Recently, and for the second time this year, I had the pleasure of being boarded and then subsequently deplaned and informed of a flight cancellation. This time, my unfortunate experience happened on board a WestJet flight from Comox to Edmonton. And even more unfortunate, the subsequent rebooking of the flight was not as smooth as I’ve experienced with Air Canada.
I will detail this experience and lessons learned in another article, so I will save the details. However, I wanted to outline the process to submit claims to WestJet for compensation for flight delay as stipulated by APPR, and also for reimbursement for expenses incurred as a result of flight interruption (delay or cancellation).
I’ll also mention how you can take advantage of your credit card insurance (if you were smart and paid for your flight with the right credit card) to get reimbursed for incurred costs as a result of a canceled flight.
WestJet Compensation Claim for Interruption (Flight Delay or Flight Cancellation)
Air Passenger Protection Regulations
Canada has regulations that govern compensation for air passengers in the case of a canceled or delayed flight. These are called the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) and are issued by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA). Unfortunately, Canada’s APPR has a bit of a loophole that airlines have been taking advantage of. They only apply when the cause of delay or cancellation is “within the airline’s control”.
Related: Ultimate Guide to Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) Compensation
Airlines have begun a practice of using this ambiguity to get out of compensating passengers for their screw-ups. I’ve even heard a tale of someone who watched (and video recorded) a pilot drive the plane into the jet bridge by mistake, and then still have the airline deny their claim for compensation due to “unscheduled aircraft maintenance”…
Nonetheless, the APPR stipulates that the airline should compensate passengers for flight disruptions according to the following schedule:
| Length of Arrival Delay | Amount (CAD) |
|---|---|
| 3 – 6 hours | $400 |
| 6 – 9 hours | $700 |
| 9+ hours | $1,000 |
Even though the airline will probably try to deny your claim, it’s always worth submitting a claim for this compensation If you experience a flight delay or cancellation.
On my recent WestJet mishap, my arrival delay was a cool 94 hours… (yes 94 hours). So you’d better believe I’d be submitting a claim under APPR.
How to Submit a Compensation Claim with WestJet for Flight Delays or Flight Cancellations
The process to apply for APPR compensation with WestJet is very straightforward. You will simply navigate to this page: Flight delay and cancellation claims | WestJet official site and complete the provided form.
Importantly, WestJet mentions the following conditions to be eligible for compensation:
- you were on a WestJet flight flying from, to or within Canada
- you were informed 14 days or less before the departure time shown on your original ticket that the arrival at your destination would be delayed
- you’ve received a refund for a delayed or canceled WestJet flight and want to receive compensation for the inconvenience
- your WestJet flight was delayed or canceled for reasons within WestJet’s control
I wouldn’t pay a lot of attention to these, particularly the last point. ‘WestJet’s control’ is quite ambiguous and you can bet they’ll be as broad as possible in applying that label.
Fill out the form for each passenger on your itinerary, per direction of travel (ie. all flights to the destination that was interrupted).
Be prepared to provide basic information about yourself and the flight, including name, phone number, address, WestJet Rewards ID (optional), flight number, reservation code, ticket number, and departure and arrival airport.
You can find your flight number and reservation code on the booking confirmation you received via email when booking your flight, or in the WestJet app.
You can also find your ticket number in your eTicket receipt attached to the confirmation email.
After submitting you’ll get a confirmation message noting that an agent will respond within 30 days. In my experience, it often does take close to 30 days for requests to be actioned.
WestJet Reimbursement for Interruption (Flight Delay or Flight Cancellation)
If you experience a flight interruption, albeit a lengthy delay or cancellation and rebooking, there is a good chance that you incurred some expenses as a result. You should submit these to WestJet for reimbursement, which can be done at the following page:
Submit expenses | WestJet official site
Expenses fall into the categories in the table below and have a maximum allowable reimbursement (compensation amounts) per day.
| Expense | Details | Maximum Daily |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel | Reimbursement when WestJet is unable to secure a hotel room on your behalf (almost always). In-room movie costs, tips/gratuities, and long-distance telephone charges are excluded | $150 CAD for Canadian destinations, and $200 CAD for non-Canadian destinations |
| Meals | Reimbursement of meals when meal vouchers are not available from WestJet (again, do such vouchers even exist?). Alcoholic beverages and tips/gratuities will be excluded (boo!). | $45 CAD per day per guest |
| Transportation | Cost incurred for transportation between the airport and the hotel. | None |
You’ll need to submit personal and contact information, in addition to WestJet flight information including flight number, reservation code, ticket number, departure date, departure airport, final destination, and arrival airport.
Next, you will need to calculate the total reimbursement you are requesting and attach supporting receipts/invoices.
There is also a space to leave comments. In this space, you can itemize your expenses to make it easy for the rep to approve your request.
After submitting you’ll get a confirmation message, however, note that no timeline is provided.
WestJet Reimbursement for Delayed or Damaged Baggage Incident
If your baggage is delayed or damaged, WestJet has another separate page and reimbursement request form located here:
Baggage expense form | WestJet official site
You will need to include similar personal and flight information as with the other compensation forms, but also your Baggage File Number.
Although the page mentions a ‘recommended amount’, this is once again WestJet trying to be stingy.
If WestJet ruins your $1,000 Rimowa bag, they are legally obligated to repair or replace the bag (whether you will have to take them to court for that is another story). There is no ‘recommended amount’ when it comes to property damage.
Although a paucity of instructions are given by WestJet for what proof of damage is required, I would assume you should upload pictures of the damage and receipts for the cost of the bag if you have them. Similarly, in the case of a delay, include receipts for the essential items you were required to purchase.
For damaged baggage, As with Air Canada, I would recommend going to find a customer service agent right away at the airport if you notice the damage there.
I’ve never submitted this type of claim with WestJet myself, however I know that airlines have to take these claims more seriously than APPR due to the legal ramifications and the Montreal Convention.
Getting Compensated with Credit Card Insurance
In cases where your flight is delayed/canceled, or your baggage is delayed, lost or damaged, and depending on the credit card you used to pay for the flight, you may be covered for financial damages you’ve incurred by the credit card’s insurance benefits.
Coverage eligibility can get a bit trickier if you paid for part of the flight using points, say WestJet Dollars or Aeroplan. However, we’ve covered in detail which credit cards offer coverage on partial charges in this article: Credit Card Travel Insurance For Award Flights.
Insurance coverage offered by credit cards is highly specific to the particular card, in terms of what types of expenses are covered, and what technical stipulations exclude or include eligibility. Generally, the following expenses that occur within 48 hours of an interruption can be claimed:
- Hotel accommodations
- Transportation
- Meals and drinks
- ‘Essential’ items
Notice essential items, as this is something apparently an expense category not reimbursable by WestJet directly. Also, note that credit cards do have a cap on the amount you can claim for one trip, so do be mindful of that.
The process for submitting an insurance claim is highly dependent on the specific credit card and can either be done by phone or through an online portal to submit personal info, flight details, and expenses along with supporting receipts. You will need to inquire with your credit card issuer to sort this out.
What if WestJet Denies All Compensation?
If WestJet or any other airline outright rejects your compensation request and you feel you’ve been unfairly denied compensation, rest assured that there exist further actions you can take, namely to make a small claims action against the airline.
While this might sound intimidating, the process is actually more straightforward than it seems. A Facebook group called Air Passenger Rights (Canada) has several guides to the small claims process and over 100,000 members, including some legal experts, to help answer your questions.
We’ve released our own in-depth resource for APPR compensation, which discusses your escalation options including filing complaints with the Canadian Transportation Agency and initiating civil actions against the airline. Check it out: Ultimate Guide to APPR Compensation.
Conclusion
Flight interruptions, last-minute cancellations, and baggage delays, are some of the downsides of travel that can put a major kink in your travel plans at the start of a trip, or leave a sour taste in your mouth at the end. Make sure they don’t leave a gap in your wallet at the same time by taking advantage of compensation from WestJet and/or your credit card insurance coverage.
Overall the process for compensation from WestJet is straightforward and clearly outlined, compared with Air Canada compensation which has a convoluted navigation menu and a single contact form for multiple claim types.
However, the wording of WestJet’s guidelines and the quoted maximum compensation amounts leads me to believe they are also comparatively ungenerous when it comes to dolling out compensation for their screw-ups.
If you’ve any experience to share with getting compensation from WestJet, do let us know in the comments below!
Reed Sutton
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This is great information. I’m in the process of filing for a 4 day delay after cancellation. None of the airline or TCA resources talk about not being able to get a rebooking or talk to the airline. In our case we were not rebooked. We got a email cancellation and a text meal voucher. No flight. The chat box, phone line and call back requests were all over capacity and not accepting requests. Finally 4.5 hours to get through to a human and a 4 day delay for rebooking. It seems like zero accountability to the company to just basically ignore you.
I filled out the form but I couldn’t enter the departure date of travel ( today) so probably nothing will happen. I got meal vouchers but I think I’m entitled to $400 for short notice
i cant seem to enter a travel date either? my flight is in 3 days
Flight..Kitchener>Calgary>Comox
FLIGHT FROM kitchener was delayed, but when I got to Calgary, proceeded to the gate for Comox. They were still boarding people, I presented my boarding pass, she scanned it and said, no you are not on this flight. You are on the 7 pm flight.
So it seems, the flight to Comox was also delayed,re waiting for staff..that’s way they were still boarding when he got there.
It seems, since the flight was delayed out of Kitchener, they assumed he wouldn’t make the flight, so they changed his flight to 7 pm. So he is watching everyone get on his plane, leaving him behind to sit for 10 hours.
I knew they had changed his flight that morning, but he does not use cell phones, or emails, so was shocked when they denied him boarding. They shouldn’t have rebooked him until they had closed the flight.
I feel he needs some sort of compensation for this. They did give him 3 meal tickets worth $15.00 each, he didn’t use them as he was not feeling well and had to sit for 10 hours.
M
I believe I got a first response run of the mill denial letter without really looking into this.
I had a flight on Nov 6/2022 with Delta operating under Westjet. Therefore, It will not let me complete the form as it will not accept the Delta flight number. This was the large tech outage which affected many people. I was leaving form Vancouver BC.
Thanks
My flight was delayed more than 3 hours so under Westjets compensation policy I was expecting a $400 refund.
They rejected my claim saying and responded that the delay was due to crew shortages from the day before and outside of their control.
Do I still have a legit claim?
Most likely, as crew shortages are generally considered within the airline’s control. See the section on Staff shortages here: https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/publication/types-and-categories-flight-disruption-a-guide.
Hi. My wife and I have a WestJet vacation with connecting flight from Regina to Calgary to Ixtapa. My Regina flight was delayed due to flight crew requiring rest. The flight was delayed 3 hours. We missed our connecting flight in Calgary. WestJet put us up 2 nights with meals until there was another flight to Ixtapa 2 days later (48hours). I was told by a westjet rep the compensation is $2400 per person. I don’t know where to find the information.
I had delivered a suitcase to my house with the tag stating my name, however it is not my suitcase.
What should I do?
My baggage was not lost.
Thank you.
Call the airline.
December 22, 2022 My husband and I were scheduled to fly Westjet from Trornto to Fort Lauderdale. The flight was delayed a few hours and we were patient. At approx 9:00pm we were told we were waiting for a crew. A few minutes later flight cancelled.
Long story short, we were told we would be receiving a new flight itinerary by email…I am still waiting. (It’s now March 8)
I submitted the westjet compensation form for my husband and I and was denied.
I believe my next step is small claims or should I contest the charges on my credit card as a service not rendered?
I am prepared to die on this hill but need guidance!
What was the reason for denial?
In this case, a chargeback is probably worth exploring before going the small claims route.
I submitted my claim more than a month ago and have yet to hear from anyone
Did you ever get compensated under denied boarding? Having the same issue
I have never been in that specific situation, but APPR states you are eligible for compensation as outlined here: https://rppa-appr.ca/eng/compensation-denied-boarding.
It again boils down to the subjective determination of the reason being “within the airline’s control”. But if your delay was over 9 hours then your potential return is $2400+ so worth taking to small claims in my opinion.
There is no option to provide an explanation or attach documents to the compensation form. Why? I had to rebook myself on the next available flight which was 9 said later. How do they know that subsequent flight IS the replacement flight and I am entitled to the $1,000 amount?
Did you contact WestJet to book this flight for you? Or did they make any attempt to rebook?
Not sure as to why no document or comment field is provided. My best guess is it’s because they are a poorly run operation and also don’t like to actually pay out money for their screw ups…🙃
Thank you for the great information. I am having an issue submitting my receipts as you can only upload 2MB of data on the westjet site. Any recommendation to get around this. Make multiple submissions?
Could try combining into one pdf and compressing the file?
I think the 2MB limit applies to individual file. I was able to upload 23 receipts/files each less than 2MB each. However I’m surprised I didn’t get a system generated email confirming my submission other than the confirmation message on the web page.
Yes, a Westjet victim!
Cancelled flight Toronto – Dublin June6. More precisely flight tried to divert to Halifax, then told Halifax did not have the resources. So back to Toronto after 3hrs flying (with landing gear down to burn fuel – too heavy).
In Toronto given a piece of paper saying $250.00 for Hotel – but they could not find enough!!
Told to wait for an agent (standing as there were no seats). After 1 1/2hrs no one showed up, tried phoning WestJet who said ‘can’t help with accomodation’. By 3am found hotel in Mississauga. Cost $318.00 (over $250 allocated).
New flight 26hrs later.
Out of pocket expenses rejected, saying WestJet policy does not allow Debit card or credit card receipts!!! Explained even government accept debit card transactions as receipts. Reply: interesting, but does not comply with our policy.
Offered: $150.00 of the $318.00 hotel cost in WestJet dollars. Reason: policy says $150.00 even though their own paper said $250.00 – and NOTHING about receipt policy.
Rejected – off to small claims.
Brutal, would love to hear how it goes… if you end up being allowed to disclose anything aha 🙂
Actually, debit and credit card receipts are not official receipts for the Cdn gov’t unless they detail the items purchases. (Gov’t auditor for 34 years)
Fair – probably best to submit both hotel invoice and payment receipt.
Hi,
My wife and I travelled on WS from Halifax to Grande Prairie, via Calgary, when we arrived in Calgary we were told that we were bumped off the flight to Grande Prairie, it’s not like the flight from Halifax arrived late, it was on time, time enough for our suitcase to find its way to GP on the flight that we should have been on.
We were told we had been booked on a flight the next day, so we had to book a hotel etc, when we asked about Hotel and/or Meal vouchers we were told that due to demans they had none left, the we had to cover that out of our own pocket.
We returned to the check in the next morning, boarding cards in hand, to be told we’d been BUMPED AGAIN, for that read DENIED BOARDING, and that that the earliest WetJet could get us to GP would be (are you ready for it) THE NEXT DAY !!!
Still now Hotel or Meal vouchers, so we had to book another nights stay, $500 out of pocket already.
We are stuck in Calgary, while out suitcase is going dizzy riding the carousel in GP, so add $200 for change of clothing etc the $500, we are both in our mid 70’s living of what once looked like reasonable pensions, but no thanks to inflation $700 is a chunk of money for us.
So we are back at the check in on our 3rd day in Calgary, boarding passes in hand, and we actually get on the ‘plane and it’s READY TO GO, but it can’t, there’s something wrong with the door, it won’t close, so everyone has to deplane, and then sit around for a couple of hours while WetJet find a replacement.
By the time we have reboarded and managed to finally get to GP we have lost 48 hours of our trip to see our granddaughter, it was her birthday, she’s 8,
We are back home in Nova Scotia now, the best part of $1,000 out of pocket, $1,000 more than we had budgeted for, but… One of the WetJet staff mentioned that seeing as we were Bumped we could make a claim using the new APR regulation, we were well past the 9 hour delay in that bit of regulation, and we would qualify for $2,400 each under the APR scheme.
The problem is, there’s no Denied Boarding aka Bumped form on WetJets web site, just the Late Arrival form, I filled that in only to be told I’ve filled the wrong form in, that’s just for LATE arrivals, but there’s no form where you can claim for Denied Boarding as were were TWICE !!!
I’ve now spent over 6 hours filling the Late Arrival form in online, they won’t process it as I’m claiming Denied Boarding, but after eventually talking to a Rep I was advised I’d be “better off” just claiming Late Arrival, really !!!
Looks to me like it’s WetJet who would be “better off” if I accepted $2,000 rather than the $4,800 that we are entitled to under the APR regulations,
Trying to get through on phone takes HOURS, I’ve had the line mysteriously drop on 5 occasions, and there’s no option online to claim if you get bumped.
Hellish ain’t it, maybe a letter to the CEO might help…
Bob.