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WestJet goes back on plan to reduce legroom on planes following ‘feedback’
WestJet will revert 22 planes to a 174-seat layout after customer and employee backlash threatened loyalty, with a viral video reaching over 1.1 million views, CEO said.
- WestJet said Friday that it is reversing its move to shrink legroom by cancelling a seat configuration that added an extra row and will restore prior seat pitch on select flights.
- The reconfiguration aimed to reduce costs and expand capacity, but WestJet reversed course after employee and customer backlash, with CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech saying they tried global seat pitches to provide `affordable airfares`.
- The layout, which used a 28-inch pitch and fixed backs, drew criticism after a December TikTok showed an Alberta woman's parents struggling to extend their legs, and WestJet executives tested the seats in a social experiment last week.
- Advocates raised accessibility and safety concerns, and WestJet said it would act quickly if guest needs weren’t met, with the capacity now affected by the reversal of the 180-seat configuration.
- The reversal comes as Canada’s airspace duopoly remains influenced by a Competition Bureau report recommending measures like easing the 49 per cent foreign-ownership cap.
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WestJet Halts Plans for New ‘Densified’ Seating After Backlash on Legroom
WestJet has announced it will reverse its decision to decrease passengers’ legroom in order to accommodate more seating, following unfavourable feedback from customers. The airline announced last September its plan to reconfigure some of its cabins to add more seats by reducing space between rows in its economy class, and adding in seats with fixed-back designs. The company said at the time the move would offer more seating options for its Boein…
·New York, United States
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The new configuration had been criticized by many customers and employees.
·Montreal, Canada
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Following the successful reconfiguration of the seats of some of its aircraft, WestJet announced on Friday that it will not proceed with this project.
·Montreal, Canada
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Total News Sources37
Leaning Left15Leaning Right3Center8Last UpdatedBias Distribution58% Left
Bias Distribution
- 58% of the sources lean Left
58% Left
L 58%
C 31%
11%
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