Canadians across the country want federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon to come down hard on Air Canada and WestJet, the country’s major air carriers.
The calls come after two CBC Go Public investigations revealed both Air Canada and WestJet cancelled flights — citing safety-related maintenance — then used those working planes on other routes and denied passengers compensation.
On Parliament Hill Monday, MacKinnon said the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) is an “independent agency.”
“I’m reluctant to give them instructions directly,” he told CBC News.
In dozens of emails to Go Public, passengers on various air carriers outline how they had their flights cancelled due to maintenance and were denied compensation — and now wonder if they too were wrongly denied.
“This is probably just a small tip of the iceberg,” said Montreal lawyer Sylvie De Bellefeuille, a consumer advocate with Option consommateurs.
De Bellefeuille and other advocates have urged Ottawa for several years to change the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, so airlines can’t use “safety-related maintenance” as a reason to deny compensation.
“We cannot rely on the information that is provided [to passengers],” said De Bellefeuille. “And if they [airlines] lie to the authorities, that’s even worse.”
The European Union only allows airlines to cite maintenance in rare circumstances.
The emails to Go Public follow a story we reported earlier this week about Juan Rojas, a Gatineau, Que., man whose flight from Montreal to Bogota was cancelled due to “unforeseen aircraft maintenance.”
Under the protection regulations, passengers can be entitled to up to $1,000 for delayed flights, but only if the delay is within the airline’s control and not required for safety.
Air Canada denied Rojas compensation. He escalated his claim to the CTA, where Air Canada submitted documents showing a plane had to be taken out of service after getting struck by a catering truck.
But Rojas did some digging and learned the broken plane was a different aircraft — not the one originally assigned to his flight.
“They are clearly misrepresenting information,” said Rojas. “To cheat the system to avoid paying $1,000.”
Growing number of WestJet passengers question compensation denials over maintenance | Go Public
The regulator sided with Rojas and ordered Air Canada to pay him the compensation. Though Rojas asked for one, the CTA declined to issue an administrative penalty.
Michael Odobas of Vancouver said he was incredulous that Air Canada submitted records about a different plane and faced no consequences.
“If an airline can incorrectly deny compensation, lose a regulatory dispute and face no financial penalty … what incentive does it have to comply (with the rules)?” wrote Odobas in an email to Go Public.
“That’s a question Canadians deserve an answer to.”
Conservative MP Dan Albas (Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna) also raised the issue when MacKinnon appeared Monday before the standing committee on finance.
“Does swapping aircraft to another route qualify as a safety exemption?” he asked.
“The CTA is the regulator,” the minister replied.
Conservative transport critic Dan Albas questioned the transport minister on Monday about the safety-related maintenance exemption. (CBC)
The regulator also didn’t fine WestJet in cases where that airline denied people compensation while incorrectly claiming safety-related maintenance — cases Go Public reported on earlier this year.
At the time, WestJet’s vice president of airline operations said, “when an unexpected issue occurs, WestJet carefully considers the approach that minimizes disruption for the greatest number of guests overall.”
How a ‘maintenance loophole’ is costing air passengers compensation | Go Public
“I’m profoundly troubled that this type of dishonest behaviour is going unpunished,” said Gabor Lukacs, founder of Air Passenger Rights.
“That behaviour should be stopped. … And the only way would be to issue profit-altering fines.”
In a statement to Go Public, Air Canada said it’s allowed to move planes around, cancel flights and deny compensation — calling it a “commercial decision.”
That position conflicts with previous CTA decisions saying airlines can do what they want with their flight schedules, but must provide compensation to affected passengers unless a mechanical issue is the direct cause of a cancelled flight.
Go Public is an investigative news segment on CBC-TV, radio and the web.
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