NewLeaf sues passenger rights advocate: report

Recently-launched low-cost airfare provider NewLeaf has reportedly sued an air passenger rights advocate for what the company alleges are false and misleading statements about its business practices.

According to a report in the Toronto Star, the lawsuit accuses passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs of making “an unrelenting, aggressive and malicious attack” via his social media accounts; NewLeaf alleges the statements suggest that the business is operating illegally. While NewLeaf says it has twice sent copies of the lawsuit to Lukacs by email, Lukacs is quoted in the report as stating he has not received the documents.

Lukacs has raised concerns over NewLeaf’s business model in recent months and has appealed a decision by the Canadian Transportation Agency which determined that NewLeaf is a ticket reseller and not an airline, thus allowing it to be covered under the aviation licence of Flair Airlines, which provides aircraft for NewLeaf’s routes.