Cramped conditions questioned on recent WestJet flight

WestJet says its seating changes meet standards, but some passengers say they didn't feel comfortable or safe during a flight last month.

An Edmonton-area family says the lack of legroom on a recent WestJet flight left them feeling uncomfortable and unsafe.

Amanda Schmidt posted a video of her parents with their knees squished up against the seatbacks in front of them during a flight between Edmonton and Toronto before they continued on to the Dominican Republic.

The TikTok video from Dec. 27, 2025, has more than a million views.

“Dad, can you just straighten out your knees there? Impossible. It is impossible to straighten out,” can be heard on the video.

Schmidt tells CTV News her father is six-foot-three, or 190 cm, which she admits is tall but ultimately describes him as normal size.

She and her mother are five-foot-10 and five-foot-11, or 177 cm and 180 cm, respectively.

“It was disappointing to see because it’s not only uncomfortable but also unsafe,” she said in an interview on Tuesday.

In the fall, WestJet announced a new cabin configuration to offer different prices for seat selection.

“WestJet pioneered making air travel available to more Canadians through our ability to keep costs low and to offer affordable airfares—to continue to do so, we need to try new products; these aircraft accommodate an extra row by varying seat pitch between 38 and 28 inches,” said Julia Kaiser, media relations adviser for WestJet, in an emailed statement.

Kaiser says 21 of the 43 aircraft slated for redesign have been completed.

The carrier says it is monitoring feedback from staff and passengers.

“Because safety is so important to us, it’s worth noting, as part of the reconfiguration, the aircraft underwent an extensive safety and certification process. All modifications were completed in accordance with Transport Canada’s rigorous airworthiness standards and WestJet’s own high internal safety requirements,” said Kaiser.

Some passengers say the reconfiguration falls short of their expectations for air travel.

“They’re forcing you to upgrade, basically, if you want to safely fit in your seat. You shouldn’t have to do that,” said Schmidt.

An air passenger rights expert says offering adequate space for passengers is required under the “contract of carriage,” and just because the airplanes can add more seats with less room doesn’t mean they should.

“The ultimate obligation of the airline is to provide a seat that the passenger can fit into. That’s the fundamental legal obligation. It’s not a question of inches or whether it’s comfortable, but the passenger has to be able to fit into the seat,” said Gábor Lukács, founder of Air Passenger Rights.

Schmidt says she has not heard from WestJet directly about her video and is reconsidering future travel bookings.

“I would be happy to support a different airline that takes more consideration of human well-being,” she said.