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By TARRAH HARVEY AND THE CANADIAN PRESS, Sep 5, 2019
SUMMARY
- WestJet was fined $17,500, Air Canada was fined $12,500, Air Transat and Porter Airlines were fined $7,500 each
- Air passenger protection regulations allow a fine of $25,000 per infraction
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A passenger rights advocate is calling the $45,000 fine imposed on four Canadian airlines a “token gesture,” saying regulations allow for them to be fined 10 times as much.
Gábor Lukács, founder of Air Passenger Rights, says the fine is a drop in the bucket for airlines and sends a clear signal to passengers.
“The message that this lousy fine is sending to the public and the airlines is that the regulator is not really wiling to enforce rights of passengers,” he says.
WestJet Airlines Ltd. was fined $17,500, Air Canada was fined $12,500, and Air Transat and Porter Airlines were fined $7,500 each for breaching federal regulations.
Air passenger protection regulations allow a fine of $25,000 per infraction, meaning the airlines could have been on the hook for a combined $450,000.
Lukácssays the announcement of the fines is nothing more than “smoke and mirrors,” strategically timed to try to convince Canadians that the current government cares about passenger right before the federal election.
The rule that the airlines violated was one that states airlines must display a notice at the check-in desk, self-service kiosks and departure gate that passengers who are denied boarding or whose luggage is lost or damaged may be entitled to compensation.
The regulator says airlines failed to alert travellers to their rights ahead of several flights out of Halifax, Quebec City, Calgary and Edmonton between July 22 and Aug. 7.
New rules came into effect July 15 beefing up compensation for passengers whose flights were delayed or luggage damaged, which have been met with criticism from both the industry and consumer advocates.
Under the new rules, airlines will now have to provide compensation — up to a maximum of $2,400 — to anyone bumped from a flight. Changes also mean airlines will have to compensate passengers if their flight is severely delayed, if their luggage is lost, or if flights are overbooked, as long as the situation is within the company’s control.