WestJet Airlines, based in Canada, has become one of the newer Bombardier Q400 operators. On May 1st, 2012 they selected the Bombardier Q400 for their new regional carrier called WestJet Encore. WestJet Encore Ltd is a fully owned subsidiary of WestJet. All WestJet Q400 flights are operated by WestJet Encore. On August 1st, 2012 they placed an order for up to 45 Bombardier Q400 turboprops for WestJet Encore Ltd. The order was for 20 firm orders and 25 options for additional WestJet Q400 aircraft. WestJet received their first Q400 on June 6th, 2013 and started flying the Bombardier Q400 on June 24th, 2013. On March 27th, 2014 WestJet Encore converted 5 options to firm orders for the aircraft. Then on July 29th, 2014, WestJet Encore converted 5 more options into firm orders bring their total aircraft ordered/on order to 30 Q400s. As of September 30th, 2014 WestJet had received 14 Q400 airplanes from Bombardier, leaving 16 on backlog. WestJet has split the orders among itself and its WestJet Encore subsidiary. On Bombardier's Q400 order book it shows WestJet as ordering 20 aircraft and WestJet Encore as ordering 10 aircraft. WestJet Encore Q400 flights operate under the radio call sign "Encore" and three letter code "WEN". Also flights are operating with flight numbers in the 3100 to 3899 range. Air traffic control will call the flights "Encore 3112" for example and will use WEN3112 as the flight identifier. For passengers the example flight would be called "WestJet Encore 3112".

Bombardier Q400 WestJet Encore Photo

Above WestJet Q400 photo by Thankyoubaby on Wikimedia Commons, modified by FlyRadius. Photo (only) released under a Creative Commons License.

WestJet Encore Bombardier Q400 Flight Operations
WestJet Encore operates the Bombardier Q400 in Canada, primarily to serve smaller cites. The airline is flying from from Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancover International Airport, Calgary International Airport and Edmonton International Airport to smaller cities like Regina, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay, Fort McMurray, Brandon and more.

Here is a full list of cites served by the Q400 as of the date of this article:

  • Toronto
  • Thunder Bay
  • Winnipeg
  • Brandon
  • Regina
  • Saskatoon
  • Calgary
  • Edmonton
  • Grande Prairie
  • Fort McMurray
  • Fort St. John
  • Terrace
  • Kamloops
  • Kelowna
  • Penticton
  • Vancouver
  • Nanaimo
  • Victoria
  • Quebec City, from Toronto starting March 14, 2015
  • Fredericton, from Toronto starting April 15, 2015

WestJet Encore Q400 Seat Map, Chart and Seating Configuration
The interior of the WestJet Encore Bombardier Q400 contains a total of 78 seats in a 2 by 2, economy class configuration. Seat pitch for this 78 seat configuration is 30 inches. The WestJet Q400 seating configuration has exit rows at seats 1A & B, 2 A, B, C & D. Over-wing seats are rows 10 to 14. There are some "restricted seats" shown as unavailable on the map. These seats are used by WestJet Encore to accommodate passengers with certain needs. Below is the WestJet Encore Q400 seat map.

WestJet Encore Q400 Seat Map or Seating Chart

Background on the WestJet Bombardier Q400
The Q400 is a regional turboprop built by Bombardier in Toronto, Canada. The Q400 turboprop is know for its quietness and speed. It is the fastest commercial turboprop available on the market and is also one of the quietest. WestJet selected the aircraft after reviewing other options for aircraft. Bombardier painted a special Q400 to showcase the Q400 to WestJet, before they ordered the aircraft. The Q400's speed is one of the factors that make it stand out in the market. It can fly complete short flights as fast or faster then a jet and is also able to have quieter cabin due to an advanced propeller and noise suppression system.

To learn more about the turboprop visit the other page here on the FlyRadius site.

Other "Names" for the WestJet Encore Bombardier Q400
The Bombardier Q400 turboprop has a few other names that it is called by. This is due to changes in the name of the aircraft and other names that are used for different purposes. Below are the other names:

  • Bombardier Q400 NextGen WestJet Encore: This refers to the NextGen name that was given to newer Q400s that have interior upgrades. All of WestJet Encore's Q400s are the Q400 NextGen aircraft.
  • Bombardier DH4 WestJet Encore: "DH4" is the Q400s IATA code that is primarily used by airlines to identify the aircraft. Learn more on the DH4 page.
  • Bombardier DH8D WestJet Encore: "DH8D" is the ICAO code for the airplane and is used by airlines, air traffic control and others. To learn more about this name visit the DH8D aircraft page.
  • De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400 WestJet Encore: This is the "model" name for the turboprop. De Havilland was a division of Bombardier that built the aircraft. The De Havilland name is not used by Bombardier in marketing, so the airplane is called the Bombardier DHC-8-400. DHC-8-400 is the official model name for the turboprop that is used by aviation regulators to identify the aircraft.
  • De Havilland Dash-8-400 WestJet Encore: the Dash-8-400 name is the name that was previously given to the aircraft by Bombardier. The Q400 was apart of the Dash-8 series program of turboprop aircraft. Bombardier then decided to change the name of those aircraft to the Q series turboprops and the Dash-8-400 became the Bombardier Q400. More on the Dash-8-400 can be found on that page.