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Regina traveller Lindsay Noble says WestJet’s decision to reverse course on its controversial new seating layout is a “win” for customers.
However, she believes the Canadian airline still needs to do more to restore public confidence.
On Jan. 7, Noble flew back to Regina from Cancun on one of WestJet’s Boeing 737 aircraft with a newly modified cabin that includes less legroom and no recline capability on some economy seats. She posted a video to social media of her six-foot-two husband’s knees digging into the seat in front of him during the five-hour international flight.
“I absolutely think this is a win for travellers and consumers as a whole, knowing full well there is a monopoly on Canadian air travel,” Noble told the Regina Leader-Post on Monday.
“If we allow these to be standard and say nothing, what’s stopping them from making more adjustments in the future and tweaking it even more to the point that the passenger is truly put in even more harm’s way?”
Following online criticism, WestJet is now walking back its decision to reduce legroom in favour of another row of seats. The airline plans on reverting to its previous layout due to customer feedback, WestJet announced on Jan. 16.
“As an entrepreneurial airline founded on making air travel affordable to Canadians, it’s in our DNA to try new products,” WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said in a prepared statement. “At the same time, it is just as important to react quickly if they don’t meet the needs of our guests.”
Last fall, the Calgary-headquartered airline rolled out plans for what it called a “new seat configuration” across 43 of its Boeing 737s, converting the 174-seat layout to include an extra row with six more seats.
In the process, WestJet changed the seat pitch, reducing the distance from the back of each seat to the back of the one behind it to as little as 28 inches. Cabin information available on the company’s website shows standard economy seats have typically spanned around 30 inches.
Roughly half of the 43 designated WestJet planes had already been converted when the airline decided to backtrack.
In its statement, WestJet said it “paused reconfiguration plans in December.” The airline was going to complete an evaluation of the new interior layout in mid-February, but has “accelerated the review to address feedback and provide clarity sooner.”
A timeline for restoring the previous layout has not yet been determined, WestJet added.
Noble said she considers cramped legroom a safety issue in the event of an emergency landing, adding that her concerns weren’t acknowledged by the airline in its statement.
“It was severely lacking in them saying they made a mistake,” Noble said. “I didn’t hear them addressing the safety concerns at all.”
Noble said she intended to not book with WestJet again and planned to switch the rewards credit card she has with the airline.
For the company to regain her business, WestJet will have to show it won’t compromise safety or implement future changes without consulting its loyalty program members.
“I want to hear what you’re doing in the future to make sure that we are heard before you make these kinds of changes,” Noble said of the airline. “Because that will ultimately establish whether or not I’m going to book with them again.”
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