WestJet has unveiled its latest special livery, a simple but striking scheme that celebrates its partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball team. The Canadian carrier chose a Boeing 737 MAX 8 narrowbody twinjet for the unique paint scheme, which was revealed yesterday at a special ceremony in Toronto. Around 1,000 people were present at the unveiling, including Blue Jays mascot ACE.

The aircraft will now act as a flying billboard for the Toronto Blue Jays as it flies around Canada and further afield. The team has a strong working relationship with WestJet, with the carrier having been its official airline since 2012. Today will mark the aircraft’s first day back in service following its repaint, with the new livery sure to delight sports fans far and wide. Let’s take a closer look at the scheme.

WestJet’s Toronto Blue Jays Livery

Credit: WestJet

As seen above, the main change to the livery in this special Toronto Blue Jays-themed design is the fact that the tail of the jet has been painted a darker shade of blue. This matches the team’s color scheme, and its famous blue jay logo featuring a maple leaf is also instantly recognizable on this part of the aircraft. The fresh livery was revealed yesterday in a hangar at Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ).

WestJet explained in a statement that, yesterday, “nearly 1,000 WestJetters, Toronto Blue Jays representatives, and community members gathered to commemorate the long-standing partnership and get an insider look at the aircraft livery.” The partnership in question is WestJet’s role as the team’s official airline, with the livery marking its renewal. Blue Jays VP of Partnerships Mark Ditmar said that:

“As we celebrate our 50th season, this renewed commitment and the unveiling of this co-branded aircraft reflect our shared values of teamwork and building community.”

WestJet Has Close Ties To The Blue Jays

Credit: WestJet

WestJet’s new Toronto Blue Jays-themed livery hasn’t exactly come out of left field. Indeed, the team and the carrier have been partners for over a decade now, with WestJet having become the official airline of the Toronto Blue Jays back in 2012. The carrier says on its website that “as the official airline, [it] connects Canadians from coast to coast, to the games, the moments, and the people they love.”

The airline goes on to say that “from the ballpark to your seat onboard, you can catch the action on the WestJet Flight Deck and stay part of the excitement wherever you’re headed,” ensuring that “when Canada’s team is playing, you’re never really far from it.” With a diverse transborder network of US destinations, WestJet serves plenty of cities that the Toronto Blue Jays play in on the road during the season.

With this in mind, the special livery leans heavily on baseball-related aesthetic features. For example, according to the airline, “the iconic colours paired with the sweeping design depict the action of an aircraft at takeoff and the arc of a ball soaring off the bat.” On this front, the carrier adds that “the livery connects the dynamic energy that defines both WestJet and the Toronto Blue Jays.” What do you think of it?

The Aircraft In Question

Credit: WestJet

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 that WestJet has chosen to apply its new Toronto Blue Jays-themed special livery to bears the registration C-GORP. According to present fleet data made available by ch-aviation, this aircraft is one of 65 MAX 8s at WestJet, and, having first flown in December 2019, it is 6.5 years old. Data from Planespotters.net shows that it was originally bound for Norwegian, but not taken up.

The jet eventually entered service with Swoop as C-GORP in June of 2022, before moving to WestJet in October of 2023. Historical tracking data made available by Flightradar24 shows that it flew from Toronto to Jacksonville (VQQ) for the repaint on June 3 and returned to Toronto on June 22. Today, it will re-enter service, flying from Toronto to Calgary and back – keep an eye out for it on our Flight Tracker!