The Canadian Transportation Agency yesterday would not release raw data on complaints filed against the worst airlines. The regulator instead rated carriers based on complaints per flight with one discounter topping the grievance list, according to Blacklock's Reporter..“Complaint data are based on the information submitted by passengers and may not have been reviewed by the Agency at the time of publishing,” the Agency wrote in a notice. “Data are based on the number of flights by airline and do not reflect the number of passengers per flight or the size of the aircraft.”.In the period from April 1 to September 30, the Edmonton-based discount carrier Flair Airlines Ltd. had the highest complaint rate of 13.7 per 100 flights followed by Swoop Inc., a WestJet subsidiary (12.6 per 100 flights), Sunwing Airlines (8.6), WestJet (4.9), Air Canada (3.6) and Air Transat (2.2)..The Agency did not respond to requests for raw data used to calculate the complaint rate. Parliament in 2019 mandated an Electronic Collection Of Air Transportation Statistics program. It was intended to have all major commercial airlines submit figures on performance data for release to the public..“Currently there is a lack of information and public reporting on the performance of air travel stakeholders,” the Agency wrote in a 2019 notice. “This lack of information affects consumers’ ability to make informed decisions concerning air travel.”.Air Passenger Protection Regulations introduced in 2019 mandated compensation from $400 for a three-hour flight delay to $900 for denial of boarding due to overbooking and up to $2,100 for lost or damaged luggage. Compensation costs at the time were estimated at $154 million a year..The current backlog of air passenger complaints numbers 30,000, the equivalent of a two-year wait for processing. “I know the Agency is doing their best to deal with this unprecedented volume,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra told the Commons transport committee December 5. “We are committed to working with them, and when I say we, I mean the Government of Canada.”.The Agency in November 28 testimony said they were handling complaints at the rate of 15,000 a year. New complaints filed in August alone numbered 5,700..“There are thousands and thousands of them,” said Bloc Québécois MP Xavier Barsalou-Duval (Pierre Boucher-Les Patriotes, Que.). “This has been dragging on for years.”.“We know the Agency can’t cope,” said Barsalou-Duval. “It seems like it takes them years to review a complaint. The waiting time is a year and a half to two years currently which is completely unacceptable. We get the sense they’re never going to get on top of this.”
