WestJet Caves To Pressure; Won’t Install Sardine-Style Seating

Earlier this month, I talked about WestJet pausing the densification of its cabins on some of its Boeing 737s. The original plan was to add an extra row of seating and roll out multiple comfort tiers.

As part of this strategy, there would be three tiers in economy, with the cheapest resulting in passengers being crammed in seats with as little as 28 inches of seat pitch. This would essentially pull the airline closer to the bottom of the food chain with other ultra low-cost carriers like Spirit and Frontier. The thing is, WestJet isn’t really a low-cost carrier as they operate more on a hybrid model, even though they claim to be low-cost.

In a statement, they said, “following a review of operational data and feedback from guests and WestJetters, the airline will return to its prior standard seat pitch for economy cabins on these recently reconfigured aircraft by removing one row of seats.”

When the plan was first announced in September 2025, they said they would densify up to 43 Boeing 737s (MAXs and NGs) to test the tighter layout. If feedback was passable, they would then expand the updated layout to a wider cross section of its 737s.

However, the decision was met with immediate criticism by staff and union members, especially given that some of their flights to Central America and the Caribbean easily hit six and half hours air time. It was not only until a video recently went viral on Reddit, did WestJet decide to re-assess the situation.

At first, many thought the pause was just a veiled excuse to keep as many aircraft in service during the winter period, but it seems they really did consider the overwhelming feedback, and will revert to the more traditional configuration. WestJet customers also received the following email.

Update on aircraft configuration based on your feedback

Dear (customer name)

As a valued member, we wanted you to hear this directly from us: we’re changing our approach to cabin configuration on the aircraft where we implemented densified seating in the economy cabin.

After carefully reviewing our operational data and – more importantly – listening to feedback from you, other guests, and our own WestJetters, we’ve decided to return to our standard seat pitch in economy cabins by removing one row from the recently reconfigured aircraft.

We tried something new, testing seat spacing that many airlines use globally to help keep fares affordable. However, the data and you told us that this product doesn’t work for the Canadian market.

Aircraft changes are managed to the highest safety and engineering rigor, which requires us to move through multiple phases, starting with an engineering certificate. Once this certificate is received, we can begin to convert all 180‑seat aircraft to 174‑seat layouts, with timelines for completion still being determined. We will keep you updated as the reconfiguration process progresses.

While we work on these cabin changes, we’re not slowing down on other improvements. The refreshed interiors, enhanced amenities, and modernized design, will continue as part of our commitment to improving the guest experience.

Our decision reflects something we will not lose sight of: keeping our guests and WestJetters at the centre of product decisions, while continuing to invest in reliability, affordability, and a modern onboard experience.

Thank you for your loyalty and feedback,

Samantha Taylor

Chief Experience Officer, WestJet

It’s good to see customers and employees pushing back when airlines try to squeeze as much as they can out of customers. WestJet definitely learnt a valuable lesson here, and it is going to cost them more in the long run as they once again have to spend money to return the cabin to its older configuration. The process will not be an immediate though.

“Aircraft interiors are managed to the highest safety and engineering rigor, with changes requiring multiple phases, starting with an engineering certificate. Once this certificate is received, WestJet can begin to convert all 180-seat aircraft to 174-seat layouts, with timelines for completion still being determined.”

Hopefully customers flying other carriers take note and show the same amount of force if they feel said airlines are try to take advantage of them.

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