Regulator Orders Airlines to Drop Extra Charges for Disabled Passengers

By THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA – Canada’s major air carriers have been ordered to offer disabled travellers the same fares as everyone else.

A ruling by the Canadian Transportation Agency gives Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and WestJet one year to bring in a “one-person, one-fare” policy. The ruling applies to disabled people, including the severely obese, who require two seats to accommodate them. It also applies to disabled persons who need an attendant seated with them on flights.

The agency estimates the new policy will cost Air Canada about $7 million a year, and WestJet about $1.5 million a year. That amounts to about 77 cents a ticket for Air Canada and 44 cents for WestJet.

That’s a fraction of the cost estimated by the airlines in their submissions to the agency.

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities and two individuals lodged a formal complaint in 2002, arguing it is discriminatory for airlines to charge double fares.

In an exhaustive 179-page report, a two-member agency panel of the agency agreed.

The panel said the extra cost and operational constraints to the airlines would not constitute undue hardship. It said the current practice effectively limits travel opportunities for the disabled.

The 12-month grace period will give air carriers a chance to augment and fine-tune their mechanisms for determining which passengers are disabled and require assistance.

“It’s not a personal preference (of the traveller),” said Jadrino Huot, a spokesman for the agency.

“It’s not a matter of discomfort. It’s a matter of need.”

The ruling does not specifically apply to charter carriers, but the agency hopes the adoption of common rules by the major airlines will be adopted across the industry.

Other transportation carriers, such as buses, trains and ferries have had one-person, one-fare policies for years.