"In that seat pocket in front you'll find a very great neglected safety features card please take
it out pretend to follow along if we cover some very important information about this aircraft."
Good afternoon and welcome back to another video. In the last episode we flew with Porter Airlines
on one of their Q400s. Today we'll be flying with WestJet Encore on one of their Q400s and will
experience their service. WestJet Encore started back in 2013 and is the regional Airline under the
WestJet brand and they connect smaller communities where maybe the 737 isn't the best aircraft. Today
we're starting in Thunder Bay and we'll be flying back down to Toronto and the flight's
at 4:25. So come along let's check out Thunder Bay airport as we start to make our way from A to B.
Well once again welcome back to another trip report and this was my last Canadian
domestic flight of the summer of 2022 and a few days after I would be heading back to Tokyo.
Today started fairly nice, it was quite windy and I think you could tell from the footage, but at
least the sun was shining but we'll see that the weather changed on a moment's notice. Thunder Bay
airport is very similar to many smaller airports in the country with the check-in and baggage
claim on the first floor with departures located above and this city is served by all three large
carriers. In the past Northwest, remember them, and United used to service the city to Minneapolis
and Chicago respectively but now American-bound passengers must connect via Winnipeg or Toronto.
The airport's also a critical link to the smaller communities of Northwestern Ontario
many of these communities are only accessible by air or ice road during the winter months.
A glimpse of the departures board and you're bound to see some of these rural communities.
Recognize any? Anyway as I often do I don't have any baggage so it's upstairs and through security.
EE: During the summer of 2022, they were repaving one runway (the longer one). Only Q400s could land here...not jets!
Post security is not terribly large, only having a handful of gates. Ours is Gate 3 at the end.
I like this little shop at the end of the terminal, a relatively new addition. There's
plenty of freshly prepared foods and you can pick up some delicious locally produced products.
Another thing I always love about this airport is the large windows to easily see outside.
As I mentioned earlier the airport services many small communities so
you'll see many different aircraft that you tend not to at larger airports.
By the time our plane arrived the weather was
starting to turn and those clouds don't look too pleasant do they?
EE: This would be my only flight with Wesjet in 2022.
Today we're in 6D. On the Q400s I prefer seats in the front or behind the engine
for the better view. So I avoid rows 9 through 13. depending on the airline.
With the summer storms passing through we had a short window to
take off and get underway and we took full advantage of it.
Today we're on one of WestJet Encores Q400s which was delivered back in 2015.
Each have 78 seats with the first 10, rows one through three providing extra legroom
and there's one lavatory located at the front of the aircraft.
EE: South of us is MN less than an hour's drive. Though driving south, the time changes -1. They decided to keep the city on Toronto time.
Our one hour 50-minute flight would take us a bit south over
Lake Superior and Michigan before jumping back into Canada to Toronto.
WestJet encore's Q400s come in a 2-2 seating configuration with blue seats
carpet and grey seat backs, a similar design to ANA's Wings aircraft what do you think?
Like on all Q400s the smaller overhead bin may not be able to
accommodate larger bags and I usually have to remove some articles myself.
The seats are simple and comfortable and provide a recline function. Would you prefer these seats
or Porter style of seating on their Q400s?0 Let us know in the comments! Top of the seat
back has a pocket for the safety card and menu. The table and net pocket are found underneath.
The 30 inch seat pitch yields enough room provided you don't have a large article below.
Encore's Q400s are not equipped with Wi-Fi or Ife so please bring your own... entertainment that
is. And if you are a new viewer with Wi-Fi why not subscribe for continued Aviation and travel
related content. I already have some great trips planned for 2023 which I can't wait to bring you!
The tray table is large enough to support a laptop or tablet and is adjustable to provide a bit more
flexibility. More importantly perhaps, is that the table is also capable of supporting many
delicious snacks that you can get during the flight. Encore has a nice little buy on board
menu suitable for length of flights the Q400 runs. The snack combo for C$10.50 was exactly
what I was looking for in the late afternoon and went with a rum and coke and beef jerky
and the awesome flight attendant threw in the cookies just for fun. Right on!
Time to sit back and enjoy the snack and the best inflate entertainment planes can provide!
[Music]
In between the turbulence I had a quick moment to check out the single lavatory at
the front of the aircraft and like Porter hand sanitizers provided instead of the waterworks.
A favorite on the Q400 is watching the wheel assembly deploy.
Overall it was a nice flight down to Toronto even with a few bumps I enjoy the hospitality that
WestJet provides. Their staff are very friendly and easy to interact with . everything
CA "Alright, those are the magic words from the flight deck that we started our final approach
to Toronto. Please fasten your seat belts and refrain from moving about the cabin or using the washroom for the remainder of the flight. "
The cost of this flight came out to 174 dollars.
All right so that's WestJet Encores Q400 and overall it's another great flight uh a little
bumpy at times you saw the the air mass was a little unsettled. Actually here in Toronto it's
pretty dark I mean it looks like it's nine o'clock at night and it's really like 7:15.
But you know the crew did a great job nice uh nice service. I got that snack combo and the
they said I'll have I have a couple more cookies so just a very happy enthusiastic uh
crew with that uh comedic element so I really enjoyed and I I really do like flying WestJet
quite a bit but a couple things that gets perhaps some frequent flyers is number one
they're not part of an airline group Star Alliance, Star/ Skyteam, One World
and for myself ,,,they don't fly to Asia (now they do!) but if they do I'll bring you that review. Let me
know what you thought about watch out Encores Q400. Thanks for watching I'll see you around next time :)