That (sadly) makes sense ... but AVH did seem to be signalling that his strategy was to be all things to all people within a single aircraft. I took that to mean he wanted to offer everything from "preferred" Y to "standard" Y to "Swoop/Lynx/Flair/Spirit" Y.

As for Extended Comfort, it makes sense as a product. It's on par with Delta's ComfortPlus, United's E+, Air Canada's "Preferred".

What's frustrating, IMO, is that they're really just taking their existing seating and hiking up the price -- with a new brand name.

The price hikes that have been reported are far higher than the cost of a beer or a glass of wine, which is really the only difference in this "new" product. (Sure, zone 2 boarding is a new feature -- but that doesn't impact anyone who already has status with WestJet.) Comparing the before and after pricing for those exact-same front-of-cabin seats ... you're really only getting a really, really expensive beverage.

Questions:

• Do we know for sure if this will in any way impact Platinum and Gold tier seat selection benefits (i.e. complimentary seat selection for any seat in Y)?
• Will pax who purchase the cheapest possible, Basic ticket and don't pay for advance seat selection ever be seated in Extended? If someone forks out their $100 (or whatever) extra for the Extended seating, are they likely to be seated next to someone who gets 'Extended' assigned as their seat - for free - at the gate? (Delta and United both seem to preserve the integrity of their front-of-Y products. Low- and mid-level status customers will get moved forward as "upgrades", but neither will assign Basic customers to seats in the front of the cabin. Middle seats in both DL C+ and UA E+ are very often left empty.)
• What will happen to Delta's status customers flying on WestJet? My WS Platinum status gets me "Preferred" seating on DL, but not "Comfort+". And, when I fly on a WS ticket on DL metal, there is no possible way for me to even pay for Comfort+ ... I can't get it no matter what. Will this change mean that DL customers flying on WS are going to be stuck in the Knee-Crusher seats -- with no access to "Extended"? (If so, prepare for some very unhappy Delta Medallion customers.)