Canadian airlines scramble to make economy class less wearying

An Air Canada Airbus A321XLR aircraft during a preview event in Dorval, Quebec on June 3, 2026. The next-generation aircraft will debut with a new cabin design. Photo by Nasuna Stuart-Ulin /Bloomberg

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Canada’s airlines are in a race to provide an improved economy flying experience, promising cushy upgrades in an environment that has become notorious for its frustrations.

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However, it may be prudent for the economy traveller not to be quickly seduced by the promised upgrades.

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“It isn’t about restoring pleasure to economy, it’s about premiumization,” says John Gradek, aviation industry specialist and lecturer at McGill University. The upgrades are more likely to attract premium and loyalty flyers, he suggests.

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Recent upgrade announcements have come from Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat and Porter Airlines covering a range of items such as seating, headrests, USB ports, screens, tray tables and phone/tablet holders.

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However, says Gradek, the airlines are “not making flying more pleasurable, so much as turning pleasure into a product line … the mass leisure traveller still chooses on price and schedule. A sharper screen won’t change that.”

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They have “worked out that the money is at the front of the plane, and in getting economy passengers to pay up — premium economy, preferred seats, extra legroom. Premium economy is the fastest-growing cabin in the business, and the industry is quietly splitting into a buy-up premium tier and a stripped-down basic one.”

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That means, says Gradek, that the “genuinely substantial moves are all up front.” For example, he points to Air Canada putting lie-flat seats on the new Airbus A321XLR, a long-range, narrow-body jet. That and its Signature Plus suites on the 787 “are real, industry-notable steps,” he says.

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On the other hand, he suggests that WestJet’s recently announced “transformation” is mostly about bringing the former Swoop and Sunwing airline planes up to a normal WestJet cabin, premium seats included.

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“What the person in economy actually gets is a refresh, not a revolution,” says Gradek. That includes, he notes, bigger 4K screens, USB-C power, tablet holders, nicer lighting and lighter seats.

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“All welcome, all overdue, but that’s table stakes in 2026, not a leap,” he insists.

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Moreover, Gradek points out that the one thing that “defines economy comfort, the pitch and width of the seat, isn’t moving.” The pitch is the distance from a specific point on one airplane seat and the same point on the seat in front or behind. It provides a sense of a passenger’s personal space, legroom and overall comfort.

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For example, Gradek says, while Porter’s new seats “are genuinely nice and about 30 per cent lighter, the legroom is exactly what it was.”

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Meanwhile, he chalks up Air Transat’s recent upgrade announcement as really being “an aircraft-delivery announcement, the A321XLR arriving in 2027, wearing a comfort headline.”

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Air Canada and Air Transat are both taking receipt of the Airbus A321XLR. And both focus, as a result, on the ability to launch new international routes and improve their present offerings.