Couple takes WestJet to court for delayed flights to Toronto and wins

A small claims court in Nova Scotia just awarded hundreds of dollars to a Halifax couple who flew to Toronto last Christmas after their WestJet flight was delayed by more than three hours.

"It never hurts to take a kick at the can and I was very pleased we won the case," Eliza Richardson told CTV News Toronto.

Richardson and her husband, Ben Friedrich, planned to fly to Toronto from Halifax on Dec. 23, 2022, but their flight was cancelled due to inclement weather and rescheduled for Christmas Day.

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Their flight was repeatedly delayed on the day of their trip, and they arrived in Toronto three hours and 45 minutes later than expected.

"I wasn't too happy about that. At least we spent Christmas evening with my family and Boxing Day with my husband's family," said Richardson.

While the first cancellation was due to a storm, the delay on Christmas was not weather-related.

According to airline compensation rules in Canada, if a disruption is within an airline's control and not related to safety, it must pay compensation of $400 if a flight is 3 to 6 hours late, $700 if it's 6 to 9 hours late and $1,000 if it's more than 9 hours late.

Richardson, who was articling to be a lawyer then, filed a claim. She told WestJet they were entitled to $400 each.

"It was a clear evening, it was more than three hours, so we felt like we met all of the requirements," said Richardson.

WestJet denied the claim twice, saying the delay was weather-related as it was still caused by the stormy weather on Dec. 23.

Richardson disagreed and took the case to small claims court in Nova Scotia. A judge agreed the couple should be paid compensation and ordered WestJet to pay them $800 plus $99.70 in court costs for almost $900.

Richardson was pleased to win the case and said the money will go to good use.

"I will use the money to help pay down my law school debt," said Richardson.

Gabor Lukacs, president of Air Passenger Rights, says the ruling shows airlines should be held accountable to pay compensation when delays are their fault.

"It shows passengers can get justice in small claims court, and that's more than what the government is doing", said Lukacs. "The court really shows what WestJet was doing in practice, was making excuses to avoid paying compensation, and they didn't like it."

CTV News Toronto reached out to WestJet, and the airline said it was reviewing the decision but had no comment.

Richardson says she encourages others to go to court if they feel an airline owes them money.

"If you have the time and the $100 filing fee, I would say why not give it a try," said Richardson.

Lukacs said the federal government should do more to make airlines pay compensation when they're supposed to, saying Canadians shouldn't have to go to court to get what they deserve.