WestJet blames ‘pilot availability’ but Vernon snowbird sues and wins

WestJet blamed the weather and pilot availability, but a Vernon woman whose flight back from Mexico was delayed by two days has been awarded $1,700 after she took the airline to court.

According to an Aug. 27 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, Vernon snowbird Renate Stefan spent a few months in Manzanillo before booking her flight back to Kelowna airport in February 2023.

However, a few hours before she was due to fly back to Canada, WestJet cancelled her flight and rebooked her two days later.

The flight was to take her to Calgary and then Kelowna, but once she got to Calgary airport, WestJet cancelled the Kelowna flight.

The decision said WestJet booked her on a flight to Penticton the following day, but instead Stefan bought another WestJet flight to Kelowna later that day. There’s no reason given in the decision as to why WestJet couldn’t have just put her on the flight to Kelowna anyway.

When Stefan finally arrived back in Vernon she asked WestJet for compensation under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations.

The regulations state that if a delay is within the airline’s control and more than nine hours, then the airline has to pay $1,000 in compensation.

However, WestJet denied her claim.

Stefan then took the airline to the online small claims court, adding her name to the list of customers who have sued WestJet after it denied them compensation.

In its defence, WestJet claimed that the flight from Mexico was delayed due to pilot availability issues stemming from an earlier “weather-related de-icing delay.” It also blamed the weather along the route from the delay for the Calgary to Kelowna flight.

However, WestJet failed to provide any evidence.

The decision said WestJet provided two flight irregularity reports that lacked any information.

“They document the flight cancellations but not the reasons,” the Tribunal said. “The fields labelled ‘Delay Reason’ and ‘APPR Category’ are left blank in both documents.”

The Tribunal ruled that WestJet hadn’t proved that the cancellations were for safety purposes or outside WestJet’s control and that it owed Stefan compensation.

She claimed $5,000 for two nights’ hotel, food, transportation, and delay, stress, and loss of enjoyment.

The Tribunal dismissed claims for stress, and loss of enjoyment but ordered WestJet to pay $1,000 for the delay and cover $337 for hotel and food expenses, plus $432 as a partial refund for the ticket she bought.

She had claimed $142 for a taxi from Kelowna airport to Vernon as she wasn’t able to get a lift because of the uncertainty of flight times. However, the Tribunal dismissed the claim.

WestJet will also have to pay interest on the $1,769 it was ordered to pay her.