The backlog of air passenger complaints at CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 transport regulator has hit a new high topping 57,000, as dissatisfaction over cancellations and compensation persist three and a half years after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The numbers reveal that an average of more than 3,000 complaints per month have piled up at the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) over the past year, with the current tally well over three times the total from September 2022.
Vancouver residents Chad Kerychuk and Melissa Oei say they are mulling a complaint after they arrived in Halifax six hours later than planned on a flight from their hometown in August 2021 and found themselves separated on board despite buying pricier tickets to select side-by-side spots in advance.
The couple said WestJet has rejected their request for a partial refund.
SA国际影视传媒淢ore than a year has lapsed since the departure date and the claim period has expired. As such, your claim cannot be approved,SA国际影视传媒� WestJet told them in an email.
Kerychuk said the response SA国际影视传媒渇eels like a wrong way to treat loyal customersSA国际影视传媒� after years of opting for that carrier over competitors.
SA国际影视传媒淭here was no effort made to support us, because we supported them during the pandemic. And I thought that was completely unfair,SA国际影视传媒� he said in a phone interview.
WestJet notified customers the disruption was caused by SA国际影视传媒渦nplanned maintenance,SA国际影视传媒� an exclusion from compensation rules that the federal government says will soon be unavailable to carriers.
In June, the government passed legislation to overhaul CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 passenger rights charter, laying out measures to toughen penalties and tighten loopholes around traveller compensation as well as streamline the complaints process.
SA国际影视传媒淭here will be no more loopholes where airlines can claim a disruption is caused by something outside of their control for a security reason when itSA国际影视传媒檚 not,SA国际影视传媒� then-transport minister Omar Alghabra told reporters in April.
The Canadian Press has reached out to the transportation agency and WestJet for comment.
While most reforms arenSA国际影视传媒檛 slated to take effect until Sept. 30, Air Passenger Rights advocacy group president Gabor Lukacs claims the agency could take steps immediately to up the maximum fine for airline violations and kick off consultations on who bears the administrative cost of complaints.
Their rising tally comes as no surprise to him.
SA国际影视传媒淭hose soaring numbers show the failure of the government to design regulations which are actually practically enforceable and provide meaningful protection to passengers,SA国际影视传媒� Lukacs said.
He pointed to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, also known as the passenger rights charter, that the government introduced in 2019 SA国际影视传媒� a legal milestone for Canadian travellers, but one that failed to live up to its promise due to loopholes and lack of simplicity, Lukacs said.
SA国际影视传媒淭he government adopted a regime which is so complicated, so complex SA国际影视传媒� that it takes inordinate resources to actually verify eligibility (for compensation),SA国际影视传媒� he said.
He also called out a SA国际影视传媒渄ismal recordSA国际影视传媒� of enforcement.
SA国际影视传媒淭he few fines which are being issued are for low-hanging fruit SA国际影视传媒� and the CTA has not actually laid the groundwork to issue higher fines.SA国际影视传媒�
The amendments to the passenger rights charter allow the regulator to ratchet up the maximum penalty for airline violations to $250,000 SA国际影视传媒� a tenfold increase SA国际影视传媒� and put the regulatory cost of complaints on carriers. In theory, that measure gives airlines an incentive to brush up their service and thus reduce the number of grievances against them.
Since April 1, 2022, WestJet has received nine fines from the Canadian Transportation Agency amounting to $280,580 for various breaches, according to data on the quasi-judicial bodySA国际影视传媒檚 website.
Of that amount, nearly $124,000 stems from failing to SA国际影视传媒減rovide the prescribed compensation requested by passenger or an explanation as to why compensation is not payable, within 30 days after the day on which it received the request,SA国际影视传媒� the contravention notices state.
The agency has slapped Air Canada with six penalties SA国际影视传媒� only one pertaining directly to compensation SA国际影视传媒� totalling $82,650 since April 1, 2022. Its revenue in the 15 months after that date totalled $24.3 billion.
SA国际影视传媒擝y Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press
