Passenger Rights Group Files Legal Action Over WestJet Reimbursement Policy

A WestJet flight from Calgary arrives at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Enfield, N.S., Canada on July 6, 2020. Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press

A Canadian non-profit organization is taking WestJet to court over a reimbursement policy it says misleads passengers about their legal rights when flights are delayed or cancelled.

The group Air Passenger Rights (APR) says a reimbursement guideline that had been posted on the WestJet website puts a cap on how much passengers are entitled to if their flights are delayed or cancelled, according to court documents filed with B.C.’s Supreme Court in August. APR says those caps include $150 for domestic hotels and $200 for international hotel costs, as well as $45 per day for meals.

APR argues that no such limits exist under either the Montreal Convention or Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations, and is seeking an injunction against WestJet to block the alleged policy until a trial can determine the outcome.

The group says passengers have a right to claim other expenses incurred such as lost wages, cell phone roaming, and money lost on prepaid events, like game or concert tickets.

In the court documents, APR said it wrote WestJet a letter in July to find a solution out of court, but that the airline ignored the letter.

The group said it attempted to get WestJet to agree to an injunction by Sept. 6, but again, did not hear from the airline.

“WestJet’s excuse to avoid reimbursing passengers really boils down to WestJet’s unwillingness to pay based on a self-imposed ‘guideline,’” APR said in the filing. “It is not much different than WestJet simply stating, ‘I will not reimburse you, as I do not want to,’ with the Guidelines added as a false sense of legitimacy to deceive passengers.”

The lawsuit says that the airline already has a legal obligation to cover passengers’ expenses and the WestJet guidelines conflict with those agreements.

WestJet disagrees, saying its reimbursement guidelines are not contrary to the agreements.

“WestJet specifically denies that passengers’ comprehensive rights to reimbursement are provided in federal statutes or incorporated into contracts of carriage,” the airline said in its legal response to the court action.

The company also says that in 95 percent of cases, it is able to arrange hotel accommodations for passengers so they do not have to incur the costs.

In its response, WestJet said that it changed the guidelines list on its website, but said that did not mean it was liable.

“WestJet says that the [Air Passenger Protection Regulations] and the Canada Transportation Act do not govern compensation in situations where passengers have booked their own accommodation. WestJet further says that the APPR do not stipulate specific amounts payable to passengers for accommodations,” the company said in its defence.