Decision No. 146-C-A-2023

[1] Nizar Kamouna purchased a one-way ticket from WestJet to travel from Montréal, Québec, to London, United Kingdom, via Toronto, Ontario, on December 18, 2021. His flight from Montréal to Toronto was delayed, which caused him to miss his connecting flight to London. WestJet rebooked him to travel from Toronto to London the following day, December 19, 2021. Mr. Kamouna arrived to London at 6:35 am on December 20, 2021, approximately 21 hours later than originally scheduled.

[2] Mr. Kamouna seeks compensation for expenses incurred, as well as compensation for inconvenience in the amount of CAD 1,000, as set out under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR). He also seeks interest on the compensation amount and an apology from the carrier.

[3] In this decision, the role of the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency) is to decide whether WestJet properly applied its Tariff to the ticket that Mr. Kamouna purchased. The Tariff is a legal document that contains the terms, conditions and other rules that apply to the passenger’s ticket. If the Agency finds that WestJet failed to properly apply its Tariff, it can direct WestJet to take the corrective measures that it considers appropriate or to pay compensation for any expense incurred by Mr. Kamouna.

[4] The Agency does not have the authority to order the payment of interest or an apology. Therefore, the Agency will not consider these claims.

Communication

[5] Mr. Kamouna submits that WestJet did not provide him with timely or accurate information regarding the delay of his flight.

[6] Since Mr. Kamouna’s travel, the Agency issued Decision 122-C-A-2021 (APPR Interpretive Decision) in which it has clarified the regulatory requirements for carriers to provide clear, timely and accurate communications. As Mr. Kamouna did not claim compensation for expenses related to this issue, there is no remedy available to him.

Evidence of the reasons for the flight delay

[7] WestJet’s explanation of the reasons for the flight delay is inconsistent and unclear. The Agency therefore finds that the evidence does not establish that the delay was outside WestJet’s control.

[8] The flight information and the flight details records that WestJet provided do not support its claims regarding the causes of the delay in the flight from Montréal. While it claims that the most significant contributing factor for the delay was weather-related, the supporting documents make no mention of weather-related issues. Rather, they indicate that 90 minutes of the overall delay was due to “over-block” and 59 minutes was due to baggage handling.

[9] WestJet says that the 90-minute “over-block” delay was a result of fuelling delays for 68 minutes and a ground delay program for 22 minutes. While the ground delay program report for the Toronto Pearson International Airport provided by WestJet indicates snow and ice impacted conditions on December 18, 2021, this document is marked at 8:31 pm. Mr. Kamouna’s flight was scheduled to depart at 5:50 pm, but departed at 7:29 pm. WestJet has not explained how the conditions reported at 8:31 pm impacted Mr. Kamouna’s flight. WestJet also provided METARs statements consisting entirely of numbers, acronyms and code with no explanation of these terms. To be of assistance, these reports must be broken down and explained in plain language.

Claim for compensation for inconvenience

[10] Under the APPR, passengers are entitled to compensation for inconvenience if they experience a flight delay or cancellation within the carrier’s control. To receive this compensation, a passenger must file a request for compensation within one year of the disruption.

[11] Mr. Kamouna submits that he filed a claim with WestJet by email on December 31, 2021. He claims that WestJet deliberately ignored his request in order to not compensate him. WestJet claims that it searched its systems and archives extensively and that it has no record of a claim being received from Mr. Kamouna. WestJet adds that the emails he submitted in support of his application were sent to automated “no‑reply” addresses and that one of the addresses was invalid as it contained a typo.

[12] Mr. Kamouna filed a copy of an email he sent to WestJet on December 31, 2021. However, the APPR Claims email address he used (apprclaims@westjet.co) contained an error. While this email was also sent to two other email addresses, the Agency accepts that they are not valid email addresses for APPR claims.

[13] Mr. Kamouna submits that he also filed his complaint via WestJet’s online form on January 6, 2022, however there are discrepancies in the dates indicated on the copy of the form he provided. The first part of the form is dated December 31, 2021, and the second part is dated January 6, 2021, which would have been before Mr. Kamouna’s flight on December 18, 2021. Additionally, while he submitted a copy of a page that appears to be an acknowledgment of receipt of an APPR claim form, it is not dated and it does not include the link to WestJet’s APPR compensation claims website page, unlike the other pages of the form he filed. The Agency finds that Mr. Kamouna’s evidence is inconsistent and therefore, it is of limited probative value.

[14] The Agency finds that, based on the evidence, it is more likely than not that WestJet did not receive Mr. Kamouna’s request for compensation within one year of the disruption. In light of this, the Agency finds that Mr. Kamouna is not entitled to compensation for inconvenience.

Standards of Treatment

[15] Under the APPR, when passengers are informed of the delay or cancellation less than 12 hours before the original departure time and they have waited 2 hours after the departure time, the carrier must provide food and drink in reasonable quantities to the affected passengers.

[16] WestJet submits that it provided Mr. Kamouna with overnight hotel accommodation and three meal vouchers, as the categorization of the flight delay was unclear at that time. Mr. Kamouna submits that he incurred meal expenses that were beyond the voucher value. WestJet argues that he is responsible for the additional cost resulting from his choice to purchase meal items valued higher than the vouchers.

[17] The Agency finds that Mr. Kamouna has not shown that the food vouchers were inadequate and insufficient in the circumstances. As a result, the Agency finds that Mr. Kamouna is not entitled to compensation for meal expenses that were beyond the voucher value.

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

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Legislation or Tariff referenced	Numeric identifier (section, subsection, rule, etc.)
Air Transportation Regulations, SOR/88-58	110(4); 113.1(1); 113.1(3)
Air Passenger Protection Regulations, SOR/2019-150	12(2); 19(1)(a)(iii)
International Passenger Rules and Fares Tariff WS1 containing Local Rules, Fares and Changes on behalf of WestJet Applicable to the Transportation of Passengers and Baggage between points in United States/Canada And points in Area 1/2/3 and between the US and points in Canada	75(2)(b)