WestJet in Ottawa Calling for APPR Reform and Accountability

WestJet is in Ottawa this week, meeting with government officials for an update on its summer performance and presenting concern amongst industry stakeholders surrounding the proposed Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) reforms with a stronger need for shared accountability.

WestJet Group Chief Executive Officer, Alexis von Hoensbroech also says there is a need to resolve the Canadian Transport Agency's (CTA) complaint backlog.

Currently, thousands of cases await a final decision by the federal regulator, with many WestJet guests waiting over 18 months for a response. Conversely, WestJet and all airlines are required to respond to all APPR claims within 30 days.

"We've heard from our guests that there are too many loopholes under the current Air Passenger Protection Regulations and we agree," continues von Hoensbroech. "Currently, airlines are the only service provider within the air travel ecosystem that are held accountable to their failures. This results in confusion and frustration for our guests when their travel doesn't go as planned as a result of missteps by any other service provider within the aviation industry."

In order to improve travel across Canada, von Hoensbroech is recommending the following policy priorities for parliamentarians to consider:

- Strengthen and amend Bill C52 to ensure any entity whose operations result in delays and cancels have clear performance metrics, communication and equal compensation requirements to that of airlines.

- Review and address the growing consensus that APPR reforms, if realized, would: 

      -Contradict Canada's aviation safety culture

      -Negatively impact regional connectivity and air fares in Canada

      -Diminish progress made across Canada's recovering and now stable aviation industry

      -Clear the complaint backlog at the CTA by imposing an equal service standard to that of airlines, which requires airlines to provide a response within 30 days, to ensure guests do not wait 18 months for resolution

In April 2023, the federal government announced proposed amendments to the Canada Transportation Act that it says would strengthen Canada's passenger rights regime, streamline the processes for administering air travel complaints before the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), and increase air carrier accountability.

"We accept and remain accountable to compensating our guests when we are at fault for impacting their travel journey, however, to ensure meaningful improvements for our guests, APPR must provide a shared accountability framework and a service standard that results in the timely resolution of all complaints," says von Hoensbroech.

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