Summary
This is a proposed consumer class action against WestJet Airlines Ltd. (“WestJet”) arising out of WestJet’s unilateral decision to initiate “Schedule Changes” to the Class Members’ flights and its subsequent refusal to refund the Class Members their money when they were forced to cancel their changed flights and refusal to compensate them for the damages caused by the changes that WestJet chose to make, in violation of both applicable regulations as well as WestJet’s own guiding policy, called its Tariff, posted on its website.
Specifically, this lawsuit alleges that WestJet unilaterally chose to cancel or change the Class Members’ flights and rebook them on flights that they did not ask for, including changing their flights to add extra stops or changing their departure and arrival times by hours (and sometimes even days). Despite WestJet’s own Tariff as well as the Air Passenger Protection Regulations both mandating that in such situations WestJet must give the customer their money back, when customers who were unable to use the rebooked flights looked to cancel their flights, WestJet refused to give them a refund and rather would only provide expirable travel credits. Similarly, those Class Members who had no other option but to begrudgingly accept WestJet’s unilateral changes were not compensated for their damages arising from the Schedule Changes, such as missing connecting flights and/or being forced to pay for extra nights at a hotel. This lawsuit seeks to force WestJet to refund the Class Members who were forced to cancel their flights due to WestJet’s changes, as well as to provide compensation and a disgorgement of WestJet’s profit to Class Members who had no choice but to accept WestJet’s schedule change and suffer the losses arising therefrom.
Class Membership Criteria
This class action is brought on behalf of:
- All WestJet customers who purchased a ticket for a flight departing Canada for, or arriving to Canada from, an international destination (including the United States), anytime between June 1, 2020 and the date of certification of this action, whose flight underwent a “Schedule Change” and who received an email from WestJet stating “We’re sorry to advise that due to adjustments to our flight schedule, it has been necessary to change or cancel one or more of your WestJet flights”.