Calgary, Alberta (AHN) – The new non-stop service that WestJet Airlines will begin next year from Alberta to Hawaii will have empty middle seats. The budget Canadian air carrier will pilot test an empty middle-seat zone in the first eight to 10 rows of its single aisle aircraft.

In exchange for the larger space and more privacy, WestJet passengers would pay an additional $20 one-way for those seated in the zone. The experiment would apply to the Calgary-Hawaii and Edmonton-Hawaii legs of WestJet.

The Calgary-Honolulu and Calgary-Maui routes are new services. The Honolulu once-a-week flights would run from March 7 to April 25, 2010 and the Maui trips from March 6 to May 1, 2010. The one-way fare to Honolulu begins at $329, while for Maui it starts from $369, excluding applicable fees and taxes.

The new policy would leave vacant 16 to 20 middle seats out of the 136-seater Boeing 737-700 aircraft of WestJet. The move would reduce the plane’s weight, cut fuel cost and be in line with aviation safety regulations. It creates, in effect, a premium economy section for WestJet without opening a business section, which is not part of the air carrier’s corporate culture that focuses on casualness.

With the stopover at Vancouver removed, Albertans could leave by early morning and arrive in Hawaii before lunch. WestJet vice president for Guest Experience and Marketing Bob Cummings said in a statement early this month, “We wish we could offer this opportunity sooner, but with 11 new destinations in our 2009-2010 winter schedule – our biggest winter schedule ever – we had to wait until we took delivery of more aircraft before we could make this happen.”

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