A lawsuit filed in the B.C. Supreme Court this week claims WestJet is falsely leading passengers to believe that there are set caps on how much they can be reimbursed for expenses they accrue as a result of delayed or cancelled flights.
In a guide posted to its website, WestJet tells fliers that they can request compensation of $150-200 a night for accomodation and $45 a day for food if a delay or cancellation is within the airline's control. It also says WestJet won't compensate passengers for cellphone roaming charges, missed events or lost wages.
In their Aug. 6 lawsuit, however, non-profit advocacy group Air Passenger Rights claims those guidelines are contrary to federal and global regulations. The group says that under the Montreal Convention, an international treaty on airline liability, carriers are responsible for any damage a passenger experiences as a result of a flight delay, up to around $9,804 per person. The treaty doesn't place any limitations on what can be claimed as damages.
Under Canada's own Air Passenger Protection Regulations, airlines are required to provide passengers with reasonable amounts of food and drink, access to means of communication and a hotel or comparable accomodation when an overnight stay is needed, if the delay or cancellation was within the airline's control. The federal regulations don't specify how much should be spent on each category, only that they should be free of charge for impacted passengers.
Air Passenger Rights argues that WestJet is purposefully misinforming passengers about their rights by laying out compensation caps on its website. The airline is also contravening regulations by only reimbursing passengers for those set amounts when they submit their expenses, the lawsuit claims.
It notes that the only place WestJet indicates that fliers may be entitled to further compensation is in a line at the very bottom of its website entitled “Legal, restrictions and terms and conditions." The line isn't underlined like typical hyperlinks, but if clicked on brings up a pop-up window that reads "This does not limit or reduce the passenger's right to claim damages, if any, under the applicable convention or under the law."
Air Passenger Rights asks in its lawsuit that WestJet be instructed to remove the compensation caps guidelines from its website and further reimburse any past passengers who didn't have their expenses fully repaid.
Asked for comment Wednesday (Aug.7), a spokesperson for WestJet said they "do not comment on matters before the courts." The airline hasn't filed a response to the lawsuit as of publication and none of the allegations made against it have been proven in court.
