MPs set to question airline CEOs on carry-on baggage fees
CBC
Four airline CEOs will face questions about carry-on baggage fees when they appear before of the House of Commons transport committee today.
Earlier this month, Air Canada announced plans to eliminate complimentary carry-on luggage from its cheapest tickets on some flights. WestJet made a similar move earlier this year.
Porter, Flair and Sunwing — which was bought by WestJet in 2023 — charge passengers an extra fee for carry-on luggage.
Airlines that have eliminated free carry-on baggage on their lowest fares still allow those passengers to bring a small "personal item," such as a purse or a computer bag, free of charge.
The CEOs of Air Canada, WestJet, Porter and Air Transat will appear before the committee this afternoon. MPs from every party agreed to call on them to testify last week in a rare moment of cross-party unity.
The CEOs of Porter, AirCanada and Air Transat are set to appear virtually. WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech is expected to attend in person.
In an open letter to the committee members on Thursday, von Hoensbroech said "over a million Canadians" have opted for the airline's cheaper fares, which do not allow passengers a carry-on bag but do allow them to bring a "personal item" on board.
Von Hoensbroech argued that WestJet has always sought to make air travel more affordable but the company's efforts "have been undermined by government policies and third-party fees and taxes."
"These hidden fees, including navigation, security and airport improvement charges, make Canadian air travel among the most expensive globally — more than triple the fees in the U.S." von Hoensbroech wrote.
He called on the government to freeze and reform airline taxes and fees. He also said the government should stop collecting rent from airports and allow those funds to be reinvested in airport infrastructure.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Nancy Addison is still waiting for a house to come home to, one year after a wildfire raged through Jasper, Alta.
There's an app for that — even to help monitor people on bail in Ontario.
A fire at a waste facility in Wellington, P.E.I., on Saturday could have been much worse than it turned out to be.
It's been well documented by now that Canadians are drinking less than they used to, but no other province has seen a greater reduction than Alberta.
Canada's premiers are kicking off a three-day summit in Ontario's cottage country at a time of heightened anxiety over tariffs and trade with Canada's closest trading partner, the United States.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is dismissing the question of whether U.S. free trade with Canada is dead, calling the notion "silly" and saying a substantial amount of Canadian goods enter the U.S. tariff-free under the current North American free trade deal.
Howard Mah and Lori Arnason had never seen a wild grizzly until Saturday.
Police in New York state say they have found a nine-year-old Canadian girl who was reported missing in northeastern New York dead.
A 14-year-old has been arrested in the fatal stabbing of a woman in a North York parking lot last Thursday, Toronto police say.
It's been a big week for Tyrelle Chadwick.
Joanne Williams estimates she's taught 2,000 people how to make bentwood boxes.
Paula Callejas, a Montreal native, was trying to expand her swimsuit business in Florida after taking time off to take care of her ailing father in Canada before his death.
Across Alberta, more people are buying new vehicles even as prices have been shooting up.