WestJet says it will begin providing refunds to passengers who had their WestJet and Swoop flights cancelled by the airlines as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company says the refunds will be in the original form of payment rather than a credit for future flights as it had previously offered.
The refunds will apply to all classes of fares including non-refundable basic fares, which the company initially said on its website were excluded from the policy change.
WestJet said the refunds only apply to flights it cancelled — rather than those cancelled by the passenger — because it is focusing on reinstating the practice "in line with its regulatory tariff and booking conditions that were in place pre-COVID."
The Calgary-based company said it will begin on
“We are an airline that has built its reputation on putting people first,” said
“We have heard loud and clear from the travelling public that in this COVID world they are looking for reassurance on two fronts: the safest possible travel environment; and refunds."
WestJet asks passengers not to contact the company to avoid overloading its contact centre.
Refunds are expected to take six to nine months, while
"For customers with non-refundable tickets, we have the most generous and flexible voucher option in
The company said it would not raise fares to pay for the refunds.
"It is our intention to remove barriers to travel, not create further affordability challenges for hard-pressed travellers," it said on its website.
WestJet had started to bleed money from advance ticket purchases even before Wednesday’s announcement.
Of the nearly 16,300 guests who requested chargebacks from their credit card issuers between March and
Within the same period, however, 39 per cent of chargeback requests on
The refund change comes days after opposition parties demanded the federal government ensure that passengers receive refunds as a condition of any airline bailouts.
Canadian airlines have seen their revenues crater because of a collapse in global travel, with passenger numbers in
WestJet said it has faced a 95-per-cent drop in demand that forced it to park more than 140 of its 181 aircraft and lay off more than 4,000 employees.
Airline requests for financial assistance from
"Despite the lack of sector-specific support from the government, this now puts us in line with refund requirements in every other jurisdiction we operate, particularly the
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister
LeBlanc said Canadians expect stringent conditions on any federal airline funding, such as addressing the issue of travel vouchers.
Passenger rights advocate
Certification hearings on a class action against WestJet and its Swoop subsidiary,
— With files from
This report by
Companies in this story: (TSX:AC).
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version said WestJet was the first airline to offer refunds; in fact WestJet and
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