Decision No. 135-C-A-2022

[1] On November 4, 2020, the applicants purchased tickets to travel with Swoop from Toronto, Ontario, to Kelowna, British Columbia, on December 27, 2020, and to travel with WestJet from Kelowna to London, Ontario, via Calgary, Alberta, on January 2, 2021, for a skiing holiday. On December 16, 2020, the ski resort cancelled their reservation due to a provincial public health order, so the applicants cancelled their flights. They seek a refund of the CAD 654.49 paid for their flight with Swoop. They also seek a refund of the CAD 1,471.44 paid for their flights with WestJet in the original form of payment, rather than the travel credit that they received.

[2] In this decision, the role of the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency) is to decide whether the respondents properly applied their tariffs to the tickets that the applicants purchased.

[3] With respect to cancellations by the passenger, Swoop’s domestic tariff states that there is no refund available for flights booked after May 24, 2019, unless the cancellation occurs within 24 hours from the original booking date. Given that the applicants cancelled their flight six weeks after booking it, the Agency finds that Swoop properly applied its tariff and that the applicants are not entitled to a refund of the cost of their flight with Swoop.

[4] WestJet’s domestic tariff states that reservations cancelled by a passenger more than 24 hours after booking will be refunded, less any applicable cancellation fee, in the form of a travel credit valid for one year. Given that the applicants cancelled their flights six weeks after booking them, the Agency finds that WestJet properly applied its tariff when it provided the applicants with a refund of cost of their flights in the form of a travel credit. As indicated in its answer, WestJet did not charge the applicants a cancellation fee and extended the validity of the travel credit by an additional year, in accordance with a flexible change and cancel policy applied due to COVID-19.

[5] In light of the above, the Agency dismisses the application.