WestJet Inaugurates First Dreamliner with Service to London

Concourse at London Gatwick

Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet launched its new Dreamliner service from Calgary to London’s Gatwick Airport Sunday evening.

The inaugural flight, WS1, departed Calgary International Airport at 7:29 p.m. local time and touched down at Gatwick Airport at 11:11 a.m. local time, arriving at the gate at 11:18.

The flight “marks new chapter in WestJet’s global strategy,” the airline said in a statement.

The airline’s first Dreamliner is christened Clive Beddoe after the airline’s founder, who was on board the flight.

WestJet’s Dreamliners seat 320 passengers in a three-class configuration. The airline will offer a business-class cabin with its first ever fully lie-flat seats, as well as a premium-economy cabin with seats in a 2-3-2 configuration.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is the second member of the Dreamliner family to be produced. Similar to the 787-8, the stretch variant of the high-tech jet uses 20% less fuel and produces 20% fewer emissions than similar-sized airplanes.

Compared to the original, the 787-9 is 20’ (six meters) longer, has greater capacity, and has a range of 8,300 nautical miles (15,372 kilometers), while the 787-8 is limited to 7,850 nautical miles (14,500 kilometers).

(Photo: Accura Media Group)