Canadian airlines will be billed $790 per customer complaint resolved, proposes CTA

The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) is proposing a new fee that airlines would have to pay for every customer complaint it resolves – regardless of whether it rules in favour of passengers or not.

The proposal is part of a consulting process aimed at strengthening Canada’s passenger protection system with new processes.

The Budget Implementation Act of 2023 (BIA) requires the CTA to establish fees, or charges, to help recover the costs of processing air travel complaints linked to airlines.

Under the CTA's new proposal, airlines will be billed $790 for every complaint the agency processes, regardless of the outcome. 

The fee is meant to cover 60 per cent of the cost of resolving eligible complaints, according to notice posted to the CTA's website. Airlines would be notified 30 days before a finalized fee comes into force.

Based on its own data and trends, the CTA estimates that it will be able to close some 22,615 eligible air travel complaints per year.

The agency says the estimated total costs to process air travel complaints is $29,777,523 annually.

Sky-high complaints

The update comes as the CTA deals with record-high air travel complaints. Earlier in the year, it was reported that the agency was grappling with a backlog of more than 71,000 files.

Last fiscal year, 43,549 passenger complaints were filed with the CTA, and between April 1 and April 25, 2024, the agency said it had received 3,291 complaints.

Last year, Ottawa gave the CTA $76 million dollars over three years to help it clear its backlog. Parliament also introduced regulations as of Sept. 30 that were supposed to streamline the complaint process under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR).

Airlines respond

The Globe and Mail has compiled some responses from airlines, reacting to the proposed fee.

Andy Gibbons, WestJet Airlines’ vice-president of external affairs, called it a bad idea, noting how the airline industry is already full of fees while facing an affordability crisis.

He said the CTA’s priority should be “improving its administration and ensuring that Canadians don’t have to wait years for a decision.

Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick called the proposal “concerning” because the airline would have to pay – even if it was found to have properly denied a passenger compensation.

The $790 fee is more than the average revenue Air Canada makes on a one-way ticket, Fitzpatrick told the Globe.

The CTA has opened a one-month consultation period to address the proposed fee. 

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