WestJet is facing criticism after announcing plans to squeeze in more seats — and making reclining a paid feature. Here’s what’s changing and why some travellers are calling it a 'cash grab.'

Los Angeles International Airport

WestJet has revealed plans to modify the cabins of 43 of its 737-8 MAX and 737-800 aircraft, introducing fixed-back seats in certain sections. Passengers seeking additional comfort, such as the ability to recline, will be required to pay an upgrade fee, though the airline has not yet disclosed the cost.

The airline claims the new seats will be more comfortable overall and that foot room will be redistributed rather than reduced. The announcement has drawn mixed reactions, with some industry experts calling it a 'cash grab' and passengers expressing both support and concern over the changes. The new seating configuration is expected to be introduced soon.

'Cash grab': Airline announces non-reclining seats

WestJet has announced it will be altering the cabins of some of their airplanes and adding extra charges for reclining seats. Seats on certain jets will now have a fixed back design, meaning passengers who want additional leg room and the option of reclining will have to pay more. Tricia is looking into this story for us this morning. Okay, a lot of passengers might be thinking, hold on a second, so to recline, to not recline, that is the question, and then the added question, is it worth paying up? Well, the question really at this point is how much are you going to have to pay? We don't know, but it would be an upgrade to be able to catch a little comfort and catch some sleep on your long-haul flight, if that might be in your near future. So if we take a look at some of these plans, the airline says that it's going to be reconfiguring 43 of its 737-8 MAXs and its 737-800 airliners. Now, these pictures that we are showing here are just artist rendering, so we should just let that be known that this might not be exactly what these future cabins could look like, but essentially this is meant to give you an idea of what it could look like with these fixed reclined design seats, which again means it won't be able to put, you won't be able to put that seat back unless you recline or upgrade to a better seat that allows you to recline. So now, under this new design, they say that it's going to be essentially a premium option to be able to put that seat back, but that in the economy cabins, there still will be adjustable headrests and that sort of thing, but they're also noting that they are upgrading their seats in general. So they are saying they're going to be more comfortable, and while these adjustments are going to see the loss of some foot room, they're basically saying that you're going to get back that foot room with these new seats. It'll be sort of a redistribution of the body when you're sitting in the seat, I suppose. But now, the reaction to all this news, getting a little bit of mixed reviews. One person who we know quite well here on this network is John Graddick. He is from Montreal's McGill University. Now, he spoke with CBC radios as it happens. Now, he called it a cash grab, and he went on to say they're trying to somehow, some way, you know, create another echelon of service that would allow them to charge more. Now, our colleagues at CBC Vancouver also were able to connect with some people in the airport there. They also had a lot of mixed reviews. One woman had said she had just come off a 17-hour flight from Paris, and while she had been on that flight, someone was very heavily reclined into her space. Not enjoyable. So, mixed reviews across the board. I think we all have sort of seen those price creep in the travel industry, so this sort of just falls in line with what we've already been seeing, the trend there. But I don't know. I guess we'll have to see whether the upgrade fee is steep, if it's worth it, if people want to get that rest. Marianne, what do you think? Are you paying? I think that is a question of pain in your wallet, pain in your neck. That's very true. Or are you both a pain in the neck? We don't know. There's a little bit of pain on both sides, that's for sure. But it'll be interesting to see really what those fees actually look like once we see them come into place. The airline says that it could be seen as early as this spring. All right. Thanks so much for this, Tricia. Thanks.

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