B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered WestJet to pay a traveller $633 in damages for a missed flight connection.
In a Sept. 13 decision, tribunal member Mark Henderson said Steven James Davidson bought a return ticket from Kamloops to Phoenix, Arizona connecting through Calgary with WestJet.
Henderson said Davidson’s flight from Kamloops to Calgary was delayed and so he missed his flight onward to Phoenix.
Davidson was booked on a later flight to Phoenix and arrived approximately 4.5 hours after his originally scheduled arrival.
However, Davidson also paid for a premium class seat on the original flight from Calgary to Phoenix but was seated in an economy class seat on the rebooked flight.
Davidson sought $400 under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) for the delay and $1,031 as compensation for the seat downgrade.
For its part, the Calgary-based airline said the delay was outside of its control and so Davidson was not entitled to compensation for delay under the APPR. WestJet also said any refund for the downgrade from premium to economy class should be limited to $160.
WestJet flight details
Davidson was booked on WS3314 from Kamloops to Calgary on March 30, 2023. His flight was to depart Kamloops at 10:41 a.m. and arrive in Calgary at 12:53 p.m. His second flight, WS1516, was to depart Calgary at 2:30 p.m. and arrive in Phoenix at 4:34 p.m.
However, WS3314 was delayed so Davidson did not arrive in Calgary until 1:49 p.m. and missed his connecting flight to Phoenix. He was rebooked on WS1536 from Calgary to Phoenix which arrived in Phoenix at 9:09 p.m.
WestJet said the reason for the late departure of the Kamloops-to-Calgary flight was a combination of weather and crew delays on two earlier flights: WS3540 and WS3111.
Records showed WS3111 was the preceding flight from Calgary to Kamloops. WS3111 and WS3314 used the same aircraft and crew, Henderson said.
WS3111 was delayed by a total of 54 minutes. Records showed that WS3111 was delayed by 41 minutes because it was waiting for the crew from WS3540. There was also a delay of 13 minutes for fog.
Records showed WS3540 arrived in Calgary 55 minutes late due to fog. The captain and first officer for WS3111 were inbound on WS3540.
Henderson accepted WS3540 was delayed due to fog, and WS3111 was delayed due to a combination of fog and the earlier delay of WS3540.
And, he found the delays to WS3540 and WS3111 were outside of WestJet’s control.
“I also find that the delay of WS3314 was due to the earlier delays of WS3111 and WS3540,” he said.
The tribunal found WestJet did not provide any details of steps that it took to mitigate the impact of the earlier delays.
“So, I draw an adverse inference against WestJet for failing to provide relevant evidence that it took all reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the earlier weather delay and crew delay,” Henderson said.
He said that lack of mitigation meant Davidson was entitled to $400 in compensation for delay-related inconvenience.
He also found Davidson was owed $233 for reimbursement of the seat downgrade.
