Decision No. 142-C-A-2022

[1] Joshua Mah purchased a one-way ticket from WestJet for travel on July 25, 2020, from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Calgary, Alberta. On July 22, 2020, Mr. Mah was notified that his flight had been cancelled, and he was offered an alternative itinerary for travel from Vancouver to Edmonton, Alberta on July 25, 2020, with a connecting flight to Calgary the next morning. Mr. Mah did not accept this alternative travel arrangement as it did not meet his travel needs and travelled to Calgary by car instead. He was provided with a refund in the form of a travel bank credit from WestJet in the amount that he paid for his ticket.

[2] Mr. Mah seeks compensation of CAD 300 for the cost of driving to Calgary and compensation for wages that he would have lost had he accepted the alternative travel arrangement offered by WestJet. He also seeks compensation for inconvenience in the amount of CAD 1,000 as set out in the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), citing the length of delay he would have experienced if he had accepted the alternative travel arrangement.

[3] In this decision, the role of the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency) is to decide whether WestJet properly applied the terms and conditions applicable to the ticket that Mr. Mah purchased, as set out in WestJet’s Tariff. In this case, WestJet filed an answer to the application, but did not provide its applicable domestic Tariff. The Canada Transportation Act (CTA) provides that the obligations of the APPR are deemed to form part of the terms and conditions set out in a carrier’s tariff, insofar as the carrier’s tariff does not provide more advantageous terms and conditions of carriage than those obligations. Therefore, the applicable Tariff for this itinerary included at a minimum WestJet’s obligations under the APPR. As WestJet failed to provide the applicable Tariff, the Agency will assess the carrier’s obligations to Mr. Mah following the cancellation of his flight as set out in the APPR.

[4] The Agency does not have the authority to award compensation for lost wages and, accordingly, will not consider this aspect of the application.

[5] WestJet acknowledges that the flight cancellation was within its control. It submits that it provided Mr. Mah with an alternative travel arrangement in accordance with the APPR, and that when this did not meet Mr. Mah’s travel needs, it provided him a refund in the form of a travel bank credit, which he has since used in full.

[6] Based on the evidence before it, the Agency finds that the alternative travel arrangement offered by WestJet complied with its obligations under the APPR and that WestJet also met its obligation in providing a refund to Mr. Mah when this arrangement did not meet his travel needs.

[7] The provisions of the APPR do not require a carrier to compensate a passenger for alternative travel arrangements that they make after receiving a refund, nor do they require a carrier to compensate a passenger because of an inconvenience that they would have experienced had they accepted the alternative travel arrangements. Therefore, Mr. Mah is not entitled to the compensation of CAD 300 for the expenses that he incurred to travel to Calgary by car, nor is he entitled to the compensation for the delay that he would have experienced had he accepted the alternative travel arrangement offered.

[8] WestJet acknowledges that Mr. Mah was notified of the cancellation less than 14 days before his scheduled date of travel but argues that he is not entitled to compensation for inconvenience under the APPR because he failed to submit a request in writing within one year of his initial scheduled date of travel. Mr. Mah contends that, after his flight was cancelled, he contacted WestJet’s customer service. He submits that WestJet’s agent did not properly inform him of the compensation to which he was entitled for the inconvenience caused by the cancellation, nor of the procedure for filing a compensation request. Mr. Mah does not claim any costs or remedies specifically related to WestJet’s alleged failure to comply with its communications obligations under the APPR, but rather asks the Agency to relieve him from his failure to submit a written complaint to WestJet within the time limit required under the APPR.

[9] WestJet claims that it provided Mr. Mah with all of the information required under the APPR by email and voicemail when his flight was cancelled, and provided a document listing its notification history to support this contention. Although this document does not include the actual message that was sent to Mr. Mah, based on the available evidence, the Agency finds that WestJet complied with its obligation under the APPR to provide Mr. Mah with the required key information when it cancelled his flight. WestJet’s communications obligations to Mr. Mah under the APPR is limited to the information provided when the cancellation occurs and does not extend to subsequent communications between Mr. Mah and WestJet’s customer service agents with respect to a refund or other inquiries. Mr. Mah had a duty to inform himself of his rights once he was directed to the Agency by WestJet’s agent. 

[10] Since Mr. Mah’s ticket was refunded, as the alternative arrangement offered by WestJet did not meet his needs, he would have been entitled to compensation of CAD 400 had he filed a written request with WestJet within a year of the incident. The Agency finds that Mr. Mah did not make such a request and that, therefore, he is not entitled to compensation for inconvenience as set out in the APPR.

[11] The Agency has the authority, under the CTA, to compensate passengers for expenses incurred directly as a result of carriers’ failure to comply with their communications obligations under the APPR or the applicable tariff. However, a failure by WestJet to comply with its communications obligations under the APPR would not have relieved Mr. Mah of his own duty to submit a request in writing within one year of his scheduled date of travel.

[12] Consequently, the Agency dismisses the application.