It’s a move that has caused a media stir: Canadian airline WestJet announced It will begin converting some of its aircraft to a new, non-reclining economy section and new first class seating layout. The airline says this will help it offer cheaper fares for some passengers. However, the compromise comes at the cost of passengers being seated… unless they are willing to spend more.
While it’s not the first low-cost carrier to introduce affordable, unbundled fares, the airline has been busy finding new ways to attract budget-conscious travelers. No-recline seats are the latest example of this.
The airline claims it is trying to help passengers save money by offering new, low-cost fares.
One of WestJet’s defining experiences has historically been its all-economy-class cabin, where seat pitch – that is, the space between a fixed point on your seat and the same point on the seat in front of you – is a mere 30 inches (though this varies by aircraft and configuration).
The airline announced earlier this year that it would begin upgrading a portion of its fleet with new interior configurations. Once retrofitted, WestJet’s Boeing 737 Max 8 and 737-800 aircraft will be equipped with a new first class cabin – called “Premium” – in addition to the more familiar economy cabin. In the case of WestJet, this economy cabin will offer two different seat configurations.
‘Premium’ cabin
First class seats are at the front of the plane and not only offer the most spacious options and recline, but are also equipped with power outlets, tablet holders, and a tray for snacks and drinks – just like most premium cabins on other airlines. The seats will be the same seat make and model as currently featured on WestJet’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, giving the rest of the fleet a more consistent look and feel.
standard seating arrangement
The standard seating arrangement will provide passengers with the usual 30 inches of seat pitch, but starting with this new interior redesign, the seats will have no additional recline; They will be in a fixed, upright position. The airline claims that in user testing, some passengers said they favored a fixed-reclin seat option to avoid other passengers’ invasion of their personal space.
“Through our guest user testing, half indicated they prefer a fixed recline to avoid feeling intruded upon by other passengers encroaching on their space,” WestJet spokesperson Jennifer Booth told Nexstar. published statement,
The airline believes this will reduce in-flight incidents or fights over reclining positions, as passengers are never able to rest proper rest etiquetteOf course, skeptics will say this is just another way for the airline to make money.
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts
Standard seating is found towards the rear of the plane, and the seats become slightly less wide the further back you are. Exit-row seats are part of the standard seating option but offer more legroom.
extended rest
“Extended Comfort” seats, although still part of the economy cabin, offer a seat pitch between 34 and 36 inches, allowing passengers to better stretch their legs in their space. Recline on these seats is also quite good with 2 to 4 inches of recline. Extended Comfort seats will be at the front of the economy cabin, just behind the premium cabin. So, in addition to more space, passengers will board first while there is still overhead bin space and disembark before the rest of the economy cabin.
Rollout of new interior
The first aircraft with the new cabin configuration are expected to enter service at the end of October. The airline hopes to have all 43 reconfigured by early 2026. WestJet, a Canadian airline, operates most of its flights within Canada, but also serves several destinations in the US and Mexico, as well as some locations in Central America and the Caribbean.
To identify which aircraft configuration will be present on your flight at the time of booking, WestJet will designate its flights with the older, all-economy configuration as “economy seating only.” If you’ve already purchased your flight and want to know what configuration you’ll see once you board the plane, you can check the airline’s flight guide within 72 hours of departure, read the check-in email 24 hours before departure, or find out during the check-in process.
feedback
As you can imagine, reactions from passengers have been decidedly mixed, with some saying no passenger should be sitting anyway and others saying they don’t want to pay for something that was once free.
It remains to be seen if there is any extended pushback. But a leading airline analyst told TPG he doesn’t believe the idea will work.
“Christmas won’t come for another two and a half months, but WestJet has given Air Canada an early holiday gift,” said Henry Harteveldt, industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group. “This is one of, if not the, stupidest idea I have seen airlines come up with in my career. I firmly believe that WestJet’s decision will backfire quickly and badly. I urge the airline to abandon this stupid idea and look for ideas that will actually attract passengers rather than repel them.”
Related reading:
