WestJet airlines reverses plan to add more seats and less legroom

“Feedback” from travellers on a plan to reconfigure plane cabins to add more seats has pushed WestJet to reverse course, the airline said in a statement Friday.

WestJet says feedback and operational data about the scaled-back 28-inch seat pitch, which reduced legroom, prompted the airline to change its “cabin-configuration approach” on aircraft where seating had been “densified.”

That means the airline will return to its prior “standard seat pitch” for economy cabins on recently reconfigured aircraft, the company said. Once an engineering certificate is received, WestJet says, it will remove one row of seats — converting all 180-seat planes to 174-seat layouts.

“WestJet tried seat pitches that are popular with many airlines around the globe as they serve to provide affordable airfares,” said Alexis von Hoensbroech, CEO of WestJet Group, in a release.

“As an entrepreneurial airline founded on making air travel affordable to Canadians it’s in our DNA to try new products. At the same time, it is just as important to react quickly if they don’t meet the needs of our guests.”

The Calgary-based airline says it paused reconfiguration work in December, with plans to finalize the new interiors by mid-February. But it says it has now “accelerated” its review to “address feedback and provide clarity sooner.”

Returning the cabins to their previous layout is a costly decision made by WestJet executives and comes after major backlash, the airline’s vice-president of inflight operations said in a message to staff obtained by The Canadian Press.

Non-reclining seats, found in most of the cabin’s economy section, had already been installed on 22 of WestJet’s Boeing 737s — with plans to add the configuration to 21 more aircraft.

‘A new low’: Questions raised about reconfigured WestJet seating following viral video
But the change didn’t sit well with customers and flight attendants alike.

An Edmonton-area family, whose video of the new seating went viral, told CTV News this month that the lack of legroom left them feeling uncomfortable and unsafe.

The union representing WestJet flight attendants also voiced concern, saying it wasn’t consulted about the new configuration, while an air passenger rights expert said just because airlines can add more seats, doesn’t mean they should.

“The passenger has to be able to fit into the seat,” said Gábor Lukács, founder of Air Passenger Rights.

Now, von Hoensbroech says WestJet “will take what we’ve learned and continue to be cost-disciplined and innovative, while staying true to what our guests and our people expect from us.”

The airline says it’s still evaluating other aspects of the new layout, while additional cabin reconfigurations, including refreshed interiors, “will continue as part of its commitment to improving the guest experience.”