Great Turboprop and Fantastic Crew: My WestJet Encore Dash 8 Review – Prince George to Vancouver

Background

Needing to head back down south to Vancouver after my Beechcraft 1900 adventure, holding some travel credit and beating Air Canada’s ticket prices on the route, I decided to enlist the help of WestJet. Or rather, the Canadian low-cost giant’s Dash 8 Q400 operating regional subsidiary, WestJet Encore. Opening up WestJet’s app, I did a quick search for tickets and was soon presented with WestJet Encore’s four direct services between Prince George and Vancouver on my chosen departure day – each priced at $189.13. Meanwhile, several pricier options involving a short stop in Calgary were also offered. Opting for the second-to-last departure of the day at 1740, I was then given the option of choosing a Basic, Econo or EconoFlex fare. Selecting the cheapest option, I skipped past a disclaimer encouraging me to upgrade to the Econo fare. From there, with all my details saved in the app, I was presented with a mostly empty seat map where seats could be reserved for $29.40. Considering the 1H19 flight time, this did appear to be somewhat on the steeper side of things, so I decided to pass. Next, I was given the option of adding car rental and insurance before arriving at the payment page. Opting to use my remaining WestJet Travel Bank credits, this brought the fare down to $103 and I went ahead and paid without any issues.

The Journey

At the time of my flight in October 2021, a total of four carriers – Air Canada Express, Central Mountain Air, Pacific Coastal Airlines and WestJet Encore operated scheduled services from Prince George to ten destinations across Alberta and British Columbia. Despite the fair network of flights, Prince George Airport is not the most convenient to reach from the city itself. Just one option exists for those who lack a car and don’t fancy the long uphill hike along a busy highway, an expensive taxi ride. Following a lunchtime stroll around the very quiet Sunday streets of British Columbia’s northern capital, I began to turn my attention to the journey back to the airport. Having seen no available taxis for the duration of my stay, even outside the city’s hotels, I hiked over to one corner of the city centre in the hope that I would be able to hail a ride from the headquarters of Prince George Taxi. Fortunately, I was in luck and upon arriving there the friendly controller ordered a taxi for me which pulled up five minutes later.

From the city centre, the yellow cab sped out over the Fraser River along Highway 16, passing the local jail before turning right and heading down a quiet road towards the airport. During the short ten-minute or so journey, noticing that I was not a local, the friendly taxi driver spoke to me about his love of Prince George and the five years he had spent in the city having moved to chilly northern British Columbia from India. Soon enough, the taxi pulled up right outside the entrance to the terminal’s departure hall and after handing the pricey $35 fare to the driver I made my way inside. 

Upon entering the small yet functional check-in hall, I was greeted by the sight of a long row of mostly empty check-in counters, with each of the four airlines serving the airport enjoying their own well-branded dedicated area. Opposite the desks, I discovered a comfortable small room containing massage chairs, vending machines and work cubicles complete with plug sockets. For those fancying something more substantial than a snack, a restaurant can also be found in the landside portion of the terminal, the BG Urban Grill; however that afternoon this was open for a takeaway service of drinks and snacks only. Away from the facilities offered, I found the landside area of the terminal to be pleasant, clean and tidy, leaving me with no complaints even though I had arrived well ahead of my flight’s departure time.

Seeing as I already had a mobile boarding pass, I could have headed straight through to the airside departure area. However, fearful that this would offer the same lack of facilities as Sudbury Airport’s post-security area, I decided to remain in the landside area for a while. Relaxing in the relaxation room, I charged my phone and did a few bits and pieces of work. At 1600, three WestJet staff members appeared at the airline’s check-in desks and I decided to head over in order to receive a paper boarding pass. There, I was served by a very friendly WestJet agent, who printed off my boarding pass without any issue after which I walked through to the security area. Consisting of a single checkpoint, I can imagine that queues may build up for this at peak times, however, that afternoon thankfully only a short queue of three other passengers could be seen. There, the staff members appeared to work efficiently, however, they were not particularly friendly and seemed to lose their patience a little with the passenger in front of me. Nevertheless, they appeared to do their duties thoroughly and within a few minutes I entered the airside portion of the terminal. 

Inside, the airside departures portion of Prince George Airport’s terminal is impressively modern, sleek, stylish and well-designed. On one side of this, large floor-to-ceiling windows offer superb views of those airliners parked outside the terminal as well as taxiing aircraft making their way to and from the airport’s runways. As many passengers expect, a good number of plug sockets and USB-A ports could be found throughout the waiting area, alongside plenty of comfortable seating where passengers could be seen waiting to head off on their flights across Western Canada. For those fancying some refreshment during their stay, in one corner of the terminal a small café, the Farmhouse Gourmet Express could be seen selling an impressive selection of delicious-looking sandwiches and snacks, whilst vending machines are also offered for those in a rush. 

Taking a seat next to the windows, at 1620 I watched as the inbound WestJet Encore Dash 8 Q400 C-FKWE, fleet number 412, pulled up outside the terminal at the end of its hour-long flight up from its base in Vancouver. Carrying the construction number 4467, this particular turboprop was manufactured at Bombardier’s Toronto Downsview factory in early 2014. In May that year, the aircraft was shuttled across to Calgary via Thunder Bay and entered service with WestJet Encore, the eleventh such aircraft delivered to the carrier whose Dash 8 fleet now totals 47. Since then, the aircraft has been busy shuttling passengers across WestJet Encore’s eastern and western route networks and has suffered two notable incidents during its seven-year life. The first of these took place amid an Albertan storm, when, upon landing at Edmonton the Dash 8’s nose tyres burst. The second incident occurred in January 2020 at the end of a flight from Vancouver to the northern British Columbian city of Terrace. After landing, the aircraft temporarily left the runway and struck a windrow causing the nose gear to collapse. Resulting in significant damage to the aircraft, and, with the pandemic likely expunging reasoning for a hasty return to service, it was not until June of that year that the aircraft recommenced the transportation of fare-paying passengers. Thankfully, since then the aircraft has not suffered any notable incidents and in the week before my flight, had been flying virtually non-stop during the day across Western Canada. During these seven days, the Dash 8 had undertaken a total of 31 sectors, covering at least 8,000 miles, passing through Abbotsford, Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grand Prairie, Kelowna, Prince George, Regina, Terrace, Vancouver and Victoria.

That afternoon, three Central Mountain Air Beechcraft 1900D operated services could be seen on the departure boards, with these heading off to Kamloops, Kelowna and Edmonton at 1610, 1620 and 1630 respectively. Another flight heading to Vancouver, the 1705 Air Canada Express flight, also operated by a Dash 8 Q400 could also be seen, whilst my flight to Vancouver would depart at 1740. With all of these flights considered, initially the airside waiting area was rather busy, however, once boarding for the Air Canada Express service had been called, the terminal emptied out indicating that the WestJet Encore service to Vancouver would be far from full. 

With forty minutes to go until departure, at 1700 a pre-recorded announcement rang out through the terminal for those flying with WestJet, with this reminding all passengers of the airline’s policy on masks and excess baggage. Several minutes later, another pre-recorded announcement was broadcast apologising for the lack of inflight entertainment onboard the aircraft and advertising upgrades. At 1713, those needing assistance were invited to head to the gate for boarding which was promptly followed by an invitation for those seated in zone 1 as well as those holding Gold and Platinum status for WestJet Rewards. Moving down the list, a short time later those travelling with children or pets, as well as exit row occupiers were invited to board, followed by those with Silver status and those seated in zone 2. Falling into the latter category, at 1720 I made my way over to the gate podium where with minimal queuing my boarding pass was scanned and passport checked by yet another friendly WestJet agent before I headed outside into the chilly early evening air. 

Thankfully, no long walk was needed to reach the aircraft, and, as is far more common in North America than it is back home in Europe, boarding would be undertaken via an accessible ramp rather than by the Dash 8’s built-in steps. After making my way up this, taking a few moments to admire the large 6-bladed propeller, I stepped into the Dash 8’s minuscule galley area where I received a warm and friendly greeting and was anded a complimentary wet wipe. Turning right, I was greeted by the sight of 78 thin seats each covered in a dark (faux?) leather covering, with the forwardmost of these featuring a beige covering noting them to be Premium seats – of which there were ten. On the rear of each seat, a literature compartment and seatback pocket containing a sick bag and a safety card could be found, whilst those hoping to charge their devices were out of luck as these lacked a plug socket or USB port. Admittedly, whilst the latter would have been a welcome addition, this was neither a necessity nor an expected addition onboard this regional turboprop.

As I journeyed down the aircraft, I received an incredibly friendly welcome from the flight attendant at the rear of the cabin who exclaimed loudly and joyfully ‘welcome aboard lovey!’ before asking for my seat number. Upon replying 17A, the flight attendant welcomed me by name and informed me that I would not have any passengers seated next to me – this being one of the friendliest greetings I have ever received when boarding a flight! As I soon realised, this proactive flight attendant was reseating passengers to ensure that all solo flyers had an empty seat next to them, and ensuring those travelling together could sit together. Upon taking my seat, I found this to be a little firm, however, the amount of legroom offered was fairly decent for a turboprop airliner. Whilst the seat appeared to be very slightly tatty in places, generally speaking, the area around my seat was in good shape and left me with little to complain about. Importantly, the aircraft appeared to have been thoroughly cleaned during its relatively long turnaround in Prince George. 

With all passengers soon onboard, as I had predicted, the flight was far from full, with no more than 50% of the seats onboard appearing to have been sold for the early evening service to Vancouver. As one would expect being a Sunday evening, overhearing multiple conversations a good number of those onboard seemed to be former Prince George residents now living around Vancouver, with some also heading onwards to other destinations across Canada. At 1729, the Captain performed a comprehensive welcome announcement that commenced with a word of thanks for flying with WestJet and informing all that the last of the bags were being loaded into the hold. The Captain then moved on to introduce each member of the crew before mentioning that it would likely be a bumpy flight down to Vancouver and therefore no hot drinks would be served. As soon as this came to an end, one of the two flight attendants performed a joyful and lighthearted welcome announcement which then transformed into the safety announcement, with the second flight attendant performing a demonstration to this. This was then followed by a pre-recorded safety announcement in French. 

At 1731, the Dash 8’s two Pratt and Whitney PW150A could be heard spooling up with the propellers soon whirling into life. Around two minutes later, the aircraft slowly edged forward out of its stand before turning around and commencing a quick and seemingly bumpy taxi over to Canada’s third-longest runway. As soon as the second safety demonstration came to an end, the cabin lights were dimmed just before the aircraft reached Runway 15. Arriving via a taxiway that brought the Dash 8 roughly to the middle of the runway, I had expected the turboprop to backtrack down this, however, to my surprise this instead simply turned right and at 1737 performed a gentle rolling takeoff, soon rotating up into the overcast evening skies. During the first few minutes of the climb, the fields and villages that lay to the south of the airport could be seen as well as hills to the east. 

Around three minutes after taking to the skies, the Dash 8 entered the clouds at which point the turboprop was thrown about a bit as the flight attendant performed their post-departure announcement which included the usual information regarding seat belts and the location of the toilet onboard the aircraft. Upon emerging from the clouds, the ride temporarily smoothed out and the seatbelt signs were extinguished. Wasting no time, the two flight attendants leapt into action and commenced the onboard service, making quick progress whilst still conducting their snack round in a very personal, friendly and overall impressive manner. As the crew neared my row, the turbulence resumed and the seatbelt signs were reilluminated, however, the crew did continue their service. Upon reaching my row, I opted for a water which was passed to me in a polite and friendly manner, and came in a small plastic cup. This was followed by a small packet of Krispy Kernel salted pretzels and a plain serviette. 

At 1749, the aircraft levelled off at its cruising altitude of 23,000 although this had little effect on the turbulence. That evening, from Prince George the Dash 8 journeyed southwards on a heading of approximately 189 degrees over the British Columbian wilderness. At 1805, a slight gap in the clouds revealed the remote wilderness somewhere to the south of the town of Hanceville. Meanwhile, inside the cabin once the service had been completed, one of the flight attendants passed through the cabin collecting passengers’ rubbish, the first of three such passes during the flight. Impressively, overhearing one of the passengers several rows in front of me coughing, one of the flight attendants emerged from the rear galley and offered them a cup of water.

For the next twenty minutes or so, with the seat belt signs illuminated, little to see outside other than clouds and a darkening sky and no inflight entertainment, I sat and enjoyed what would be my final Dash 8 ride in the skies of the type’s homeland for quite some time. As the captain had mentioned, the ride down to Vancouver was rather bumpy, with the turbulence going uninterrupted for the duration of the cruise. Thankfully, I failed to spot any passengers seated around me lurching for their sick bag! Despite the turbulence, when not undertaking rubbish collection rounds, one flight attendant cautiously passed through the cabin ensuring all was well with those onboard.

At 1825, a loud ding rang out through the cabin and the Captain performed their second announcement of the flight, this time informing all that the aircraft would commence its descent shortly and as this would likely be rather rough, the cabin would pass through the cabin undertaking their pre-arrival checks before the aircraft descended from its cruising altitude. This was then followed by an announcement from one of the flight attendants who went through the usual pre-arrival instructions before going through a Coronavirus message on behalf of Transport Canada. 

In spite of the rapidly fading light outside, a short time after the Dash 8 had commenced its descent, I managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of the jagged peaks of snow-capped mountains to the west of Garibaldi through a gap in the clouds. A short time later, further gaps in the clouds revealed the lights of coastal areas such as Lions Bay, Charles Creek and Horseshoe Bay as the aircraft crossed over Gambier Island. From there, the Dash 8 turned south and passed over the eastern parts of Bowen Island before heading out over the dark waters of the Strait of Georgia and soon turning onto the base leg of our approach to Vancouver Airport. As the aircraft descended, the Dash 8 was thrown about quite a bit with the storm forecast to hit Vancouver picking up. Once the flaps and landing gear had fallen into position, the aircraft sank down towards Sea Island although, during this stage of the flight, nothing but darkness could be seen outside. 

Following an enjoyable if not rough hour and thirteen minutes in the British Columbian skies, the Dash 8 made an expectedly bouncy touchdown on Vancouver Airport’s Runway 08L. This consisted of the right landing gear touching down first, followed by the left, and then the right again and then finally the nosewheel, after which the Dash 8 seemed to rapidly decelerate as if in a hurry to vacate the runway. As the Dash 8 made its way off the runway, one of the flight attendants welcomed all to Vancouver, thanked us for flying with WestJet and proudly announced that the flight had landed several minutes ahead of schedule. However, as fantastic as both crew members had been, the latter point was slightly irrelevant as the aircraft would end its journey at one of the furthest stands away from Runway 08L. 

As is often the case on Dash 8’s post-arrival taxis, the aircraft made its way to the gate with one engine shut down and after making its way around the terminals, the aircraft came to a gentle halt at Stand 7 at 1900, one minute behind schedule. At this time, one of the flight attendants made their final announcement, requesting passengers to remain seated until disembarkation had commenced, thanking all once again for flying with WestJet and wishing everyone an enjoyable evening. Thankfully, most passengers appeared to obey the command to remain seated, and, even once the cabin door had been opened three minutes later, many appeared not to be in any particular rush to disembark. 

After shuffling down the cabin, I thanked the flight attendant and headed down the ramp and into the wind. Several seconds later, I arrived inside WestJet’s chilly and makeshift-looking tented pier that is utilised by the WestJet Connect and WestJet Encore’s Dash 8 and Saab 340 operated services. Having arrived at the end of the pier, a fair walk to the arrivals area of the terminal was in store that evening, however needing to stretch my legs, this was not a tall order and once there, lacking any hold luggage I was able to make my way straight out to the airport’s SkyTrain station. 

Summary

Disregarding the extortionate fee I had paid for the trip from Prince George’s city centre to the airport, my journey to Vancouver had been a pleasant experience from start to finish. Everything went smoothly in Prince George Airport’s small terminal which proved a pleasure to pass through, meanwhile, WestJet Encore offered a great experience, with the flight staffed by two excellent crew members who did their best to ensure everyone onboard had nothing less than a great experience. Finally, the aircraft proved to be clean and reasonably comfortable leaving me with nothing to complain about. All-in-all, this flight served to be a stellar introduction to WestJet and left me with high hopes for my flights from Vancouver to London via Toronto the following week.