The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal in a case that says airlines cannot charge plus-sized passengers who require an extra seat or travelers with accessibility problems who require an attendant.
The move means that airlines will now be forced to comply with a Canadian Transportation Agency policy that says that airlines can’t penalize people who need an extra seat by charging them two fares.
The two categories of passengers covered by the policy include those who are “functionally disabled by obesity” and need an extra seat, as well as people with other disabilities who need to travel with an attendant.
Three of Canada’s biggest airlines—Air Canada, its subsidiary Jazz, and WestJet—had jointly appealed the policy, claiming that it would impose undue hardship on them.
However, lower courts disagreed, and by refusing to hear the case, the Supreme Court of Canada in effect turned the CTA’s policy into law.
Disabled-rights groups objected to the airlines’ previous policy of charging for an extra seat, claiming that it unfairly discriminated against those with special needs by forcing them to bear extra travel costs. The CTA’s policy has now brought the airlines into line with rail, bus and boat companies in Canada, none of whom charge extra for disabled passengers.
Air Canada estimates that the policy change will cost approximately $5.7 million in revenue per year. All three airlines named in the case are currently developing internal procedures to implement the policy, which takes effect on January 10.
Only domestic flights within Canada are covered by the ruling, which excludes international flights that have a domestic portion.
A spokesman for WestJet said the ruling was unprecedented in aviation history. There have been instances of passengers with mobility problem suing individual airlines (and winning) over perceived discrimination, but to date there is no other country in the world where a similar nationwide court ruling exists.
By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com.
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