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WestJet is a Canadian airline, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. WestJet describes their Business Class as:

With our state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner, you’re in for an exceptional experience on board. From enhanced menu offerings, to lie-flat seats accompanied by luxurious blankets and pillows, whether you’re travelling for business or leisure, you’ll quickly understand that we mean business. For international flights we have also partnered with top Canadian brands to provide you with exclusive amenity items, including nourishing skin care products and more.

This review covers the single seat "pod" in WestJet's Business Class, on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, flying between Calgary, Alberta, and Toronto, Ontario.

Link to WestJet Business Class:   https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/inflight/business-cabin




1. Check-In
Check-in was very straight forward. WestJet has dedicated "Business Class" check-in counters, and there was no one in front of me. Service was very polite, and no problems came up. While the check-in experience was perfectly fine, there was also nothing very memorable about it.


2. Lounge & Pre-boarding
While having used WestJet's lounges in the past, this flight did not come with a lounge experience. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 health pandemic, all lounges were closed. COVID-19 vaccines are just being delivered now, so hopefully these lounges will re-open soon. Until then, however, the lounge & pre-boarding experience was fairly boring.


3. Boarding & Pre-takeoff
Nothing special to report with the boarding process. Business Class and certain levels of WestJet loyalty get to board first, and the process was swift and uneventful.

Upon boarding, a flight attendant standing by the aircraft door directs to turn "left", which is in the direction of the flight deck. Here, you must pass through the Premium Economy cabin, which looks very comfortable. Once through that section, we enter the Business Class cabin.



At my seat is supposed to be an amenity kit, provided to all Business Class passengers. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 health pandemic, this offering was temporarily suspended. That was extremely disappointing, but again, not surprising given all the changes that have come along with travelling during a pandemic.


4. Seat Review
WestJet's 787 Dreamliner Business Class is configured for individual pod-style seating. There are 4 pods per row, and with two aisles, this means that every Business Class seat has direct aisle access. This seat is 1K, which is the very first row, on the right side of the plane, with window access.



One of the coolest features of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft is the ability to individually tint you own windows. This is exceptionally useful if you happen to be flying with the sun on your side of the aircraft. A simple push button below the window allows you to change the shade of tint, from no tint to darkest.



Leg room was exceptional. Individual pod-style seating always offers the most space, but depending on how the pods are designed, curvature and narrowing where the legs and feet rest can still be a concern. I am 6 foot and 1 inch tall, and I had no problems at all with leg room.



The seat itself was very comfortable, in any of the positions, including lie-flat. While I didn't sleep on this particular flight, I have no doubt that I could have, with ease. There is a small tray table in front of you below the infotainment screen, as well as a very generous ledge in front of the windows. There are multiple storage cubbies, which include remote controls.

The infotainment screen is very large, coming in at 18.5 inches in diameter. I left mine on the "map" setting, as I got some work done on my laptop for the majority of the flight. However, I did quickly scroll through the various movies and shows that were available, and the list was quite lengthy.




5. Food
WestJet describes their 787 Dreamliner Business Class food as "Enjoy contemporary, Canadian and globally inspired hot meals, served on dining ware inspired by our rich Canadian landscapes.". Unfortunately, again, due to the COVID-19 health pandemic, there was no hot meal service. This was likely the most disappointing part of my flight, but again, not surprising, and also not something I would necessarily fault WestJet for.

I did receive a pre-packaged snack box, which had an assortment of chips, cookies and finger snacks. My flight attendant told me I could have as many as I liked, should I want more. While the snacks were fine, they were, of course, not "Business Class" niveau, by any means.

Limited drink service, however, was available. I chose to have the Merlot wine, which was served to me in a small bottle, with separate glass.




6. Staff interaction
I feel like a broken record saying this again, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 health pandemic, staff interaction was purposely kept to a minimum. While my flight attendant did come see me several times during the flight, it was not as often as it normally would have been. I was made aware of this very shortly after I sat down, before takeoff. Once again, this is not really WestJet's fault, nor is there a lot they can do about it. They have to balance customer care with employee safety, and I understand that.

However, I can say that the limited interaction I did have with the on-board staff, was excellent. They were very friendly, very accommodating, and I have no reason to believe that should I ever fly WestJet Business Class again, once the pandemic is over, my experience would be nothing other than superb. I do look forward to this day, as I'm sure many other of my fellow travellers do as well.


7. Cost
This flight, one-way, is ~$1,350.00 CDN, for a flight time of approximately 4 hours. I ended up using a combination of "loyalty points and cash" to book this flight. Regardless, however, it certainly isn't a very cheap seat. At the same time, economy class tickets were selling for ~$400.00. At over three times the price, the Business Class fare is certainly a step up. However, with the free checked bag allowance, lounge access, hot meals and other amenities provided, I do believe the value is there.

You will note that I mentioned things, like lounge access, in my evaluation of the cost of this flight. The COVID-19 health pandemic, while seemingly having no end in sight, will eventually subside. While I wasn't able to fully enjoy all the standard amenities and offerings of the Business Class fare, these will likely return in the near future. As such, my evaluation needs to take into account the "standard" experience, not the unique one I happened to be subjected to. At time of writing this review, COVID-19 vaccines are becoming readily available, and hopefully, we can all put this health crisis behind us.


8. Rating
The rating classification system is a subjective opinion, using a points allocated based on a first-hand experience. All categories have a maximum of 10 points, resulting in a score out of 70.

Check-in - Self check-in kiosks the same as economy class which is disappointing especially if there is a lineup, but dedicated counters with staff for Business Class passengers - 8/10
Lounge, pre-boarding - Lounge access is superb, with one of WestJet's own signature lounges available in this airport - 9/10
Boarding, pre-takeoff - Priority boarding before other fare classes, which is fairly standard in the industry. Pre-takeoff visit from the cabin crew, drink offered - 9/10
Comfort, leg room - The 787 "pod style" seating is currently the leading design for business class in this aircraft type, and WestJet's iteration does not disappoint. Very comfortable seat, plenty of room - 9.5/10
Food - COVID-era food service has been significantly reduced, and is rather lackluster and disappointing. However, this is not unique to WestJet and is happening with all airlines, worldwide. As such, this rating will compare WestJet's offering to other airlines at this point in time, and given that, WestJet's prepackaged food is decent quality, and unlimited snacks were available - 8/10
Staff interaction - Cabin crew were exceptionally friendly and accommodating, even with COVID-era protocols in place - 9/10
Cost and value - While WestJet's pricing is very similar to their primary competitor, Air Canada, both airlines still charge marginally high rates for domestic business class cabins. More could be in done in this regard - 7/10

Total score: 59.5 out of 70


9. Final Thoughts
WestJet is known as a "low cost" airline, whose primary competitor is Canada's flagship carrier, Air Canada. Traditionally, WestJet's fleet of aircraft has been comprised of Boeing 737 variants, in various configurations. WestJet's Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and their respective Business Class cabins, are new to WestJet, as are the adjustments required to service that higher tier, premium product.

In my opinion, WestJet has done a fantastic job. From the layout of the Business Class cabin, to the comfort of the seats, to the overall "fun" and customer-focused vibe of the offering, WestJet has created a product that can easily match (and possibly out-perform) its competition. I very much look forward to taking another Business Class flight onboard this aircraft, and hopefully enjoying the meal service and other amenities that I missed out on.