A prominent air passenger rights group is suing WestJet on behalf of the public for misleading customers about compensation.
Air Passenger Rights founder and president Gabor Lukacs says Canada's second-largest airline blatantly misleads customers about their rights on its website. His group is suing WestJet in the public interest based on a provision of the BC Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act that specifically permits public interest lawsuits of this nature.
Lukacs calls the lawsuit "groundbreaking" because it is not a class action and all of the money gained will go toward passengers denied fair compensation.
WestJet has information on a page titled "submit a request for reimbursement" that outlines what customers are owed in the event of a delay or cancellation.
The airline is required by law to provide meals and accommodation to passengers affected by flight delays and cancellations within its control. However, WestJet caps the amount offered to customers for hotel stays at $150 per night ($200 for non-Canadian destinations) and meals at $45 per day (if vouchers are not available).
WestJet also states that it will not cover the cost of cellular roaming fees or wages lost due to delays or cancellations.
The Montreal Convention is an international treaty that sets out the compensation owed to passengers on flights between two or more countries, covering baggage loss, flight delays and cancellations, and personal injuries.
Article 26 of the Montreal Convention states that any attempt by an airline to set its own compensation maximum limit is invalid.
Lukacs says according to the APPR, WestJet is responsible for accommodating and feeding its passengers. The airline is responsible for finding accommodation and if it does not find any at a lower price point then it must pay for a more expensive one.
"We are not talking about someone going to a more expensive hotel when there are more reasonable options available," he noted. "But the law is clear the airline must cover the cost of hotels."
WestJet's website says customers may only claim up to $45 a day for meals related to flight delays and cancellations
Lukacs says a $45 food budget is unreasonable at most Canadian airports and hotels, where the price of three meals likely exceeds that amount.
WestJet must provide passengers waiting over two hours due to a flight delay with "food and drink in reasonable quantities" based on the length of the wait, time of day, and the location of the passenger. The airline must also provide them with a means of communication, according to subsections 14(1) and 14(2) of the Canadian Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR).
Lukacs says this means airlines can't arbitrarily select a dollar amount to cap their compensation amount, nor can they refuse to compensate passengers for roaming charges used to communicate.
Under Article 19 of the Montreal Convention airlines must cover the cost of lost wages, meals, prepaid events, accommodation, and communications (unless it did everything in its power to prevent these things from happening). Travellers may receive any amount up to $10,000 resulting from the delay.
Air passenger rights group takes action
The air passenger rights group sent a letter to WestJet dated July 26, requesting the airline remove the misleading information from its website by Aug. 2 or it would take legal action.
Lukacs says WestJet ignored the correspondence entirely.
"It's an embarrassment for the federal government that a private party such as we have to bring this lawsuit. The fact that they allow this to get this far is a tell-tale sign," he explained.
Lukacs believes the government treats the APPR guidelines like a "decoration" or "prop"; they are never enforced and airlines "can get away" with bad behaviour.
The Air Passenger Rights group is calling on WestJet to remove its guidelines from its website and pay customers the money that it was supposed to. It also wants the airline to advertise the court's judgment at its own cost on its website.
Scores of frustrated WestJet customers experienced lengthy delays and cancellations following the airline's mechanic union's strike over the Canada Day long weekend. Many passengers said they waited hours on hold to get help or weren't offered proper compensation through the airline.
Many other WestJet customers faced last-minute schedule changes due to a potent storm that produced nearly golfball-sized hail over Calgary International Airport (YYC).
WestJet declined to comment to V.I.A. because the incident has gone before the courts.
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