Air Travel – A FAST RESPONSE!: 1)Cramped WestJet seats prompt backlash over safety, comfort after video goes viral; 2)WestJet reversing move to install tight seating layout after backlash

1)Cramped WestJet seats prompt backlash over safety, comfort after video goes viral

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Christopher Reynolds, January 9, 2026

A viral video showcasing a lack of legroom on WestJet planes has sparked concerns over safety and comfort from staff and passengers.

In a TikTok post by an Alberta woman that has racked up more than 1.1 million views, her parents can be seen squeezing into economy seats that leave barely enough room to move their legs.

“Impossible to straighten out my knees to the front,” says her father in the Dec. 27 post.

“I’m going to be sharing my leg space with him,” adds her mother.

WestJet announced in September it would reconfigure the seating on 43 Boeing 737 jets to install an extra row and divide the cabin into more tiers. So far, 21 planes furnish the tighter configuration.

More than half of the economy seats would have less legroom than the previous layout — or than any other jet at major Canadian airlines.

Workers and passengers have pushed back, warning that the cramped cabin curtails safety, particularly in the event of an evacuation, and hurts the customer experience.

“WestJet pilots believe this reconfiguration erodes the guest experience and devalues our brand,” said Jacob Astin, who chairs the WestJet contingent of the Air Line Pilots Association, in an emailed statement.

He noted that Transport Canada had approved the change, but said it nonetheless “reduces the superior safety margins of previous layouts due to increased cramping.”

A dozen of the 22 rows in the planes’ economy class feature 28-inch pitch — the distance between one point on a seat and the same point on the seat in front — versus 29- or 30-inch pitches on most other carriers’ lower-tier seats. They also have what WestJet calls a “fixed recline design,” meaning they cannot be tilted back.

WestJet has stressed that the overhauled layout allows for more affordable fares. More spacious rows are also available at a higher price.

“Because safety is so important to us, it’s worth noting as part of the reconfiguration the aircraft underwent an extensive safety and certification process. All modifications were completed in accordance with Transport Canada’s rigorous airworthiness standards and WestJet’s own high internal safety requirements,” said WestJet spokeswoman Julia Kaiser in an email.

“We are closely monitoring guest and employee feedback to assess the product’s performance, comfort and suitability.”

For cabin crew, the more confined environment can make it harder to clean after a flight, carry out emergency procedures such as helping with oxygen masks and amount to a more uncomfortable trip when they commute to or from an upcoming shift, according to the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

The changes may also aggravate passengers already frustrated by the flying experience generally, said Alia Hussain, who chairs the union’s WestJet contingent.

“Flying inside the cabin is no longer what it used to be, and people are kind of intense,” she said in an interview.

2)WestJet reversing move to install tight seating layout after backlash

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Christopher Reynolds, Jan. 16, 2026.

In the wake of a backlash sparked by a viral video, WestJet has cancelled a new seat configuration that squeezed an extra row on board many of its planes and left passengers with less legroom.

In a Friday email obtained by The Canadian Press, the airline’s vice-president of inflight operations told staff that executives made the decision to return the cabins to their previous layout — a costly reinstallation process — after feedback from employees and customers.

Already installed on 22 of WestJet’s Boeing 737s, the non-reclining seats in a majority of the cabin’s economy section featured the smallest amount of leg room on any large Canadian carrier.

The configuration, which had been planned for 21 more aircraft, went on to draw national attention after a TikTok video showing the tight fit for passengers drew more than 1.1 million views.

Staff and travellers warned that the cramped cabin curtails safety, particularly in the event of an evacuation, and hurt the customer experience.

WestJet has pointed out that the reconfiguration underwent a full certification process.

In a news release Friday, CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said WestJet tried out a seat pitch that is “popular with many airlines around the globe,” noting they allow for lower fares.

“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,” he said.

A dozen of the 22 rows in the planes’ economy class feature 28-inch pitch — the distance between one point on a seat and the same point on the seat in front — versus 29- or 30-inch pitches on most other carriers’ lower-tier seats. They also have what WestJet calls a “fixed recline design,” meaning they cannot be tilted back.

WestJet said it will begin to convert all of its tight-packed 180-seat jets back to a 174-seat layout after receiving regulatory certification. The timeline is “still being determined,” it said.

The change could come with trade-offs for travellers.

“It sucks to have to pay more to fit into a seat. I get that. But also some people are just not well off financially enough to be able to afford more, and if they can have that cheaper option, why not?” said Andrew D’Amours, founder of flight deal site Flytrippers.

“But it is certainly very, very tiny,”

Whatever the effect on fares, the decision represents a direct response to customer feedback — or bad publicity.

“It’s one of the rare occasions where people’s voices and opinions have an actual impact on how airlines treat us,” D’Amours said.

The narrower rows put some WestJet cabins on a par with budget carriers such as Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Wizz Air, all of which sport 28-inch seats.

“At what point do we just all stand and hold onto a rubber ring handle?” asked one TikTok commenter.

However, the now-nixed configuration also carved out more space for 36 “extended comfort” seats with 34-inch pitch and 12 premium seats with 38-inch pitch, both of which yield bigger profit margins.

In December, WestJet paused a move to install the controversial seats on a big slice of its fleet amid earlier pushback, but also “to support our operations during the peak winter travel season,” said spokeswoman Julia Brunet in mid-December. “We plan to resume reconfiguring our all-economy aircraft in the spring.”

No longer.