WestJet “Other ATC” Fees: What The Tax? | Frugal Flyer (2024)

WestJet is the second-largest carrier in Canada and absolutely dominates Western Canada from its main hub in Calgary.

Most Canadians will thus need to take WestJet at least once in their lives and are likely to accrue WestJet’s rewards currency, WestJet dollars (WSD). While there can be excellent value in the WestJet Rewards program, there are also sneaky hidden taxes and fees to be aware of.

Today, we’re going to take a look at demystifying the mysterious little line item entitled “Other ATC” that appears on some WestJet award flights.

What is the “Other ATC” Fee Charged on Some WestJet Flights?

WestJet dollars can be earned on eligible revenue WestJet flights, via credit cards such as the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard, or transferred into the in-house WestJet Rewards Program via eligible partners such as RBC Avion Rewards.

WestJet dollars can then be redeemed on a variety of products, such as WestJet flights as well as WestJet Vacations. The latter can be an excellent option for those holding large balances because it can be used to pay for hotels or even experiences.

Most Canadians, though, are likely to use their stash of WSD for flights, including the discounted Member Exclusive fares offered at a lower rate on eligible flights for WestJet Rewards program members.

As we can see on the below sample itinerary from Edmonton (YEG) to Victoria (YYJ), taxes and fees such as airport improvement, or sales taxes such as GST and HST must be paid with cash money and are not eligible for WSD redemption:

This means that while WestJet dollars can offer some value, and help you save on out-of-pocket costs, there will always be some items that require you to pay out of pocket.

However, the element which in my opinion holds the WestJet Rewards program back is an unexplained line item called “Other ATC” that whilst not listed under taxes & fees is treated like one and requires you to pay it with cash instead of WSD. This Other ATC charge can be drastic, as seen on this flight from Calgary (YYC) to London (LHR):

That’s because Other ATC (which stands for undefined “Air Transit Charges”) is in reality an unnamed Fuel Surcharge (or YQ as it’s often coded). What the tax, WestJet?

Where Does WestJet Charge “Other ATC” Fees?

WestJet’s Other ATC charge isn’t super common and barely occurs on domestic itineraries. This is because WestJet probably feels that it can’t get away with passing on the costs of fuel to its customers in its main business area of domestic flights within Canada and the United States.

We can see an example of a direct flight on another itinerary mixed between Membership Exclusive and a regular Econo fare from Edmonton (YEG) to Las Vegas (LAS):

However, once we leave North America and start making our way toward the sun destinations or international travel, we begin to see the Other ATC category ready to pounce. Here’s a Christmas itinerary from Toronto (YYZ) to Montego Bay (MBJ) in sunny Jamaica, and note its $92 Other ATC charge:

Similarly, when we look at one of WestJet’s suggested fares from Vancouver (YVR) to Paris France (CDG), we see an immediate and even more precipitous climb:

As we can see, the Other ATC charges amount to $500 versus a base fare of $400 – meaning Other ATC alone is only 25% higher than the base fare. The maximum amount of redemption we could even make on this flight is, therefore, $400 WSD, for an out-of-pocket cost of $649.63.

If this wasn’t insulting enough, the Other ATC charges scale with the class of cabin, as can be seen from the same flight to CDG on the same dates but in WestJet’s Premium (economy) product:

This feels antithetical to the spirit of a rewards program in my personal opinion, even if it operates within the letter of WestJet’s policies. In fact, this level of fee levying is illegal in countries such as Brazil, amongst others. Countries such as Japan which have historically had laws against this also don’t seem to be faring very well.

Let’s check in on how Calgary (YYC) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) is doing:

Similar to the other examples, flying to Japan on WestJet is not a great value proposition if you are looking to wipe a significant amount of the cost away with a WestJet dollars redemption.

How to Avoid “Other ATC” Fees on WestJet Flights

This unlisted fuel surcharge is one of the most frustrating elements of the WestJet Rewards program, but that doesn’t stop WestJet from offering excellent value to Canadians.

As we saw above, there are zero Other ATC charges within Canada and the United States to WestJet’s entire hub of desirable locations. So the first step to avoiding this is to consider using WestJet Rewards exclusively for North American redemptions so you’re not paying for the privilege of using your own rewards.

The second method you can use to deal with the Other ATC quandary is to avoid the high Other ATC destinations and fly to those that have lower costs. The sun destinations are an excellent example of this, as we saw from our example of Jamaica.

Other seasonal options such as Barbados, with similarly lower Other ATC charges, are available.

Sadly, the third option you have is to consider your WestJet dollars as more of a discount coupon than a real way to fly almost for free and resign yourself to using them to knock small amounts off larger flights to Europe.

If after all this talk of avoiding the nebulous Other ATC hasn’t turned you off WestJet Rewards, and you feel that using our strategies can help you maximize your WestJet award flight possibilities, consider applying for the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard, currently offering a promotional welcome bonus of up to 700 WestJet dollars.

How Do “Other ATC” Fees Impact WestJet Companion Vouchers?

Now that we’ve established what Other ATC is and how to avoid it, let’s look at one of the main draws of the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard, and by extension the WestJet Rewards program: WestJet Companion Vouchers.

These vouchers are marketed as being able to save you a significant amount on flights booked with another traveler on the same itinerary, as the second passenger will only have to pay a pre-set amount as opposed to the full base fare. In theory, this should result in savings and the itinerary should be cheaper than without using a companion voucher.

But does this hold up to scrutiny? One advantage is that the Companion Voucher fare can be paid for in WSD, so that does reduce some of the costs even if you’re only going on a short jaunt which will only allow you to redeem $99 Westjet Dollars.

One good thing is that WestJet’s site will now prompt you with a warning if using your Companion Voucher on a given itinerary costs more than the eligible base fare:

Keeping in mind our criteria from above, let’s look at a fare within North America, in this case, a one-way Premium fare from Edmonton (YEG) to Los Angeles (LAX):

In this case, using the Companion Voucher shaves about $100 off the cost of a Premium flight’s base fare. You could then redeem WSD against it. Whether this is worth the $119 annual fee on the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard is up to your determination but it’s hardly a magnificent savings. However, using WSD cuts the cash cost of the itinerary in half, which represents decent value.

Now let’s look at how Companion Vouchers work on overseas itineraries, such as this one between Calgary (YYC) and Barcelona (BCN):

As we can see, the cost beneath the base fare is still $200 lower. This means that when the annual fee for the WestJet World Elite is taken into account, the savings are approximately $80. You could potentially use up to $1015 WSD on this flight, for a total out-of-pocket cost of $1314.60 in Other ATC, taxes, and associated fees.

Is $1314.60 for two passengers in Economy worth it? Potentially, but it’s probably not as valuable as other airlines’ loyalty programs, particularly Air Canada Aeroplan.

Conclusion

WestJet’s Other ATC charges are a serious deficiency in their loyalty program. They nickel and dime customers on regular redemptions and force them to pay out of pocket for the privilege of using their own WestJet dollars.

However, with clever use of the program and close attention to detail on where Other ATC fees are charged, you can use your hard-earned WSD to extract the maximum value on your travels.

Until next time, avoid unlisted fuel surcharges like the plague.