Around this time last year,
WestJet quietly introduced a new interior on their latest 737 MAXs.
Physically, this new cabin is essentially the same as the rest of the MAX fleet,
but has some new touches bringing it more in line with those on their 787s.
This is a pretty noteworthy change since, with the exception of the new premium seats,
the look of their 737 cabin hasn’t changed much in the last couple of years.
I lucked out with one of these new interior planes on a flight from
Ottawa to Calgary back in March, and I thought it was worth taking a closer look!
Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier International Airport is the second busiest airport in Ontario,
and serves Canada’s National Capital Region. Prior to 2020,
their annual passenger numbers peaked at just over 5 million people flying through.
The reason I was in Ottawa in the first place was to…
attempt to see Air Force One during U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Canada.
Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate in the slightest, with a fog bank coming right over
the airport just as it landed. I was trying to film a video of it but kinda had to give
up and take photos instead. Even then, you could barely see it as the plane turned off the runway.
We (a few friends and I) came back the next day for more photos in some much nicer weather,
but the plane was unfortunately scheduled to depart well after sunset.
Still, I was kinda glad to have even seen it at all. This modified 747-200,
officially the VC-25A, is just one of the most iconic airplanes out there,
so although a bit disappointed I didn’t actually get a proper video, it was still worth the trip.
I’ve flown through Ottawa a bunch of times before but have always
stayed post-security. Turns out, they have a very impressive check-in hall,
with these excellent views overlooking the whole terminal.
Post security is also pretty nice too, with some more great views overlooking the apron.
I gotta say, this is one of the nicest Canadian airports I’ve flown through,
it feels very open and modern, although the food options seemed a bit limited.
Our gate was all the way at the end of the domestic side,
which was an even newer expansion that opened in 2008. There’s lots of natural light,
seating, and room to walk, it seems pretty well thought out.
Soon enough, our ride to Calgary was arriving on runway 25, this, at the time,
brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 registered as Charlie Golf Papa Foxtrot Tango. This plane was delivered
to WestJet in mid-March of this year, and this was only its 20th or so revenue flight.
These new interiors are only on the newest batch of 737 MAXs, starting from tail 317 and upwards.
Also on some of these planes, you’ll notice the lack of “Spirit of Canada” titles. That
seems to have been another executive decision by WestJet’s new management.
From what I understand, it was mainly because the words “The
Spirit of Canada” don’t actually appear anywhere else in WestJet’s branding.
In that way I suppose it makes sense,
although it is not the only… change that new management has made.
There have been a lot of recent developments at WestJet,
including some details released about a new, new cabin for the 737 fleet.
First things first though, let’s go check this one out up close!
This was the first time I’d seen these new seats in person,
and you can really see what a big improvement these are!
Like I said though, the physical seats are still exactly the same as every other WestJet 737,
but it’s the new upholstery that really makes a difference.
My seat back home is just behind the exit rows in 15F.
It’s a little bit of a squeeze for me but nothing I’m not already used to!
There’s also this slightly overwing view as well.
As you also can see, the seatbacks are still the same, and the actual
configuration of the plane is the same too - 12 seats in Premium, and 162 in Economy.
I don’t think that takes away from just how nice it looks though! It’s definitely
not just a different colour either, the patterns are identical to the Economy
seats on their Dreamliners. The little extra details I love on the 787s are there too,
right down to the stitching on the headrests!
I know it might seem a little much to call it a “new interior” when the configuration is still
the same, but I don’t think you can deny that this looks SO MUCH better than the older cabin.
I’ll show some more of the interior once we’re airborne, and here’s the departure from Ottawa,
with a bit of a cameo from Air Force One, off of runway 25.
Well that was a pretty cool view of one of the world’s most famous airplanes! Taking off into
the sunset, the light outside on the climb out was gorgeous, and would only get even better.
As usual, the seat has the tray table, seatback pocket, in-seat power,
and a literature pocket at the top, with the air sickness bag and the safety card.
What's really funny though is, my seat neighbour somehow ended up with a Sunwing bag.
Since recording this though, it’s worth mentioning that physical menus seem to
have finally made a comeback! I found that out on another flight
recently and I’m very glad to see these again, and with some new food options.
Sad to say though, I don’t think we’ll ever see the WestJet Magazine again,
especially since their domain isn’t exactly active anymore.
Chasing the sunset westbound, the colours outside for the first hour or so of the
flight were just stunning. If you’re not a window seat person, this might be the wrong
channel for you but WestJet still has in-flight entertainment in the form of “WestJet Connect”.
If you connect to the onboard wifi and then open the WestJet app,
you’ll have access to a good selection of content to watch. Also, at some point I guess
they updated the interface, and it looks very nice with that dark blue background.
They also have a moving map with some flight information, and onboard wifi for purchase.
The crew held off on the inflight service until about 2 hours in
thanks to some forecasted turbulence up ahead, which was indeed accurate.
The light outside eventually faded and the cabin lights stayed dim as the inflight service started.
On this flight, I bought myself a healthy dinner, with a can of Pringles, and a cup of noodles.
This also came with some new sustainable cutlery in this nicely designed bag.
Although not the most elaborate airplane food ever,
I like that you at least have the option of having something warm.
However, from the new menu, I can also recommend the macaroni and cheese,
although it is another one of those things where you just add hot water.
This was followed up by the usual complimentary WestJet service, with a free drink and a cookie.
Ironically though, as a “low cost carrier”, again,
WestJet kind of offers more in Economy than Air Canada does,
since AC doesn’t actually give out any snacks for free. I do wonder how long this’ll last though.
Like I was saying before, WestJet currently has 174 seats on their 737-800s and MAX 8s.
Up front are the 12 seats in Premium, with three rows in a 2-2 configuration.
That new upholstery is not limited to Economy, and the Premium Seats now have
this very sharp design that arguably looks even better than the 787 version.
Behind those three rows are the 162 seats in Economy as you’ve
already seen. It is pretty remarkable what an extra bit of colour can do!
Also, on the aft bulkhead is one of my favourite features on the 787 - that very
clever gradient made up of WestJet deltas. So cool to finally see that on the 737!
The aft lavatories have gotten a bit narrower since the new Premium seats were installed,
but other than that, it is the same as every other WestJet 737 at this point.
By the way, all of those empty cabin shots were possible thanks
to the wonderful crew we had today. They very kindly let me stick around
for a minute after everyone else had deplaned, so a big thank you to them!
As we descend over the lights of Calgary though, I think here’s where I’ll wrap it up.
This was a pretty pleasant flight with WestJet, with the usual great inflight
service, and welcoming crew. The big thing though obviously, is that new interior.
It was a surprise to see WestJet do this because it is, ultimately,
a cosmetic change and doesn’t physically change the onboard experience in any way. However,
it is nice to see that they took some steps to make the interiors consistent with the 787s.
I don’t expect this new cabin to ever make it to the 737-700s or some older -800s (except
maybe the Swoop or Sunwing ones). With the MAX 10s joining the fleet though (at some
point) I’m glad they took the opportunity to at least give the cabins a bit of an update.
The thing with that is, the seat maps for the MAX 10 and a new one for the MAX 8s and
800s were unveiled recently, and not only are they putting in another row on these planes,
but the MAX 10s will seat a whopping 212 people.
That is a bit worrying because losing another inch or more of
legroom on these existing seats is bound to make Economy not very fun. That is,
unless they go with another new type of seat entirely and get some slimline ones like Lynx.
Reducing space in Economy also doesn’t quite line up with the whole idea of
connecting the east and the west with these long transcontinental flights.
I get the sense though that we’re going to be seeing some of those reconfigured
planes sooner rather than later, especially as Swoop gets reintegrated.
At least, as it stands right now, these new interiors on
WestJet’s newest 737 MAXs were a very pleasant surprise from the company.
Whatever their new, new cabins end up looking like,
hopefully they at least keep this much-improved look around.
Thanks for watching this flight with WestJet’s new 737 interior, and I’ll see you next time.