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WestJet ordered to change some reimbursement practices

Click to play video: 'Court orders WestJet to change reimbursement policies'
Court orders WestJet to change reimbursement policies
An advocacy group for airline passengers is celebrating a big win over Canada's second-largest airline. They called out WestJet for what was described as deceptive reimbursement policies. As Paul Johnson reports, the court sided with them. – Jan 31, 2025

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ordered WestJet to change some of its reimbursement practices.

The group Air Passenger Rights took the airline to court last year seeking an injunction to block what it called “deceptive reimbursement policies.”

Until recently, the Calgary-based company’s website said domestic passengers could claim up to $150 a night and international passengers could claim up to $200 a night for hotels. It also said passengers could claim $45 a day for meals.

Air Passenger Rights said no such limits exist under the law, and while WestJet has removed the language from its website, the group wants the court to grant an injunction preventing WestJet from using the policy in direct conversations with customers.

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The ruling from B.C. Supreme Court states that WestJet must not communicate any limit to reimbursement expenses to passengers.

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Click to play video: 'WestJet answers to request for court injunction'
WestJet answers to request for court injunction

“The fact we had to go to such a length, to go to a Supreme Court judge of a province to get an injunction for what the law already says, that’s a disturbing state of affairs,” Air Passenger Rights president Gabor Lukacs said.

“It shows a failure of the federal government to enforce the law as it is written.”

Air Passenger Rights is now suing WestJet for money owed to passengers they say were misled by WestJet.

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