This airline is now charging passengers an extra fee to recline their seat

These days, flying can get expensive. Sure, a flight might appear cheap when you first go to book it, but by the time you’ve selected a seat, added a single suitcase, and maybe had some crisps while in the air, you’ve probably near-tripled your fare and run out of money to spend when you land.

Now, one airline wants to add another cost: reclining your seat. Passengers flying with the Canadian company WestJet will now have to pay extra in order to access a premium cabin if they want to sit back, as the standard fare seats will no longer be able to recline.

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This comes as part of a wider change to the planes’ interiors. Several planes are being rejigged to make space for extra seats and extra passengers, plus a luxurious new premium cabin, though the company says that the newly renovated aircrafts make up ‘less than a third of our narrowbody fleet’. These changes will only be made to newly acquired planes from former providers Swoop, Lynx and Sunwing.

According to WestJet, the goal is to ‘create a cohesive look and feel across [its] formerly economy-only aircraft’. It describes the new look as an ‘upgraded design’ offering ‘a bright, airy atmosphere’, only with slightly less space in between the seats.

A new ‘Extended Comfort section’ will also be added to the planes, which will allow passengers to opt for extra legroom. You’ll also be able to pay extra for an ‘ergonomically designed contoured bottom and back cushion’ – aka a comfier chair.

The airline says that the new design ‘caters to our guests’ diverse preferences’. It noted that when it asked customers, more than half of them actually said they preferred that the seats wouldn’t recline anymore as it would prevent ‘other passengers encroaching upon their space’.

‘Whether they opt for Premium seating with extra amenities and legroom or for more affordable ticket prices with less space, we’re excited to introduce this range of products for our guests to enjoy’, WestJet added.

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