{"id":9996,"date":"2026-02-13T14:08:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T22:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calleam.com\/WTPF\/?p=9996"},"modified":"2026-02-13T14:15:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T22:15:30","slug":"a-failed-sales-pitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calleam.com\/WTPF\/?p=9996","title":{"rendered":"Squeezing your customer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Following entry is a record in the \u201cCatalogue of Catastrophe<\/a>\u201d \u2013 a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Organization:<\/strong> WestJet Airlines
Project type:<\/strong> Aircraft interior reconfiguration \/ product redesign
Project name:<\/strong> Ultra-basic economy seating rollout
Date:<\/strong> 2025 \u2013 2026
Cost:<\/strong> Not disclosed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Synopsis:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To succeed in complex environments, project leaders must balance financial objectives with human factors, regulatory constraints, and public perception. Events surrounding WestJet\u2019s attempt to reduce passenger legroom suggest that even technically compliant projects can fail when social and safety impacts are underestimated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late 2025, WestJet introduced a reconfigured seating layout on portions of its Boeing 737 fleet. The redesign reduced seat pitch from the industry-standard 30 inches to 28 inches in some rows and introduced non-reclining seats in ultra-basic economy. The stated goal was to make air travel more affordable by adding additional rows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WestJet defended the redesign as compliant with Transport Canada\u2019s airworthiness standards and consistent with practices used by international carriers. However, critics argued that regulatory approval did not equate to acceptable customer experience or adequate safety margins. WestJet crews expressed concern that tighter configurations reduced evacuation safety buffers and eroded brand value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within months, the airline paused its rollout of non-reclining seats and reversed plans to expand the configuration to additional aircraft. What began as a pricing and product initiative aimed at increasing capacity and revenue became a reputational issue, raising questions about government oversight, safety and the limits of passenger tolerance for reduced comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the reconfiguration technically met regulatory requirements, the project failed in practice by triggering public backlash, internal resistance, and renewed scrutiny of airline seating standards. The episode highlights how projects that prioritize efficiency without fully accounting for human and social constraints can collapse once exposed to real-world use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contributing factors as reported in the press:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project relied on regulatory approval but overlooked passenger experience, safety concerns, and human variability. It underestimated social media backlash and failed to test the redesign realistically, while the lack of clear government legroom standards left the rollout vulnerable to both safety and reputational failures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference links:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viral video on WestJet plane sparks debate over passenger legroom, calls for more regulation<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airlines don\u2019t have to tell you how much legroom you\u2019ll have on your flight. Here\u2019s what you need to know<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WestJet seat U-turn exposes risks for airlines squeezing economy passengers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margot Jantz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following entry is a record in the \u201cCatalogue of Catastrophe\u201d \u2013 a list of failed and troubled projects from around the world. Organization: WestJet AirlinesProject type: Aircraft interior reconfiguration \/ product redesignProject name: Ultra-basic economy seating rolloutDate: 2025 \u2013 2026Cost: Not disclosed Synopsis: To succeed in complex environments, project leaders must balance financial objectives with human factors, regulatory constraints, and public […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,5,3,77],"tags":[138,100,132,129,62,93,147],"class_list":["post-9996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-private-sector","category-failed-project","category-why-projects-fail","tag-causes-of-failure","tag-examples-of-failed-projects","tag-private-sector","tag-failed-project","tag-quality-management","tag-why-do-projects-fail","tag-why-projects-fail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/calleam.com\/WTPF\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/calleam.com\/WTPF\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/calleam.com\/WTPF\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/calleam.com\/WTPF\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/calleam.com\/WTPF\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9996"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/calleam.com\/WTPF\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10006,"href":"https:\/\/calleam.com\/WTPF\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9996\/revisions\/10006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/calleam.com\/WTPF\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/calleam.com\/WTPF\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/calleam.com\/WTPF\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}