WestJet COVID-19 air refund policy
Updated September 29, 2022
In this guide, you will find details on the WestJet AIR refund policy for WestJet-initiated schedule changes that occurred during COVID-19.
IMPORTANT
We have adjusted our self-serve refund options for tickets with a departing flight date in 2022 or 2023, regardless of issue date, please follow our GDS schedule change process found here.
This policy applies to:
- WestJet 838 tickets
- For travel on/after February 01, 2020, until December 31, 2021
- All WestJet flights, including WestJet Encore
- Unused and partially used open status tickets (Travel Credits)
Review the below processes and frequently asked questions.
For non COVID-19 related GDS refund scenarios please refer to the below links
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Refund Types |
Refund Process |
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Refundable fares |
Follow process as indicated here |
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24-hour refunds |
Follow process as indicated here |
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Duplicate tickets |
Follow process as indicated here |
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Negative taxes |
Follow process as indicated here |
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Jury duty |
Follow process as indicated here |
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Death of traveller or immediate family member |
Follow process as indicated here |
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GDS EMD refunds |
Follow process as indicated here |
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GDS schedule changes |
Follow process as indicated here |
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Flight disruptions/IROP within 72 hours of departure |
Follow process as indicated here |
Content
Non GDS COVID-19 refund scenarios
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Refund Types |
Refund Process |
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WestJet Agent |
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WestJet BIZ |
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WestJet Travel Bank (from GDS or WestJet Agent tickets) |
Submit via form |
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WestJet Air Groups and WestJet Vacations Groups |
|
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WestJet Vacations |
BSP/ARC flight refund process
The following applies for refund requests due to COVID-19.
|
Ticket issue date |
Flight date |
Waiver code |
|
Before September 01, 2021 |
up to December 31, 2021 |
Obtain from Partner Report |
IMPORTANT: Tickets that have EXPIRED or where the ticket issue date is more than two years in the past are no longer eligible for refund and funds remain as a travel credit (until it expires) or are forfeited if ticket is expired.
Terms and conditions
- Ticket must be issued on WestJet ticket stock (838)
- Ticket must not be expired
- Ticket must not have been issued more than two years in the past
- Ticket must contain at least one flight date on/after February 01, 2020, until December 31, 2021 and
- Journey was schedule changed more than 90 minutes from the original departure/arrival, or
- Change in routing where one or more stops was added, or
- Journey where at least one flight segment(s) cancelled by WestJet (UN, UC or NO) with no flight replacement (TK)
- Applies to all fares and classes of service
- At-source commission is to be recalled at the time of the refund
- Fare and taxes including YQ are eligible for refund with the following exception for non-refundable taxes. If the following taxes are refunded an ADM will be issued
Non-refundable taxes: L8 and DO for Punta Cana (PUJ) and Puerto Plata (POP), Samana (AZS), La Romana (LRM)
Terms and conditions must be followed, or the refund will be subject to Agency Debit Memo (ADM) for the full value of the ticket and an ADMIN fee up to 200.00 local currency per ticket
GDS Process
IMPORTANT: Tickets that have EXPIRED or where the ticket issue date is more than two years in the past are no longer eligible for refund and funds remain as a travel credit (until it expires) or are forfeited if ticket is expired.
- Check and refer to your Partner Reports, provided by WestJet in 2021, to obtain waiver code(s)
- Complete the refund in your GDS by entering the waiver code in your GDS (BSP/ARC) or IAR (ARC) refund waiver code field.
- At-source commission is to be recalled at the time of the refund
- Unable to display the ticket in your GDS, visit our frequently answered questions for troubleshooting
Terms and conditions must be followed, or the refund will be subject to Agency Debit Memo (ADM) for the full value of the ticket and an ADMIN fee up to 200.00 local currency per ticket
WestJet Agent and WestJet BIZ refund process
IMPORTANT: If your submission is received outside of the terms and conditions, it will be rejected.
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Ticket issue date |
Flight date |
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|
Anytime |
February 01, 2020 until December 31, 2021 |
IMPORTANT: Tickets that have EXPIRED or where the ticket issue date is more than two years in the past are no longer eligible for refund and funds remain as a travel credit (until it expires) or are forfeited if ticket is expired.
Terms and conditions
- Ticket must be issued on WestJet ticket stock (838)
- Ticket must not be expired
- Ticket must contain at least one flight date on/after February 01, 2020, until December 31, 2021, and
- Journey was schedule changed more than 90 minutes from the original departure/arrival, or
- Change in routing where one or more stops was added, or
- Journey where at least one flight segment(s) cancelled by WestJet (UN, UC or NO) with no flight replacement (TK)
- Applies to all fares and classes of service
- At-source commission is to be recalled at the time of the refund
- Fare and taxes including YQ are eligible for refund with the following exception for non-refundable taxes. If the following taxes are refunded an ADM will be issued
- Non-refundable taxes: L8 and DO for Punta Cana (PUJ) and Puerto Plata (POP), Samana (AZS), La Romana (LRM)
WestJet Agent and WestJet BIZ process
- Submit the request to TARefundsandTicketing@westjet.com
- Details to include: Ticket number(s), guest name, IATA number, agency phone number.
- Multiple tickets can be included in a single email
- DO NOT INCLUDE: Payment card numbers
- Details to include: Ticket number(s), guest name, IATA number, agency phone number.
- Emails will only be accepted by Travel Agents and Travel Arrangers/Corporate Travel Arrangers. If an email is received directly by a Corporate Traveller or the Travel Agent’s client, the request will not be actioned.
Pre-reserved seat (EMD) refund process
IMPORTANT: EMD’s issued on or before December 31, 2020, please follow the below. Otherwise if your EMD has EXPIRED or where the EMD issue date is more than one year in the past, they are no longer eligible for refund and funds are forfeit.
Terms and conditions
- EMD must be issued on WestJet ticket stock (838)
- EMD must be issued on or before December 31, 2020
- Applies to all pre-reserved seat EMD’s issued from your GDS
GDS EMD process
- Contact TARefundsandTicketing@westjet.com to request an Agency Credit Memo (ACM)
- If approved an ACM will be issued to the original ticketing IATA up to 12 weeks from the request
- You will be responsible for refunding your client directly once the ACM has been issued
Frequently asked questions
Q: What date do I need to complete the refund process in the GDS for eligible tickets related to WestJet initiated schedule changes?
A: Refund must be completed before ticket has EXPIRED or before the ticket has reached its two year issue date, whichever is earlier.
Q: Can I stil request a copy of my partner report?
A: All partner reports were provided throughout 2021 and we are no longer able to assist. Please check with your teams for the last copy of your report provided by WS.
Q: What if my agency booked through a consolidator or secondary agency?
A: Refund must be processed by the ticketing agency only. Waiver codes included in Partner Reports will only be included for the ticketing agency IATA.
Q: Can we refund the taxes on the ticket including YQ?
A: If the taxes are refundable as per standard tax rules, they can be refunded in addition to the fare and YQ charges.
Note the following taxes are non-refundable L8 and DO for Punta Cana (PUJ) and Puerto Plata (POP), Samana (AZS), La Romana (LRM)
Q: WestJet cancelled a portion of my client’s journey (UN) with no (TK) replacement but the ticket is now in no-show status, is a refund available?
A: As of March 25, 2022, WestJet has reopened all no-show status coupons with a flight date between February 01 2020 to December 31, 2021. If you are still unable to view your ticket, it means your ticket is no longer active and had been fully purged from our system. We are no longer able to reopen the coupon(s) as an exception and no-show funds remain a forfeit.
Q: Is WestJet recalling at-source commission on refunded tickets?
A: Yes any ticket refunded on/after January 01, 2022, follows standard guidelines and is subject to full commission recall.
Q: What if there is an issue with my client’s payment card or original form of payment?
A: Refunds will be processed to the original form of payment. If the payment card has now expired, once the refund has been issued your client may need to contact their banking institution to have the funds transferred. This applies to a card that has been compromised, lost, stolen, account closed, the cardholder is deceased, etc.
Q: What if my client submitted a chargeback?
A: Refund will not be offered if a chargeback has been submitted or is pending.
Troubleshooting GDS: Frequently asked questions
Q: When trying to process a refund of my client’s ticket, I’m seeing this error message “TICKET/DOCUMENT NOT FOUND” what do I do?
A: In cases where you’re no longer able to display the ticket, it means your ticket falls into one or more of the following scenarios:
- Ticket is expired and funds are forfeit
- Ticket was a no-show and funds are forfeit
- Ticket was previously exchanged, flown or refunded and no further action can be taken
As the tickets are no longer active, no action can be taken. Please do not contact us asking for ticket status
as we are not able to provide any further detail regarding the status of your ticket.
Q: When trying to process a refund of my open status ticket in Sabre using WFR, I’m seeing this error message “TICKET/DOCUMENT NOT FOUND IN AIRLINE DATABASE-1—1151” what do I do?
A: If you cannot display the ticket under WFR, you can process the refund using WFRR followed by the waiver code provided by WestJet. For additional commands or options to process the refund, please contact Sabre.
Sample command – where ‘WAIVERCODE’ is what we provided you: WFRR8381234567890‡RC/WAIVERCODE
Q: What do I do when trying to reissue/exchange my open status ticket in Apollo GDS that was originally issued in 2019?
A: Travelport supports exchanges for electronic tickets issued within the last two years. Travelport has advised in these cases to exchange the ticket by overwriting the year-of-issue as 2020 and resubmitting. If you have additional questions or are still not able to process the exchange, please contact Travelport.