Changes Urged for Air Fare Rules for Disabled in Canada

Nov. 16, 2006
Air Canada, and its regional subsidiary Jazz Airlines, would see costs of some $57 million a year.

Disabled people who need to travel with an attendant and obese people who need extra room aboard an airplane should only be required to pay a single fare, a Canadian Transportation Agency panel was told yesterday.

While the principle of "one person, one fare'' is in force on Canadian buses, trains and ferries, the airline industry remains the only federally regulated provider that forces the disabled to pay two fares, said David Baker, legal counsel for the Council of Canadians with Disabilities.

"They are the only ones who don't follow the one person, one fare principle,'' Baker said during a break in testimony at the hearings in Toronto. "If you have to have an attendant to provide care during the flight . . . or if you are obese and require more than one seat . . . you have to pay a second fare.''

That could change if the Canadian Transportation Agency panel, which is hearing a complaint brought against Air Canada, its subsidiary Air Canada Jazz, and Westjet, decides that the second fare represents an "undue'' obstacle for the disabled.

The complaint also includes Linda McKay-Panos, an obese woman whose legal efforts led to a Federal Court of Appeal ruling that found obesity could be considered a disability when people travel by air.

The decision of the three-person CTA panel, expected next year, carries the weight of an order issued by Federal Superior Court, Baker said. "They have the power to impose a 'one person, one fare' policy on the airlines.''

On Monday, the panel heard testimony from an accountant who cited research suggesting such a policy would cost the airline industry tens of millions of dollars annually.

Air Canada, and its regional subsidiary Jazz Airlines, would see costs of some $57 million a year, Richard Crosson told the panel.

In the wake of several court rulings in the 1970s, rail, bus and ferry companies began charging only one fare for a disabled person and their attendant. Airlines offered a "modified'' price break -- a 50 per cent price reduction for the attendant.

While Air Canada still offers a discounted fare for attendants, the discount is based on a full-price ticket and not lower-cost tickets often made available through advance sales.

Peter Fitzpatrick, a spokesperson for Air Canada (TSX:ACE.A), wouldn't comment on the matter except to say it's "we try our best. We have policies and procedures in place to accommodate customers with special needs.''

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