WestJet

WestJet is one of those airlines you won’t find on your doorstep as a German spotter – and that is exactly why it is worth a look. The Canadian carrier from Calgary visits European airports mainly in summer, with the 737 MAX on the shorter Atlantic routes and the Boeing 787-9 on long-haul. Here you will learn how to identify WestJet with confidence, which fleet segments exist and where you have a chance of a sighting.

WestJet at a glance

WestJet is Canada’s second-largest airline after Air Canada. It was founded in Calgary in 1994, by Clive Beddoe and David Neeleman, among others, who later created JetBlue. Flight operations began on February 29, 1996 – a leap day – with three used Boeing 737-200s and destinations in western Canada: Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Vancouver and Winnipeg.

The model was the American low-cost approach: a uniform 737 fleet, simple processes, cheap tickets. Over the years, though, WestJet has changed considerably. Today the airline operates a hub in Calgary, offers business class, flies the Boeing 787-9 to Europe and Asia and works with international partners. That is why we list WestJet here as a network airline, even though the low-cost roots are still visible.

The ownership structure has changed as well. Since December 2019 WestJet has been majority-owned by the Canadian holding company Onex, and the airline has no longer been listed on the stock exchange since. In October 2025, Delta Air Lines, Korean Air and Air France-KLM took minority stakes – a clear sign of how closely WestJet is now tied to the SkyTeam environment without being a member itself.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code WS: appears in the flight number, so on departure boards, tickets and schedules.
• ICAO code WJA: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on flight trackers.
• Callsign WESTJET: how the crew identifies itself on the radio.
• WestJet Encore: its own codes, namely IATA WR, ICAO WEN and callsign “ENCORE.”

The difference between flight number and callsign is quickly explained at WestJet, because both carry the name. It gets interesting when WEN suddenly shows up on the tracker instead of WJA: then the regional subsidiary is flying. You will find more on the abbreviations in the article IATA and ICAO codes explained and in the guide Callsign or flight number?.

The fleet: Boeing up front, Dash 8 in the west

WestJet has been a Boeing airline since its founding. According to fleet overviews from fall 2026, the mainline fleet consists of four types. The numbers change constantly with deliveries and retirements, so treat them as an order of magnitude.

Type	In service (approx.)	Seats	Use	Spotter note
Boeing 737-700	34	132	Short- and medium-haul	Shortest 737 in the fleet, one overwing exit per side
Boeing 737-800	52	174	Short- and medium-haul, vacation destinations	Two overwing exits per side, classic engines
Boeing 737 MAX 8	69	174	Medium-haul, also transatlantic	Serrated engine nacelles, split-tip winglets
Boeing 787-9	7	320	Long-haul to Europe and Asia	Only widebody aircraft in the fleet
Boeing 737 MAX 10	on order	–	not yet in service	Longest 737, gradually replaces the 737-700

The Boeing 737-700 was the entry into the Next Generation in 2001. In 2005 the first 737-800 arrived, and the 737 MAX 8 followed later. The 787-9 offers 320 seats in three classes: business, premium and economy, with part of economy offered as Economy Plus with more legroom.

For the future of short- and medium-haul, WestJet has bet on the 737 MAX 10: after an initial order in 2022, another 65 were added in September 2025. The manufacturer of all mainline types is Boeing.

Former types

Gone from the fleet are the 737-200s of the early years, the 737-600s and the four Boeing 767-300ERs that WestJet retired in July 2020 during the pandemic. There was also, for a time, a small freighter fleet of converted 737-800s; in March 2025 WestJet decided to carry cargo only in the belly of its passenger aircraft again.

One group, several brands

Behind WestJet is a group whose aircraft don’t all look the same. For spotters this is the most interesting part.

Brand	Role	Codes	Fleet	What you see
WestJet	Mainline	WS / WJA	737, 787-9	Standard livery with maple leaf
WestJet Encore	Regional subsidiary since 2013	WR / WEN	Dash 8-400	Turboprop in WestJet colors
Swoop	Ultra-low-cost, integrated in 2023	–	737	At times still flying in Swoop colors
Sunwing	Leisure airline, part of the group since 2023	–	737	18 aircraft handed to WestJet in 2025, some in old colors

WestJet Encore has flown exclusively the De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 with 78 seats since June 2013. The focus today is western Canada; Encore has given up routes east of Thunder Bay. The turboprops do not come to Europe – if you want to see them, you have to go to Canada.

Swoop started in 2018 as an ultra-low-cost offshoot and was integrated into WestJet on October 28, 2023. The aircraft were not repainted right away. The same goes for Sunwing: after the last flight under its own name in May 2025, 18 aircraft moved to WestJet, initially without a new livery. Whether a particular aircraft has been repainted in the meantime is quickest to find out from a recent photo in the community or a look at the registration.

How to recognize WestJet

The basic livery is simple: white fuselage, “WestJet” titles and a tail divided diagonally into three fields of navy, white and turquoise. The same pattern reappears on the outside of the winglets. With the rebranding in May 2018 – the first major change since the founding – WestJet got a new typeface, a stylized maple leaf on the tail and the addition “The Spirit of Canada” in English and French on the fuselage.

WestJet used to have some well-known special liveries, including two Disney designs. They were all repainted into the standard colors in 2024. If you are looking for special colors today, look instead for aircraft with a Swoop or Sunwing past. Tips for hunting down special aircraft can be found in the guide to special liveries.

The 787-9 is easier: it is the only widebody aircraft in the fleet. You can recognize its strongly upward-curved wings in flight and the serrated engine nacelles from a long distance. If you still mix up Airbus and Boeing, the article Telling Airbus and Boeing apart helps.

Spotting WestJet in Europe

According to the route overviews available to us (as of fall 2026), Germany is not in the WestJet network. Other airlines connect you directly between Germany and Canada, such as Air Canada, Lufthansa or Condor. For a WestJet sighting you therefore have to go abroad in Europe – or get lucky with a diversion landing.

European destinations include London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam Schiphol, Dublin, Rome Fiumicino, Barcelona, Lisbon, Edinburgh and Reykjavík. Many of these connections run only in the summer schedule. In Asia, WestJet serves Tokyo Narita and Seoul Incheon.

From Germany, Amsterdam is the most obvious destination. At the Spotterplaats Polderbaan you have good chances of long-haul traffic when the Polderbaan is in use. In London, Myrtle Avenue is worthwhile for landings on westerly operations. An overview of more spots can be found in the best spotting spots in Europe.

Transatlantic flights from Canada typically arrive in the morning after an overnight flight. So plan early, watch the light and look at the runway direction in use – how that works is explained in the guide to runway direction at airports. With flight tracking via ADS-B you can see over the Atlantic whether the WJA aircraft is on time.

Common mix-ups

• Confusing WestJet with Air Canada – both show a maple leaf, but Air Canada’s is red on black and WestJet’s is blue and turquoise.
• Assigning Encore flights to the mainline – Dash 8-400s in WestJet colors fly as WEN, not WJA.
• Still seeing WestJet as a pure low-cost airline – with a hub, business class and the 787-9 it operates like a network airline today.
• Taking a 737 in someone else’s colors for another airline – Canadian 737s in Swoop or Sunwing looks may now belong to WestJet.
• Logging the 737-700 as an -800 – the -700 is shorter and has only one overwing exit per side.
• Thinking WestJet is a SkyTeam member – despite codeshares and stakes held by SkyTeam airlines, WestJet is in no alliance.

Conclusion

WestJet has developed from a small low-cost airline with three used 737-200s into Canada’s second big network airline. For spotters in Germany it is a sighting for trips to Amsterdam, London, Paris or Dublin – mostly in summer, mostly in the morning. If you note down the registration and ICAO code, you keep mainline, Encore and the aircraft with a Swoop or Sunwing past neatly apart.