Airlines pushing for looser customer compensation rules

Sector urging Ottawa to restore exemption denying refunds for delays or cancellations related to safety

Aviation companies are making the pitch to Ottawa for looser rules around customer compensation ahead of an overhaul to passenger rights guidelines, even as consumer advocates say some of the airlines’ arguments are an overreach.

In submissions and meetings, industry groups warned Canada’s transport regulator that sweeping reforms announced earlier this year will put travellers’ safety at risk and drain carriers of cash after a financially devastating COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal legislation appears to eliminate a loophole through which airlines have denied customers compensation for flight delays or cancellations when they were required for safety purposes — an exemption the sector wants restored so pilots don’t feel pressured to choose between flying defective planes and costing their employer money.

“We want our pilots to be entirely free from any financial consideration when they take a safety-related decision,” WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said in a video chat from Ottawa this week, where he was meeting with federal ministers on the reforms.

The Air Line Pilots Association raised similar concerns in a submission to the Canadian Transportation Agency.

“Regulation should never be punitive for safety decisions,” he said.

In the European Union, however, where rules and precedents comparable to the impending passenger rights charter are in place, flight safety remains uncompromised, advocates say.

“Did it make it less safe to fly in Europe? I don’t think so,” said Sylvie De Bellefeuille, a lawyer with the advocacy group Option consommateurs.

The EU code came into force nearly two decades ago, shored up by court rulings that require compensation even for trip disruptions caused by safety concerns, such as mechanical issues. No major accidents involving EU-registered planes have occurred in commercial aviation since 2015.

The first phase of reforms comes into effect on Saturday, kicking off a more streamlined complaints process that currently creaks under the weight of more than 57,000 complaints.

That backlog has continued to mount despite a slowdown in filings, which can take up to two years for the regulator process. The new system will be managed by “complaint resolution officers” — 40 have been hired, with 60 more expected to be trained over the next year, according to the agency.

Among the provisions slated to kick in next year are fees imposed on airlines by the regulator to recover some or all of the cost of handling those complaints.

‘‘We want our pilots to be entirely free from any financial consideration when they take a safety-related decision.

ALEXIS VON HOENSBROECH WESTJET CEO