I am thinking about taking my husband on vacation as a joint Christmas/Birthday gift. We took Air Canada last year and I loved it. It was the first time I had experienced very little turbulence. I swore I would never use another airline. However WestJet is $1000.00 cheaper then Air Canada Flight. Can someone tell me how the flight is on Westjet in terms of turbulence?

"Turbulence" related to weather fronts/conditions not airframes

Both planes will be exactly the same in terms of risk

WestJet for me to save $1k for sure

The only thing that might make a difference is the size of the plane - you can get bounced around a lot more in a 30 seat puddle jumper than a 757.

Kelly, I fly AC all the time. I have flown WJ a few times. There was no difference b/t the 2 with respect to air turbulence.

However, there is a significant difference b/t Air Canada & Westjet with respect to the size of their fleets. If your Westjet flight is cancelled or delayed ( & this always happens to me whenever I take Cristmas flights & I do every year & have been doing so for over 30 years now. There are frequent weather related delays/cancellations), you are going to have a very difficult time getting out on another Westjet flight by virtue of the fact that Westjet does not have a large fleet of planes. However, with Air Canada you stand a better chance of getting out much sooner than you would w/ WJ simpply because AC has more planes/more available flights. I always fly Air Canada at Christmas.

So, at Christmas, I would book Air Canada over Westjet. Check AC fares over the next few days. They may come down. They go up & down all the time. Where are you going? From where?

Ocean

Whichever airline you choose, consider booking your seats in advance and get seats as close to the front of the plane as possible. If there is turbulence, it's usually worse in the back than in the front. There's an extra cost for both airlines, but I find it worth it since I don't fly well and try to minimize my discomfort and risk of vomitting on the plane.

"<i>It was the first time I had experienced very little turbulence. I swore I would never use another airline. . . . Can someone tell me how the flight is on Westjet in terms of turbulence?</i>"

Turbulence has <u>absolutely nothing</u> to do w/ the airline. It has mostly to do w/ the specific weather on the specific day you fly -- and a little on the model plane.

Your smooth AC flight could just as easily have been VERY turbulent the next day - or not.

sticking to an airline -- or writing one off -- based on turbulence makes no sense. What happens if you book w/ AC and it ends up bumpy? Does that mean you'll never fly again?

<<Turbulence has absolutely nothing to do w/ the airline. It has mostly to do w/ the specific weather on the specific day you fly -- and a little on the model plane.>>

Not quite true. Turboprops can encounter more low altitude turbulence than jet aircraft as they have a lower performance ceiling. Jets can avoid this by flying at higher altitudes.

However, jets can encounter high altitude turbulence ("clear air turbulence") which can in rare occasions be quite violent.

On balance, you are likely to encounter a more bumpy ride at low altitude in or below cloud cover and if this is high enough the turboprops won't be able to avoid it.

Some airlines such as Porter fly only turboprops, others such as Air Canada Jazz fly both and others such as Westjet fly only jets. So the choice of airline and aircraft could make a difference.

"<i>Not quite true.</i>" What did I say that wasn't true?? I said it partly depends on the equipment.

I certainly didn't mean to give offence with my comment.

The airline can make a difference if one flies on one such as Porter which only flies turboprops, which as I explained, are more prone to encountering low altitude turbulence.

Yes -- the <u>equipment</u> . . . (I used 'model plane' in my post because I thought someone asking this question might not know 'equipment' = 'airplane')