By Allison Lampert
Jan 13 (Reuters) – WestJet Airlines is speeding up a review of its non-adjustable economy seats to as early as this week, following a highly publicized backlash by passengers lamenting a lack of leg space, according to a message to staff seen by Reuters.
The Canadian carrier had been reviewing passenger feedback and data to come up with a path forward over the rollout of the seats on more aircraft, Chief Experience Officer Samantha Taylor told employees in a message on Monday.
“While we originally planned to make a decision in February, we’re now working to speed that up and come to an aligned plan forward as soon as this week,” Taylor wrote.
It’s not clear what decision WestJet will undertake concerning the reconfigured seats, which come in a fixed-reclining position. The carrier was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday.
WestJet’s rollout last year of the reconfigured seats on some of its Boeing 737 planes was widely seen as a test of the limits of add-on culture. Adjustable economy seats are still available, but passengers must pay extra.
While Onex Corp backed WestJet paused the rollout of the new configuration last month, videos of passengers with cramped legs hit social media sites in January. The space between the row of seats, or pitch, was reduced to 28 inches to allow for an extra row of seating.
In the message, Taylor thanked the carrier’s frontline teams, including cabin crew, for “managing our guests’ frustration” over the seating.
The new configuration also sparked pushback from WestJet flight attendants and pilots who warned the change could impact health and safety.
WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech and other executives from the airline tried the new seats during a November flight from Calgary to Toronto, according to a separate union memo to flight attendants seen by Reuters.
Von Hoensbroech offered to take the middle seat “so that he could experience the full extent of the cabin configuration,” the memo said.
Regulator Transport Canada said WestJet’s seat modifications are “compliant with federal regulations.”
(Allison Lampert in Montreal)
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