Image Credit: FACEBOOK: Air Transat
December 30, 2022 - 7:30 AM
A Kelowna woman who launched a class action lawsuit against two Canadian airlines and a tour company over the advertising of direct flights has lost her case.
Five years after Jessica Spencer launched the litigation against Air Transat, Transat Tours Canada and Flair Airlines, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Janet Winteringham dismissed the case.
According to a Dec. 23 B.C. Supreme Court decision, the case dates back to 2017 when Spencer planned a destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico and her flight was advertised as a direct flight.
However, it wasn't a direct flight.
Spencer said her flight had "premeditated" fuel stops.
Months after returning from her wedding, Spencer launched a case against the airlines arguing they had misrepresented non-stop flights between Kelowna and Cancun.
Spencer accused the companies of "deceptive acts" and that their "misrepresentations were part of a premeditated scheme."
She launched the case as a class action suit, meaning that if she was successful anyone who purchased a similar flight would have been eligible for compensation.
The decision goes through very lengthy details of how the case has progressed over the years and shows a history of adjournments, applications, and amendments.
The crux of the legal proceeding and whether the airlines did in fact advertise flights as direct that weren't isn't discussed in the decision and instead the case comes down to the manner in which Spencer commenced the legal proceedings and the lengthy legalities of what legal framework the litigation should have followed.
The airlines argue Spencer should have been assessed through the Montreal Convention, which outlines passengers' rights for air travel in Canada.
Ultimately, the Justice sided with the airlines and found Spencer should have followed the Montreal Convention protocol, which she didn't, and dismissed her case.
READ MORE: Broken fuel pump delays flights at Kelowna airport
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