Regulatory Pushback: Internal Documents Reveal WestJet Lobbying to Roll Back Passenger Protections
WestJet has been trying to make the case that removing passenger rights regulations would lead to more competition among airlines, according to an internal government document.
A briefing note, prepared for Canada’s associate deputy minister of finance Alison O’Leary, reveals that the country’s second-largest air carrier requested a private meeting with the Department of Finance Canada last October to discuss how to “ensure aviation continues to drive growth and opportunities for Canadians.”
The document, obtained via Access to Information and Privacy, says that WestJet has criticized the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) for increasing airlines’ operating costs.
“WestJet is of the view that competition in the industry has improved since pre-pandemic, citing the rise of smaller airlines, such as Flair and Porter,” the document reads. “However, it argues that lower fees on air tickets and the removal of the APPR would result in more competition.”
Over the last year, WestJet has communicated with several ministries about “consumer issues” — specifically, the APPR — 41 times, according to the federal lobbying registry.
Introduced in 2019, the regulations provide a framework for compensating travellers in the event of flight cancellations, delays or denied boarding.
In an emailed response to questions from the Star, WestJet’s senior media relations manager, Jen Booth, said the company has for years “been a consistent and vocal advocate for fixing Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) to better reflect the aviation landscape.”
Air passenger rights advocate Gábor Lukács questioned the notion that removing the APPR would improve competition.
“If I was WestJet’s CEO, I would not want any competition. I would want to make it as monopolistic or duopolistic for maximizing profit,” he told the Star.
“There are a number of reasons why passenger rights are important,” Lukács went on. “If someone genuinely cares about the Canadian airline industry and the Canadian tourism industry remaining competitive, then that’s one very good reason for (passenger rights) because they have it in Europe.”
Lukács added that Canadian airlines will be more attractive to consumers if they offer the same passenger protections as European ones.
“WestJet has always been pro-competition,” company CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech wrote in an email from Booth. “APPR is particularly hard to fund for smaller airlines compared to more established ones and the reality is that the APPR increases the cost of travel which disproportionately impacts low-income Canadians.”
He added that Canadian airlines operating from Europe are also subject to the European passenger rights regime.
Von Hoensbroech, along with the airline’s chief people officer and the vice-president of external affairs, were scheduled to attend the meeting with the department of finance on Oct. 23, according to the briefing note.
A department of finance official confirmed that the meeting took place, but said they cannot disclose details of private discussions with stakeholders “to ensure candidness and openness.”
In recent years, some aspects of the APPR have proven too unclear, according to the government, leading to a high number of complaints against air carriers to the Canada Transportation Agency.
The government ran consultations with industry stakeholders and, in December 2024, published proposed amendments to the APPR in the Canada Gazette, the government’s official newspaper.
The amendments are meant to close loopholes that allowed airlines to deny compensation and charge airlines per eligible complaint to recover adjudication costs.
Government officials who wrote the briefing note suggested questions for the associate deputy minister — a role in the federal public service, not cabinet — to ask WestJet, including how the APPR has affected the airline and whether the airline suggests alternative complaint-resolution models that could help process claims more efficiently.
This article was first reported by Star
