Hello everyone, my name is Alex, and welcome to another trip report.
In today’s video, I’m flying with WestJet Link, WestJet’s commuter brand, on a Saab 340B.
WestJet Link was introduced in 2017 to bring more connecting traffic to WestJet’s Calgary
hub, from smaller cities in Alberta and British Columbia.
Flights started in June 2018, between Calgary and Medicine Hat, Lloydminster, Cranbrook,
Prince George, and Lethbridge - where I’m headed today.
WestJet sells the first two rows of this Saab 340 as “Premium” seats.
Since all 6 seats were empty, I upgraded myself to the first row during check-in.
These flights are operated by Pacific Coastal Airlines of British Columbia, under a Capacity
Purchase Agreement with WestJet.
This allows WestJet to use these 34-seat aircraft into smaller cities that might not have the
demand for a Q400 or 737.
It’s a very similar arrangement to what Air Canada does with their own “Express” brand.
So yes, these Saab 340s aren’t physically owned by WestJet, but they are the smallest
aircraft in the WestJet livery, and I think that still counts.
But enough backstory, today’s aircraft is a 25-year-old Saab 340B registered as
Charlie Golf Oscar India Alpha.
This aircraft was originally delivered to American Eagle in 1993, and flew with Colgan
Air and Integra Air before being sold to Pacific Coastal in 2017.
Unfortunately, it’s not one of the three aircraft in the actual WestJet Link livery,
but it’s still a new type for me.
I haven’t flown through this part of YYC before and, to be honest, it reminds me a
bit of a Costco warehouse.
Fortunately, today’s gate isn’t too far from here.
Gates 1 through 6 in Calgary are all ramp boarding gates.
These are used by the WestJet Link Saabs as well as some WestJet Encore Q400s.
It turns out there are only 9 passengers on today’s flight, so despite boarding 20 minutes
late, we still left on schedule.
Here’s my seat for this short flight, 2F.
It’s a bulkhead exit row seat, so legroom is a bit restrictive as far as stretching goes.
That said, there’s plenty of knee space for someone who’s 6’8”.
I’m pretty glad I went with row 2.
The row behind, row 3, is pretty tight for yours truly, and it doesn’t have a window.
I’ll go over everything else once we’re airborne, but in the meantime, enjoy this
spectacular windy departure from Calgary, starting up, and taking off from runway 29.
It’s a gusty day here in Southern Alberta, with 30 knot winds coming over the Rocky Mountains,
so it was pretty bumpy the entire flight.
However, that didn’t stop the lone cabin crew member from supplying us with water,
pretzels, and a classic WestJet Biscoff cookie.
Unlike most bulkhead seats, Row 2 doesn’t have a tray table in the armrest, and instead
has this detachable one.
In the seatback pocket, you’ll find the usual air sickness bag, the current month’s
issue of the WestJet magazine, and a safety card for this Saab 340.
One thing I’ll mention is that the armrests are in a very strange spot.
They’re quite low, even for the average person.
I’d also advise against choosing seat 2A, unless you’re… good friends with the cabin crew.
There is a lavatory on this aircraft, but
I don’t think I’ll subject myself to it in these conditions.
Otherwise though, there’s not much else to do on a flight this short, except admire
the view of the prairies and the Rocky Mountains in the distance.
About half an hour of turbulent flying later, we started our descent into Lethbridge, landing
on runway 23.
Overall, I had a great time flying with WestJet Link.
The Saab 340 was a lot of fun to fly, and despite the bumpy ride (which I didn’t mind),
seat 2F was reasonably comfortable.
I was pleasantly surprised to even get a snack on such a short flight, and like my Beech
1900D video (which I filmed the same day) there was an interesting small-town feeling
of flying with just a few other people, especially from an airport as big as Calgary.
All in all, I think WestJet made the right call choosing Pacific Coastal and the Saab
340 for the WestJet Link brand, and I’m curious to see if they’ll expand it to other parts of Canada.
That concludes this short trip report with WestJet’s “smallest” aircraft!
Thank you very much for watching, leave a like if you enjoyed, subscribe if you’re
new to the channel, and as always, I’ll see you in the next one.