Some passengers in Canada who were delayed due to the airline's negligence said that the airline initially offered a voucher of up to $300 as compensation, but when they filed a lawsuit, they were offered compensation in line with their claim, but on the condition that they signed a non-disclosure agreement and never disclosed the contents of the settlement to anyone.
Source: NationalPost
Colleen Dafoe was preparing to celebrate her 50th birthday with her husband and daughter in the Dominican Republic last December, but when they arrived at the airport in Halifax, WestJet said their flight had been cancelled. WestJet advised them to reroute to a flight that departed more than 10 days later, but that was long past their original holiday itinerary and birthday celebrations.
They did not leave Nova Scotia.
Dafoe said she asked WestJet for a refund, but WestJet refused, offering only a one-year voucher. Eventually, she sought $1,200 in small claims court, which she believed her family deserved under the Canadian Passenger Rights Charter.
It wasn't until she filed a lawsuit that WestJet's lawyers offered to pay them full compensation, but on the condition that they sign a non-disclosure agreement and not talk about the matter again.
Dafoe discussed with her husband that although they didn't want to accept the confidentiality clause to some extent, they felt that going to court was a bit "scary" and didn't know if they could outcompete the other team's legal team, so they finally accepted. She said"Airlines shouldn't ask people to remain silent if they don't play by the rules. ”
Source: CTV
WestJet responded to the incident: "Regardless of the circumstances involved, we will not publicly comment on the NDA. ”
Dafoe's case fits into a clear pattern: Canada's two largest airlines initially offer coupons (usually worth $150 to $300 CAD) if passengers complain. Then, if the customer refuses and proceeds to file a claim with the court,As long as a non-disclosure agreement is signed, Air Canada and WestJet will eventually provide as much service as originally requested, sometimes even more, after a long period of back-and-forth negotiations.
Kelly Geraghty, of Maple Ridge in Metro Vancouver who filed a claim with WestJet for $11,000 CAD, including moral damages to WestJet following last year's flight disruption, she saidThe confidentiality clause in the agreement is very strict, even suffocating!
"The most important thing for me is that it's a lifelong burden," says Geraghty. You are not even allowed to talk about it with your spouse. ”
If they haven't done anything wrong, then why are they trying to hide it?”
Source: CTV
Air Canada passenger Darren Guy said his scheduled trip from Montreal to Vancouver was canceled in May due to the airline's lack of staff. Air Canada initially gave him a $20 food voucher but did not offer hotel accommodation. He then filed a claim for accommodation costs and $1,000 in compensation.
Air Canada paid him $758 for the hotel but refused to pay compensation, stipulating that the amount of compensation could be up to $1,000 if the flight within the airline's control was disrupted for more than 9 hours.
After much tug-of-war, when Guy filed a lawsuit in small claims court, Air Canada offered to provide a $1,000 voucher plus $800 in cash, which was more than he had originally requestedBut the only requirement for Guy is to sign a gag order, which Guy thinks is ridiculous, so he angrily refuses to accept it.
Source: CTV
A card game in which you confront passengers
The Canadian Press spoke to more than 20 Air Canada customers who had experienced similar situations;Some rejected the non-disclosure agreement, while others accepted the settlement agreement they said was in the amount above $1,000.
Consumer rights advocates warn that non-disclosure agreements between large companies and individual customers are far from routine in most industriesThe policy is the airline's equivalent of a power gameto avoid setting legal precedents or letting payment news spread.
John Lawford, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said that sometimes, settlements fall significantly short of what is required. Many passengers are not well versed in bargaining and dealing with airlines, they do not know that they can simply refuse the "low price**" and get the airline higher**.
Lawford described it as a game of competition between passengers and the big and powerful, and described the airlines' practices as "unconscionable, despicable, low-natured, and small in size" in order to "suppress dissent and reduce criticism of the company."
However, air passenger advocate Gabor Lukacs said that from a business perspective, airlines will only do what makes sense under the current rules and enforcement system.
From an economic point of view, airlines are doing the right thing," he said, stressing that the "smokescreen" triggered by the secrecy clause could prevent a surge in cases.
Source: CBC
Under Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations, airlines are required to compensate passengers for violations, such as cancelling flights, failing to rebook passengers in a timely manner, and more.
The system, which is overseen by Canada's Transportation Agency, faces a record backlog of 61,000 complaints against airlines as of Dec. 5. Many travelers said they chose to skip the regulatory process – which only began after an initial complaint filed directly with the airline was denied – because in some cases the wait time was close to two years.
The Canadian Transportation Agency (TDA) has recently added a complaint mediator service to help expedite the resolution of disputes between passengers and airlines.