Airline changes plane configuration, removes reclining ability from economy seats
Passengers traveling on Canadian airline WestJet will soon have to pay for the ability to recline certain seats aboard a fleet of newly redesigned aircraft.
The budget airline that pioneered affordable airfare for Canadian travelers confirmed to ABC News that it is "reconfiguring all 43 acquired aircraft that are currently all-economy" from defunct airlines Swoop, Lynx and Sunwing.
The redesign, which was first announced last month, will do away with the recline function on standard economy seats, which will now have a "fixed recline."
The planes being refreshed account for "less than a third of our narrowbody fleet," inclusive of both Boeing 737-8 MAX and 737-800 aircrafts, WestJet said.
"Through our guest user testing, half indicated they preferred a fixed recline, to avoid feeling impacted by other passengers encroaching upon their space," a representative for WestJet told ABC News. "For guests that prefer a recline option, please note that seating in the Extended Comfort and Premium cabins of reconfigured aircraft will include this feature."
To continue to keep costs low, the representative told ABC News, "we need to be willing to try new products and see how they work for Canadians."
WestJet flies routes to 19 U.S. states including Hawaii, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
The first aircraft with the new reconfiguration is expected to enter service later this month, the representative confirmed. The remaining 42 planes are set to be completed early next year.
