WestJet CEO says CTA fee proposal 'lacks any common sense'

WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said the Canadian Transportation Agency’s (CTA) recent proposal to charge airlines a $790 fee for every customer complaint it resolves “lacks any common sense.”

“This fee exceeds the average payout for a valid APPR [Air Passenger Protection Regulations] claim and is more than triple the average domestic airfare,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “In what way does this drive improvement, justice, more competition or affordability for Canadians?”

“I surely endorse the right for passengers to challenge APPR decisions that airlines take and I respect the important work the CTA has to do to adjudicate these complaints,” he continued. “But charging a processing fee that is higher than an average APPR compensation is contrary to any common sense and nothing but an invitation to game the system.”

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

The CTA’s 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 the suggested fee for every complaint the agency processes, regardless of the outcome.

“This free spin on the roulette wheel may encourage complaints to be submitted even if they are unsubstantial in the hopes that airlines will settle to avoid such an outsized processing fee,” said von Hoensbroech. “This will not just cause a flood of additional complaints to the CTA. It will also further increase the cost of the already very expensive system at the expense of the travelling public who would eventually have to cover this through even higher air fares.”

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.

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