WestJet ordered to pay more than $2K to passengers after offering $16.17 as reimbursement

Court tells WestJet that close doesn't count in flight from Hawaii to Vancouver after flight diverted to Victoria due to smoke from a volcano

Published Sep 20, 2024  •  3 minute read

Mount Baker in Washington is seen in the distance as a WestJet Airlines Boeing 737 Max aircraft arrives at Vancouver International Airport. A flight in April 2023 was diverted to Victoria due to smoke from a volcano. Photo by Darryl Dyck /THE CANADIAN PRESS

A court in British Columbia this week ordered WestJet airline to pay a total of more than $2,000 to three passengers whose flight from Hawaii was diverted from Vancouver to nearby Victoria. The airline had argued that because the plane made it most of the way to where it was going, the passengers should still pay most of the cost.

The unnamed applicants, referred to in court documents as RA, SB and MB, purchased a flight from Hawaii to Vancouver with the respondent, WestJet Airlines Ltd. But the April 13, 2023 flight was diverted to Victoria because of smoke from a volcano.

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The applicants said a WestJet employee on the plane told them to go to the WestJet desk in the airport because hotel rooms were reserved for families with young children; there, a second WestJet employee told them to book their own accommodation, and that the airline would reimburse hotel, travel, and food expenses.

The applicants paid $784.90 for a room, meals and taxis. However, WestJet eventually paid them less than half that amount — $354.10, as “a gesture of goodwill,” the court document states — telling them its policies limit the amount of reimbursement.

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On the night the flight landed, the airline also offered the applicants three choices: a noon flight the next day from Victoria to Vancouver; a different flight to the same destination; or a refund. They chose option three, having paid a total of $1,395.18 for their tickets. WestJet sent the applicants an email confirming that the refund request was being processed.

But the airline later claimed passengers are only entitled to a refund for the “unused portion” of their tickets, under section 18(1.1) of the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, which states: “If a carrier cannot provide a confirmed reservation in accordance with subsection (1), it must, at the passenger’s choice, refund any unused portion of the ticket or provide the following alternate travel arrangements, free of charge.”

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And since Victoria is 98.84 per cent of the way from Hawaii to Vancouver, WestJet calculated there were only owed 1.16 per cent of their airfare, which amounted to a total of $16.17. The passengers begged to differ, and the matter went to small claims court.

In his decision, tribunal member Peter Mennie ruled that, while WestJet offered “a blanket denial of the applicants’ allegations,” it did not specifically deny that its employee promised to reimburse the hotel, travel and food costs. “So, I accept the applicants’ evidence that a WestJet employee promised that WestJet would reimburse these costs and did not say the amount was limited by its policies.”

On the matter of the flight, Mennie noted that “WestJet’s email offered a refund of their flights, not the unused portion of their tickets,” adding: “I agree with the applicants that the plain and ordinary meaning of a refund of the ‘flight-only itinerary’ is the full cost of the applicants’ flights.”

Mennie ruled that the airline had to pay the passengers $1,395.18 for their flights; an additional $430.80 for hotel, food and taxi costs; $129.83 in interest charges; and $125 in court costs, for a total of $2,080.81.

The judgement notes that the applicants had also made a claim for a US$50 baggage fee. “However, they did not provide proof of payment, so I make no award for this claim.” You can’t win ’em all.

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