Supreme Court agrees to hear lawsuit over Air Canada junk fees

The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear arguments related to a class-action lawsuit against Air Canada that alleges the airline is overcharging customers on ticket prices.

In the suit, consumer advocacy group Unions des Consommateurs and Montreal resident Michael Silas argue that Air Canada doesn’t include all of the extra fees it charges in its listed online prices. Silas claims that he had to pay $124 more than the fare price when factoring in additional charges (also known as “junk fees“) that weren’t shown during the first step of Air Canada’s online checkout process.

The incident happened in 2010 and was the subject of a case in the Quebec Court of Appeal. Last year, the Quebec court ruled that Air Canada must pay passengers more than $10 million due to these junk fees. Justice Judith Harvie argued that the airline showed “ignorance and laxity” when it concluded that it was exempt from the provincial Consumer Protection Act provision due to air transport normally falling under federal jurisdiction. This decision overturned a lower court decision that found Air Canada in violation of the law but not guilty of causing any harm, which would have allowed it to avoid any punitive damages.

A hearing date has not yet been set for the Supreme Court case.

Image credit: Air Canada

Source: Unions des Consommateurs Via: The Canadian Press