WestJet tried to silence couple fighting for compensation after airline cancelled their flight
Anna and Russell Gurney were excited about their upcoming trip to San Diego to catch a cruise, but their plans took a turn when they received a message from WestJet in the middle of the night. The message informed them that their December 2022 flight had been cancelled due to a crew shortage, and they had been rebooked on a new flight 48 hours later. Determined not to miss their cruise, the couple had no choice but to accept a refund from WestJet and book last-minute tickets on another carrier, at a cost of $1,500 more.
When they sought reimbursement from WestJet, the airline refused. Feeling frustrated and bullied, Anna and Russell decided to take WestJet to small claims court and sought advice from the Air Passenger Rights Facebook group. However, WestJet’s lawyers discovered their post on the group and threatened to stop negotiations with them, citing the sharing of “privileged and confidential” correspondence.
Founder of the Facebook group, Gábor Lukács, expressed concern over the trend of airlines trying to silence passengers from publicly discussing their conflicts. He highlighted the uneven playing field between airlines and travelers, noting that no one is cracking down on these practices.
The Gurneys’ experience with WestJet is just one example of airlines attempting to keep dispute details confidential, creating a veil of secrecy around disagreements with passengers. This, coupled with new rules surrounding complaints filed with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), has made it difficult for passengers to seek justice.
Efforts by airlines to keep compensation battles secret have been met with criticism from industry watchers and legal experts. Gábor Lukács called WestJet’s actions a form of “legal voodoo” and emphasized that passengers should not agree to be muzzled by airlines.
Despite facing pressure from WestJet’s lawyers, Anna Gurney decided to post the letter from the airline’s lawyer in full on the Facebook page. She emphasized the importance of stopping airlines from using legal counsel to silence passengers and prevent them from seeking compensation.
The Gurneys eventually reached a settlement with WestJet, but were required to sign a non-disclosure agreement to receive their compensation. Anna Gurney hopes that speaking out about her experience will encourage other passengers to push back against airlines that refuse to provide proper compensation and that airlines will reconsider their tactics of trying to silence passengers.
The concerns raised by the Gurneys and advocates have prompted calls for changes to the legislation surrounding airline passenger rights and confidentiality rules around CTA decisions. The hope is to create a more transparent and fair system for passengers seeking resolution for their grievances with airlines.
