WestJet ordered to pay B.C. traveller $1,300 for a missed flight connection

A B.C. traveller will receive more than $1,300 in compensation from WestJet for a missed flight connection following a decision from the province's small claims tribunal.

A B.C. traveller will receive more than $1,300 in compensation from WestJet for a missed flight connection following a decision from the province's small claims tribunal.

In a Civil Resolution Tribunal decision posted online Wednesday, tribunal member Alison Wake explained the dispute emerged after a flight from Kelowna to Calgary was delayed on Dec. 21, 2022. The flight was supposed to land in Calgary at 3:06 p.m. that day, but didn't arrive until 11:12 p.m. The impacted traveller had a connecting flight to Phoenix that departed from Calgary at 6:50 p.m.

According to Wake's decision, the traveller eventually booked himself a flight from Calgary to Phoenix via Seattle with Delta Airlines. While he managed to get to Seattle, he "faced further delays and cancellations once there," Wake wrote.

The traveller ended up taking a flight with Spirit Airlines and arrived in Phoenix three days later than intended, on Dec. 24.

The compensation claims against WestJet totalled $4,307 under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations as well as reimbursement for rebooked flights, hotel costs and meal expenses. Under the APPR, compensation may be granted depending on whether a delay was within or outside an airlines control.

Wake wrote that, in a statement emailed to the passenger about a month after his delayed trip, WestJet said "the most significant reason for his flight delay was 'flight crew member delays from a connecting flight,' which it said was outside its control."

But Wake said a carrier must take "all reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the earlier delay."