WestJet is in the process of modernizing 43 all-economy-configured Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 737-800 twinjets with new seats, including Premium recliners up front, as well as bold and beautiful CMF (color, materials and finish) throughout.
In recent years, WestJet has been ingesting all-economy 737s from a variety of sources including its Swoop subsidiary, which ceased operations in 2023, and newly acquired Sunwing. As a stop gap measure, and in a bid to offer a more consistent onboard experience to guests, the airline introduced temporary enhancements to these twinjets, including a Premium product featuring blocked middle seats.
Now it’s ready to bring a cohesive look and feel across these all-economy twinjets.
The refresh will see WestJet install 12 Premium seats, 36 “Extended Comfort” economy seats with more legroom and adjustable recline, and a densified economy class cabin with fixed-recline seats.
“The first of 43 planned aircraft with the new cabin will welcome guests in October 2025,” the airline reveals in a statement.
Christine Steller, senior product owner at WestJet says on LinkedIn that the new interior is “inspired by the Rocky Mountains to the west of WestJet’s Calgary home” and that “every detail of this cabin reflects the natural beauty of Canada. Teal shades echo glacier-fed lakes, while angular lines drawn from our logo form a mountain range across the seat backs.”
The new cabin certainly appears to be a significant improvement over the brown and beige CMF found on many of WestJet’s two-class 737s. And whilst we look forward to seeing the new seat maps, the airline has released a teaser video of the new interiors. Note the device holds in the economy class seatbacks.
Notably, the 12-seat Premium section features the same Collins Aerospace MiQ seats as found in premium economy on WestJet’s Boeing 787s. Guests “love” these seats on the Dreamliners, explains the airline, as they boast ergonomically contoured seat cushions, reclining seatbacks, a large headrest with four-way adjustment capability, easy-access center console storage compartments, a universal AC socket and USB-C charging port and other passenger-pleasing amenities like coat hooks.
The new larger Extended Comfort section, located directly behind Premium will be separated from the economy cabin by a cabin divider. Ultra slimline standard economy seats down back, meanwhile, offer “choices ranging from less space at the back to more space near the front of the cabin” and allow the airline to add one row of seats compared to its prior standard layout, WestJet says.
WestJet is also rolling out free, fast, TELUS-sponsored Starlink-supported Wi-Fi across its fleet. The inflight connectivity system will complement the new interiors, WestJet says, and installations are expected to be completed on all WestJet 737-800 and MAX-8 aircraft by the end of 2025.
Whilst WestJet says it is working hard to execute the reconfiguration as quickly as possible, it will “continue to operate some economy-seating only aircraft, to sustain our growing network and prioritize providing our guests with increased access to affordable air travel.”
Image and video credited to WestJet
