23 more seats than WJ's -800's? That borders on abuse.
The cabin comfort advantage gives WJ a huge selling point against the carriers that cram 'em in with Ryan-Air seating in -800's. The problem is, the average Canadian is quite a bit larger than the average European, and so to are our North American baggage allowances.
The Canadian marketplace is full of the "get 'em once airlines", but you need to get the repeat business if you plan to be around long term.
Promising cheap fares, then nailing the customer at the airport for huge excess baggage fees as they check in for for their once in every few years winter sun vacation is not a way to endear yourself to your customers in a market of 32 million.
Contracting out your customer service functions pretty much ensures that when things go sideways, it'll turn into a gong show pdq.
WJ's growth proves that customers keep coming back to their product. This is not necessarily so with the others who trade their capacity around on a seasonal basis. One year airline A is up, the next year they are down with airline B under cutting them.
This is not a great pattern for those people with long term, single employer career aspirations.
