[chris_myden]

WestJet has just announced that every Thursday @ 1 PM MST they are going to offer 'one great deal' for just a few hours only.



This is similar to what AirCanadaVacations attempted the last few weeks, which turned out to be a bust. The so-called deals were lame.

Can WestJet can do better? At 1PM MST we'll know the answer.

cM

1PM MST = 12PM in BC, 1PM in Alberta, 2PM in Saskatchewan/Manitoba, 3PM in Ontario, 4PM in Nova Scotia

Unlike AirCanadaVacations, at least WestJet is smart enough not to offer their promotion at midnight.

[chris_myden]

According to the US Naval atomic clock, it's now 1PM MST.

http://tycho.usno.na...gi-bin/timer.pl

No deal yet.

Make the people wait and build up anticipation like a rock band. Smart.

[chris_myden]

1:07 PM. Still not posted.

[chris_myden]

Update from WestJet twitter feed: "We are 25 minutes away from posting the Blue Tag Deal" (posted at 1:09PM)

Bad move. Now they are *really* going to have to offer something special, by keeping the anticipation level this high.

[chris_myden]

Any guesses as to where it will be?

I'll go with Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The cholera outbreak in Haiti has to have meant a few more empty seats for WestJet to fill!

[chris_myden]

Update from Westjet: "Blue Tag fares are coming folks! Sorry for leaving you hanging! It won't be too much longer. Our web team is pushing all the
pages to our website now."


Sure seems to be taking them a while to upload a few files.

[chris_myden]

It's here...

http://www.westjet.c...TAG-GE-20101125

It's to Vegas. Analyzing now.

Quote

Today's web booking only deals to Las Vegas.

For travel from January 4 to February 9, 2011 on Tuesday and Wednesday. One-way flights starting from:*
Abbotsford $105
Kamloops $99
Saskatoon $109
Calgary† $85
Kelowna $89
St. John's $155
Comox $109
London $149
Thunder Bay $125
Edmonton† $95
Moncton $145
Toronto† $109
Fort McMurray $119
Montréal $125
Vancouver† $85
Grande Prairie $119
Ottawa $109
Victoria $99
Halifax $145
Prince George $109
Winnipeg $115
Hamilton $149
Regina $95
Yellowknife $145

These are one way, before tax prices (of course).

My first reaction is that it's kind of unfortunate timing for the WestJet marketing department, considering there are people all across Canada going to Vegas in December for practically free, courtesy of that crazy Expedia deal over the weekend.

When flights drop down to $99/each way before tax, it usually works out to about $300 roundtrip after tax.

Most major cities see this kind of pricing to Vegas fairly regularly, so it's not *overly* exciting for them.

And of course, these are for Tuesday/Wednesday flights, and everyone wants Thursday/Friday to Sunday when it comes to Vegas.

It has to be pretty tough for an airline to offer a significant deal to one destination, from virtually all departure cities across Canada.

My suggestion to airlines, if anyone from the marketing depts are reading: Pick one departure city, one destination, heck even down to a certain number of seats on one specific flight, and offer one ridiculous deal that gets people excited and talking. It worked for Groupon didn't it?

[chris_myden]

Today's offer is up, and it's even 10 minutes early!

link: http://www.westjet.c...-thursday.shtml

Today's web booking only deals to New Orleans.

Chris's note: Prices are one way and before tax, as copied from the Westjet site. You all know I hate pre-tax prices.

Calgary $129
Montréal $69
Thunder Bay $69
Edmonton $129
Ottawa $69
Toronto $49
Halifax $89
Quebec City $69
Vancouver $129
Moncton $89
St. John's $89


Today's web booking only deals to San Diego.

For travel from January 9 to March 30, 2011. One-way flights starting from:*

Abbotsford $119
Edmonton $109
Saskatoon $119
Calgary $99
Regina $119
Winnipeg $129

[chris_myden]

That price from Toronto to New Orleans is a good one, it works out to $200 roundtrip after tax. From Thunder Bay it works out to $300 after tax.

New Orleans has been on sale a lot lately, but even from Toronto the cheapest it's been is around $300 after tax. So a 33% discount off that price is definitely notable.

As for San Diego, well, it wasn't all that long ago you would occasionally see fares for $250 roundtrip after tax ($99 each way works out to $300ish roundtrip after tax from Calgary). I guess I'm still just getting used to the fact that California flights haven't been very cheap lately!

[chris_myden]

Looks like today's deal is for flights to/from Vancouver:

link: http://www.westjet.c...-thursday.shtml

Today’s web booking only deals are to/from Vancouver on non-stop flights only.

One-way fares from*:

Calgary $59
Ottawa $115
Edmonton $65
Prince George $59
Kelowna $39
Phoenix $89
Los Angeles $79
Toronto $109
Montréal $115
Winnipeg $85

Quote

*Book by December 9, 2010 (4:00 p.m. MST) for travel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from January 10 until March 16, 2011. For Los Angeles and Phoenix fares travel on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Fares on other days may be higher. Fares are available on non-stop flights only. Taxes fees and surcharges are extra where applicable. Fuel surcharge still applies to Airmilesâ„¢ redemption bookings. Seats at these fares are limited and may not be available on all flights. New and westjet.com bookings only. 100% non-refundable. Flights may not operate on certain days. Offer combinable with other fares. All fares shown are one way.

My thoughts:

Pretty good, if you use it in conjunction with the 15% off promo code they have out right now, you can get Calgary to Vancouver down to $197 roundtrip after tax. Definitely the cheapest it's been in a long time!

Toronto to Vancouver works out to $322 roundtrip after tax. By comparison, Air Canada is $600 at the moment.


cM

[chris_myden]

Westjet: "There will be a short delay in the posting of our Blue Tag Thursday fares today."

[chris_myden]

Looks like this week's Blue Tag Thursday promo was cancelled.

From Westjet...

Quote

We regret to inform you that due to technical difficulties we are cancelling this week's Blue Tag Thursday. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank all our fans who waited patiently for the past 60 minutes. Next week will be our final Blue Tag Thursday of 2010 and we promise to make it a good one.

[chris_myden]

Today's offer is up....

link: http://www.westjet.c...-BT-GE-20101223

It's from all Canadian cities, to Cancun, Mexico. $119 each way before tax. Definitely not the cheapest I've ever seen it to Cancun, but for smaller cities that don't usually see this kind of pricing, it could be a decent deal.

You should also be able to combine it with the 15% off promo code they have out right now...

Promo code PCR53 and Coupon code DRI3IAS
http://www.ycheap.co...es-december-23/

With the promo code applied, it brings it down to $101 each way before tax, which works out to $314 roundtrip after tax.

Not a price that gets me super excited or anything, but for the amount of dates they're offering (and considering it's through some cold winter months up to Feb 23) and the variety of departure cities, it's not bad.

UPDATE: Looks like Westjet just added Mazatlan as an alternative destination for this same deal.

cM

Quote

Blue Tag Thursdays
Last Blue Tag Thursday of 2010

Blue Tag Thursdays

End this year with an adventure for the next one. Our final Blue Tag Thursday of 2010 calls for a fiesta in Cancun that you won’t want to miss. With fares this low we’ve even added more time to book. Starting at 1 p.m. MST, you’ll have until 7 p.m. MST to find a great flight at a great price. Don’t let this Thursday fly by without you.

Today’s web only deals are to Cancun from Canadian cities coast to coast:
Cancun
One-way fares from: $119 *

The small print:

Quote

*Book by December 23, 2010 (7:00 p.m. MST) for travel until February 10, 2011.Taxes fees and surcharges are extra where applicable. Fuel surcharge still applies to Airmilesâ„¢ redemption bookings. Seats at these fares are limited and may not be available on all flights. Seasonal cities not included. New westjet.com bookings only. 100% non-refundable. Flights may not operate on certain days. Offer combinable with other fares. All fares shown are one way.

cM

[chris_myden]

Kim, on 23 December 2010 - 06:49 PM, said:

Chris any suggestions for good family inclusive hotels to go with this

Maybe try Bookit.com - They sometimes have decent prices on all inclusive hotels. Sort by price, and go down the list, checking them on TripAdvisor until you find one that gets good reviews.