Edmonton-based Flair was the subject of 13.7 complaints for every 100 flights between April and September, the highest percentage made to the Canadian Transportation Agency.Megan Albu/The Globe and Mail
Flair Airlines Inc. drew the most passenger complaints, on a per-flight basis, of six Canadian carriers, according to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).
Edmonton-based Flair was the subject of 13.7 complaints for every 100 flights between April and September, the highest percentage made to the regulator, which mediates and adjudicates disputes over delays, cancellations and lost luggage.
Swoop, the discount brand of Westjet Airlines Ltd., came next, with 12.6 complaints for every 100 flights. Sunwing Airlines placed third, with 8.6 complaints.
WestJet, Air Canada AC-T and Air Transat rounded out the list, with 4.9, 3.6 and 2.2, respectively, according to the CTA, which said it might not have reviewed all complaints.
“The data used for this dashboard is based on all of the air travel complaints submitted to the CTA; the numbers do not imply whether or not an airline actually met its regulatory requirements,” the CTA said. “Most complaints (97 per cent) are resolved informally through facilitation or mediation; other complaints move to a formal adjudication process.”
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The CTA has been swamped by complaints in the past two years as the pandemic eased and demand for air travel overwhelmed poorly staffed airlines and airports. At the same time, the federal government enacted tougher rules that require airlines compensate passengers for delays.
The CTA said it received 12,158 new complaints in the fiscal year beginning on April 1, on top of 16,515 received over the same period the previous year.
“This past year, we processed 15,264 air travel complaints. Historically, the agency has received 1,000 complaints a year,” said France Pégeot, chair of the CTA, in a statement accompanying the agency’s annual report. “This difference represents a foundational change requiring a more operationally focused organization. We are committed to reducing the time it takes to process a complaint, both at the informal and formal stages of our dispute resolution process.”
The report, released on Monday, said most complaints are about flight disruptions, reservations, ticketing and baggage.
For the 12 months beginning on April 1, 2021, the CTA received 3,288 complaints from WestJet Airlines customers.
Air Canada, the dominant domestic airline with approximately twice as many fights as WestJet, was the subject of more than 3,200 complaints. Flair had 239; Swoop had 670.
Flair, Swoop and Sunwing did not immediately respond to e-mailed questions.
Flair, which has a fleet of 19 Boeing 737s, in November cancelled about 27 flights in Ontario’s Region of Waterloo Airport because three planes were taken out of service. Flair also cancelled its service launch in Lethbridge, Alta., after it was unable to acquire a boarding ramp.
Eric Atkins