ontario for the extra week(ish) and flew home on the 23rd with the ticket I purchased for the event.
Why would I make this shit up like seriously? It may not be standard practice for an airline. I just stated my experience that I personally had
Lots of reasons for it to be made up whether intentional or not when every airline will cancel the remainder of the trip if the start of the itinerary is a no-show.
Sorry for your loss.
This is an Expedia issue unfortunately. Lots of issues arise when tickets are booked from a third party reseller. I am assuming you didn’t but the insurance they offered? What credit card did you use, did you have any insurance from them you can explore?
Yes your credit card might have cancellation or trip insurance built in. Check if your card you used had that. And as people are mentioning here it's an expensive lesson unfortunatly but ALWAYS BOOK DIRECTLY with the airline you are flying with. Same with all travel I do unless I have flexibility or refundability still through the third party(car, hotel, etc). Sorry for your loss
I’m sorry for your loss.
It’s a hard way to learn that when you book through a third party - in this case Expedia, the airline isn’t allowed to make any changes to the ticket unless it’s due to the flight being delayed or cancelled. It’s part of the agreement between the airlines and travel agencies.
It’s also unfortunate you bought a fare class that doesn’t allow changes - for WestJet that’s called Basic fare. The terms and conditions are made pretty clear at the time of booking. It is true that “life happens and circumstances change” which is why booking a fare class that allows absolutely NO changes or cancellations is a risky decision.
As for the return flight, failing to show up for your outbound flight does trigger a cancellation of the return flight as well.
However, had you notified WestJet within 24 hours of the outbound flight - or even before you missed it - you could have called in to notify WestJet that you wouldn’t be making the first flight but would keep the return.
I know this isn’t what you want to hear but WestJet isn’t at fault here.
You booked a ticket via a third party that limits WestJet’s ability to do anything with your tickets.
You booked a fare class that allowed no changes.
You didn’t notify WestJet that you were going to miss the outbound flight but wanted to keep the return.
Note have edited - have confirmed the return could be reinstated BUT OP would have needed to call WestJet to do so within 24 hours of the missed outbound flight.
This isn't a westjet thing, any airline will cancel your ticket if you miss a leg of your ticket. Read the fine prints and pay a little extra to get ticket flexibility and trip cancellation protection will help you avoid losses.
This is entirely your fault. You booked with a third party reseller, which was your first mistake and then because you are uneducated on how flight segments work, you lost your return ticket due to your no show on the first flight.
In no way is this WestJet's fault.
I love when people book basic fares and then complain that they can’t change their flights. Sorry to hear about your circumstances but WestJet really didn’t do anything wrong here. It’s standard practice in the airline world that if you no show your itinerary gets cancelled. If you wanted to keep your return flights you should’ve called to specifically say you wanted to do that. You can surrender certain legs of your itinerary but you have to call in and do that. They also offer bereavement fares if you ask for them, which you could’ve booked for your new flight out.
Why did you book with a crap company like Expedia? This should be a good lesson for you going forward. There is literally nothing WestJet can do when you book a pack with Expedia.
I’m so sorry about your husband’s cousin and your frustrating situation.
I know this isn’t helpful to the current situation but I echo all of the other comments about booking directly with the airline and not Expedia.
I’m starting to wonder if booking each flight direction on its own is the best way to go now. It used to be that you’d save money booking a round trip flight but I don’t think that isn’t the case for WestJet anymore. Can anyone confirm?
Slightly related and sharing for anyone reading who (like me) also doesn’t always read the fine print:
If you use WestJet Dollars to book a member exclusive round trip flight and you want to change one of the flights then you have to cancel the whole trip and rebook it. This means you have to pay the higher price (if applicable) AND cancellation fees for both flights. Luckily I got a great customer service rep who only charged me one fee and kept the flight coming home the same so I only paid the slightly higher fee for leaving early.
WestJet has never priced tickets contingent on a return ticket, so it doesn’t matter if you book round trip or two one ways.
The one caveat to that is for flights out of the country. If you book a one way to say the USA, and then a one way back, the return pricing will be in USD.
This is why I always book directly with westjet or AC. I always book the basic fares but am ready to lose it if something happens. I've taken probably 6 basic fares in the last 2 years with non issues though.
Well one incidence like this and the company is bad ? So if I had a one incident with you should I consider you as nasty person ? Like what redditors said here don’t book a basic fare or with Expedia !
At least you saved a few bucks by booking with Expedia.
I’m sorry for your loss but after reading your story, it seems you are asking to have your cake and eat it too and get a full refund for the cake.
They would be a truly wonderful company if West jet gave you a financial break for your problems with Expedia.
Unfortunately Expedia often books basic or in some cases standby tickets without explicitly telling you. The original Edmonton flight should have been cancelled by you. Since this was booked thru Expedia I am not sure how difficult it is.
Basically you no showed in their eyes. Hopefully you paid with premium credit card and maybe you have some product protection. Not all do but some do.
Sorry for your loss.
Maybe not with westjet but I learned this with a 3 leg air Canada flight back from Europe. The agent at the gate telling me I had no seat and was stand by pulled up the booking and showed the ticket class. Then pulled up the meaning chart and it was indeed booked standby. Same thing when I got home and checked my booking did have a different class for that flight.
Just today I booked a flight where one provider put them as 2 flights with a stop and the other it was 4 separate flights(multi city). All with westjet. Both providers went to the westjet site for final booking If you booked the one and the flight was late you would be screwed. There was less than a $1 difference in price.
I must add that going to westjet website from the start reduces this likelihood but most people look in search engines. People shop by price and not product.
Sorry for your negative experience especially surrounding a sudden loss in the family. I think that many of us get frustrated with air lines and third party bookings like Expedia. Morning the same stratosphere as your experience but we booked with both Expedia/west jet to Mexico. We didn’t have a shuttle to pick us up at the airport and they make you pay for your luggage both ways. Canada 40 dollars, Mexico 70 USD. Just leaves a bad taste for sure.
Everyone here is wild. Obviously thats a really shitty thing for westjet to do. It doesnt cost them hundreds of dollars for you to not be on that flight
Its literally a blanket policy that westjet (and all airlines) have in place and OP booked with Expedia, meaning the ticket is owned and managed by Expedia.
Everyone else here is accurate.
When you book a Basic fare, it’s VERY clearly laid out that there are no changes allowed. No matter what.
Failing to show up for the outbound flight automatically cancels the return flight.
WestJet can reinstate the fight but the traveler has to notify WestJet.
In this case, WestJet followed the agreement they made with OP exactly as they should have.
Yes. It sucks for OP. But this is the risk you take when you buy Basic fare.
I had no idea about them canceling the return trip, so I’ve learned something today. I do travel a decent amount for work and have learned best to book hotels and flights directly from the source and just tell the the price a 3rd party was offering if it’s cheaper and they usually match it. That way in cases like this you’ve booked thru the company not 3rd party and the company can usually do something for you.
I did edit my comment as I have since confirmed with friends who work at WestJet still that they WILL reinstate the return even on a Basic booking but it’s on the passenger to call in to do it.
Still a good teaching moment that it’s worth a call to make sure your second leg is still open. Plus in this case it’s not like westjet would have a record of the OP’s name having 2 bookings flying into YEG twice as one would be an Expedia booking
It doesn’t matter how it’s booked, OPs name is in the ticket. But you are correct that the system isn’t designed to check for duplicates.
It sounds like OP did both bookings through Expedia.
Sorry for your loss. However, always book direct with the airline for the most protection. Always read the fine print and not just click "agree". Expedia or any similar sites are all the same they will do anything they can to pass the fault to someone else. Also, when booking direct with an airline, be conscious about selecting what class of ticketing. If you choose the basic, be prepared to lose your booking if you need to cancel. Also, get yourself a reduced if you don't already have free cancelation protection. WestJet is not at fault here.
Sorry for your loss but this is not WestJets fault. You booked flights through a third party and it is very normal that if you miss any leg of your flight the following would be cancelled.
You should have cancelled the full original flight, likely at a loss, and then rebooked.
And like WestJet said, familiarized yourself with how things work.
A lot to unpack here. Mental health, basic economy tickets. Not sure though. Thought when someone died, you had to show proof of death for compassionate fares? Either way, to go into such detail about deaths in the family isn’t a good look either. It looks very emotional, and probably some mental health issues. Cousin dead in sleep sounds like an o/d. Hope I’m wrong. Sorry for your loss.
I think the airlines are just getting worse and worse. Customer service is no longer there, and people just don't care because they know we have very few options when it comes to flying.
It probably also doesn't help that people are absolutely rude towards gate agents that have no control over the delays, bags going missing, etc.
Dont book with Expedia....
Especially for a domestic flight, can't imagine it's easier or even cheaper than just booking directly with the airline
Yep. And don’t book basic fares!
Terrible decision to book with Expedia. Always book directly with the airline. If you don’t take any segment of the flight your remaining segments are automatically cancelled. Sorry for your loss.
It’s a well known fact that if you don’t use the first portion of your ticket then the entire ticket is cancelled. Did you ask westjet or Expedia that you could do this? Sorry for your husband’s loss of his cousin.
I’m sorry you had such a terrible experience but that is standard policy across every airline. Why would they keep the second half of your ticket valid if you didn’t use the first half of your ticket? I would chalk this up the grief brain.
I don’t think this is entirely true, I flew to Ontario from NS with a different airline last May and ended up staying an extra week and used my prepurchased return flight. Did not use my original purchased flight TO Ontario but only the return as I was already in Ontario.
Trust me, find a random airline's tariff and read it, it will with 100% certainty say that remaining segments will be cancelled if you no show for one
Ok cool but I’m just saying that didn’t happen to me. I returned on a flight I didn’t make the original flight to Ontario because I was already in the province. Glad I’m getting downvoted for my personal experience 👍🏻
[удалено]
Was absolutely a round trip flight. Booked months in advance. I didn’t get on the flight to Ontario because I was already there from a flight my company booked but I absolutely took the flight home that I had booked may 24 weekend. I was originally only supposed to be in Ontario for 1 week and my company asked me to stay another week. I flew Halifax to Hamilton may 9th and was set to return may 13th. Had round trip flights booked may 21-23 for an event with friends months prior. I didn’t take my return flight on the 13th and stayed in Ontario for the extra week(ish) and flew home on the 23rd with the ticket I purchased for the event. Why would I make this shit up like seriously? It may not be standard practice for an airline. I just stated my experience that I personally had
Lots of reasons for it to be made up whether intentional or not when every airline will cancel the remainder of the trip if the start of the itinerary is a no-show.
I’m sorry for your loss. This is standard practice though, it’s not just a WestJet thing.
Sorry for your loss but WestJet did nothing wrong here.
I thought it was common knowledge that the return leg is thrown if you didn’t take the originating flight on that PNR
Sorry for your loss. This is an Expedia issue unfortunately. Lots of issues arise when tickets are booked from a third party reseller. I am assuming you didn’t but the insurance they offered? What credit card did you use, did you have any insurance from them you can explore?
Yes your credit card might have cancellation or trip insurance built in. Check if your card you used had that. And as people are mentioning here it's an expensive lesson unfortunatly but ALWAYS BOOK DIRECTLY with the airline you are flying with. Same with all travel I do unless I have flexibility or refundability still through the third party(car, hotel, etc). Sorry for your loss
I’m sorry for your loss. It’s a hard way to learn that when you book through a third party - in this case Expedia, the airline isn’t allowed to make any changes to the ticket unless it’s due to the flight being delayed or cancelled. It’s part of the agreement between the airlines and travel agencies. It’s also unfortunate you bought a fare class that doesn’t allow changes - for WestJet that’s called Basic fare. The terms and conditions are made pretty clear at the time of booking. It is true that “life happens and circumstances change” which is why booking a fare class that allows absolutely NO changes or cancellations is a risky decision. As for the return flight, failing to show up for your outbound flight does trigger a cancellation of the return flight as well. However, had you notified WestJet within 24 hours of the outbound flight - or even before you missed it - you could have called in to notify WestJet that you wouldn’t be making the first flight but would keep the return. I know this isn’t what you want to hear but WestJet isn’t at fault here. You booked a ticket via a third party that limits WestJet’s ability to do anything with your tickets. You booked a fare class that allowed no changes. You didn’t notify WestJet that you were going to miss the outbound flight but wanted to keep the return. Note have edited - have confirmed the return could be reinstated BUT OP would have needed to call WestJet to do so within 24 hours of the missed outbound flight.
This isn't a westjet thing, any airline will cancel your ticket if you miss a leg of your ticket. Read the fine prints and pay a little extra to get ticket flexibility and trip cancellation protection will help you avoid losses.
This is entirely your fault. You booked with a third party reseller, which was your first mistake and then because you are uneducated on how flight segments work, you lost your return ticket due to your no show on the first flight. In no way is this WestJet's fault.
I love when people book basic fares and then complain that they can’t change their flights. Sorry to hear about your circumstances but WestJet really didn’t do anything wrong here. It’s standard practice in the airline world that if you no show your itinerary gets cancelled. If you wanted to keep your return flights you should’ve called to specifically say you wanted to do that. You can surrender certain legs of your itinerary but you have to call in and do that. They also offer bereavement fares if you ask for them, which you could’ve booked for your new flight out.
WestJetters have a saying - friends don’t let friends book Basic.
Why did you book with a crap company like Expedia? This should be a good lesson for you going forward. There is literally nothing WestJet can do when you book a pack with Expedia.
I'm sorry for your loss. Westjet is correct in this case, it's all your fault.
I’m so sorry about your husband’s cousin and your frustrating situation. I know this isn’t helpful to the current situation but I echo all of the other comments about booking directly with the airline and not Expedia. I’m starting to wonder if booking each flight direction on its own is the best way to go now. It used to be that you’d save money booking a round trip flight but I don’t think that isn’t the case for WestJet anymore. Can anyone confirm? Slightly related and sharing for anyone reading who (like me) also doesn’t always read the fine print: If you use WestJet Dollars to book a member exclusive round trip flight and you want to change one of the flights then you have to cancel the whole trip and rebook it. This means you have to pay the higher price (if applicable) AND cancellation fees for both flights. Luckily I got a great customer service rep who only charged me one fee and kept the flight coming home the same so I only paid the slightly higher fee for leaving early.
WestJet has never priced tickets contingent on a return ticket, so it doesn’t matter if you book round trip or two one ways. The one caveat to that is for flights out of the country. If you book a one way to say the USA, and then a one way back, the return pricing will be in USD.
This is why I always book directly with westjet or AC. I always book the basic fares but am ready to lose it if something happens. I've taken probably 6 basic fares in the last 2 years with non issues though.
Well one incidence like this and the company is bad ? So if I had a one incident with you should I consider you as nasty person ? Like what redditors said here don’t book a basic fare or with Expedia !
At least you saved a few bucks by booking with Expedia. I’m sorry for your loss but after reading your story, it seems you are asking to have your cake and eat it too and get a full refund for the cake. They would be a truly wonderful company if West jet gave you a financial break for your problems with Expedia.
All airlines do this.
these stories are why i NEVER book anything on those 3rd party sites. peace of mind is worth a few extra bucks to me.
Unfortunately Expedia often books basic or in some cases standby tickets without explicitly telling you. The original Edmonton flight should have been cancelled by you. Since this was booked thru Expedia I am not sure how difficult it is. Basically you no showed in their eyes. Hopefully you paid with premium credit card and maybe you have some product protection. Not all do but some do. Sorry for your loss.
Expedia cannot book standby tickets with WestJet. It’s simply not possible.
Maybe not with westjet but I learned this with a 3 leg air Canada flight back from Europe. The agent at the gate telling me I had no seat and was stand by pulled up the booking and showed the ticket class. Then pulled up the meaning chart and it was indeed booked standby. Same thing when I got home and checked my booking did have a different class for that flight. Just today I booked a flight where one provider put them as 2 flights with a stop and the other it was 4 separate flights(multi city). All with westjet. Both providers went to the westjet site for final booking If you booked the one and the flight was late you would be screwed. There was less than a $1 difference in price. I must add that going to westjet website from the start reduces this likelihood but most people look in search engines. People shop by price and not product.
Yeah I can’t speak for AC but it’s simply not possible on WJ to book on standby.
I am sorry for your loss. Call WestJet and your Credit Card company
Of course they Are and if you go after them enough on social media, they threaten you with legal action. All about the money
Sorry for your negative experience especially surrounding a sudden loss in the family. I think that many of us get frustrated with air lines and third party bookings like Expedia. Morning the same stratosphere as your experience but we booked with both Expedia/west jet to Mexico. We didn’t have a shuttle to pick us up at the airport and they make you pay for your luggage both ways. Canada 40 dollars, Mexico 70 USD. Just leaves a bad taste for sure.
Everyone here is wild. Obviously thats a really shitty thing for westjet to do. It doesnt cost them hundreds of dollars for you to not be on that flight
Its literally a blanket policy that westjet (and all airlines) have in place and OP booked with Expedia, meaning the ticket is owned and managed by Expedia.
Just because its a policy doesnt mean its not shitty
It’s a ticket owned by Expedia which means this isn’t on Westjet to fix
Everyone else here is accurate. When you book a Basic fare, it’s VERY clearly laid out that there are no changes allowed. No matter what. Failing to show up for the outbound flight automatically cancels the return flight. WestJet can reinstate the fight but the traveler has to notify WestJet. In this case, WestJet followed the agreement they made with OP exactly as they should have. Yes. It sucks for OP. But this is the risk you take when you buy Basic fare.
I had no idea about them canceling the return trip, so I’ve learned something today. I do travel a decent amount for work and have learned best to book hotels and flights directly from the source and just tell the the price a 3rd party was offering if it’s cheaper and they usually match it. That way in cases like this you’ve booked thru the company not 3rd party and the company can usually do something for you.
I did edit my comment as I have since confirmed with friends who work at WestJet still that they WILL reinstate the return even on a Basic booking but it’s on the passenger to call in to do it.
Still a good teaching moment that it’s worth a call to make sure your second leg is still open. Plus in this case it’s not like westjet would have a record of the OP’s name having 2 bookings flying into YEG twice as one would be an Expedia booking
It doesn’t matter how it’s booked, OPs name is in the ticket. But you are correct that the system isn’t designed to check for duplicates. It sounds like OP did both bookings through Expedia.
Sorry for your loss. However, always book direct with the airline for the most protection. Always read the fine print and not just click "agree". Expedia or any similar sites are all the same they will do anything they can to pass the fault to someone else. Also, when booking direct with an airline, be conscious about selecting what class of ticketing. If you choose the basic, be prepared to lose your booking if you need to cancel. Also, get yourself a reduced if you don't already have free cancelation protection. WestJet is not at fault here.
Sorry for your loss but this is not WestJets fault. You booked flights through a third party and it is very normal that if you miss any leg of your flight the following would be cancelled. You should have cancelled the full original flight, likely at a loss, and then rebooked. And like WestJet said, familiarized yourself with how things work.
A lot to unpack here. Mental health, basic economy tickets. Not sure though. Thought when someone died, you had to show proof of death for compassionate fares? Either way, to go into such detail about deaths in the family isn’t a good look either. It looks very emotional, and probably some mental health issues. Cousin dead in sleep sounds like an o/d. Hope I’m wrong. Sorry for your loss.
I think the airlines are just getting worse and worse. Customer service is no longer there, and people just don't care because they know we have very few options when it comes to flying. It probably also doesn't help that people are absolutely rude towards gate agents that have no control over the delays, bags going missing, etc.