Latest news with #GaborLukacs
CBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CBC
If air passengers don't pay fees, Canadian taxpayers will, experts respond to WestJet CEO
A speech by WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech is reigniting the conversation about air travel costs in Canada — a conversation he stands to benefit from more than Canadians do, some experts say. Speaking to a business audience in Calgary Tuesday, von Hoensbroech compared extra air ticket fees in Canada and the United States in a slide presentation and called on the federal government to reduce those fees. According to von Hoensbroech, in Canada, sales tax, navigation fees, airport improvement fees and security fees amounted to $133 in a round-trip ticket price, whereas south of the border the excise tax and segment fee, passenger facility charge and security fee added up to $49. "If the government wants to unite Canada and take down internal trade barriers, then reducing the cost of air travel by reducing fees that are imposed on air travel and ultimately make tickets cheaper would be the right thing to do," von Hoensbroech told reporters, according to the Canadian Press. But two air travel experts point out that what von Hoensbroech didn't say is who he believes should pick up the tab for those costs. "He's really looking at just one side of the equation," said John Gradek, an aviation management lecturer at McGill University. "If the charges aren't levied against the passenger, who's going to pay?" 'No such thing as free lunch' Gabor Lukacs, who founded and runs an air passenger advocacy group, called von Hoensbroech's statements "populist" and echoed Gradek. "I'm sure he know as much as anybody else in business: there's no such thing as free lunch." Lukacs said. "Someone has to pay for the airports, someone has to pay for security.… Where is the money going to come from?" In his speech, the CEO questioned why transport infrastructure like bridges, passenger rail and ferries get federal support, while the government imposes a host of costs on the airline industry that are then passed along to consumers. "We need to build Canada — now even more than in the past — and aviation plays a key role," he said. Gradek said von Hoensbroech seemed to suggest Canadian taxpayers be charged for airport infrastructure costs, security and air traffic control. He says that while he agrees air travel costs are high in Canada, much of that has to do with the small size of our population in relation to our large land mass, and our choice to deregulate the industry in the 1980s. Smaller communities left behind Many small, remote communities rely on air travel that is hardly serviced by larger carriers like WestJet, which in fact dramatically reduced its regional services during the pandemic in favour of high-density markets, such as Calgary-Toronto and Vancouver-Montreal. Flights to and from northern communities, for example, are often prohibitively expensive, Gradek says. "They just charge what they want to charge," he said. "To me, we're considering the population north of [the 50th parallel] as second-class citizens." Gradek believes that if large carriers want to offset costs onto taxpayers in order to be able to offer lower prices, they should also have an obligation to service regional areas at low costs as well. "If it wasn't for air service, you wouldn't have a country," Gradek said, agreeing with von Hoensbroech that air travel is essential to Canada. But adds that, "if you're going to have that type of philosophy and that type of mindset, that you need to have some oversight to make sure that the decisions being made by the private sector … provide services to all Canadians on a fair and equal footing." WATCH | WestJet CEO criticizes union for mechanics strike action: WestJet CEO criticizes union for strike action 11 months ago Duration 1:50 Gradek says deregulation of the airline industry in Canada has ended up concentrating the power among few large carriers, who have chosen — for business reasons — to focus on big cities rather than regional transport, which has in turn resulted in less competition among companies. The federal government in 2018 increased the percentage of foreign shareholder value Canadian airline companies could sell from 25 per cent to 29 per cent (the U.S. has a similar policy) to stimulate lower-cost airlines, but low-budget airlines have struggled to stay afloat. More competition solution to passenger woes? Ottawa resident Melissa Cummings was stranded an extra five days at her resort near Cancun, Mexico for an extra five days in 2023 — sometimes having to sleep on a bench because the hotel didn't have rooms when Sunwing failed to pick her up at a convened time. Though she was compensated $500, she reckons the whole ordeal wound up setting her back nearly $3,000 in extra costs. "I have no clue to this day why I was stranded," Cummings said. She believes more competition among airlines could help force companies to be more accountable to their passengers, and lower costs. The 45-year-old and her daughter, who is in university, have a tradition of taking a five-day trip together every year. She says that while the pair haven't to explore Canada more, they usually opt for a destination in South America with Latin American airlines because flights are cheaper. "We have such a beautiful country. My my daughter moved to Canada when she was 8. She's going to be 21 and she's hardly seen our country," Cummings said. Lukacs says the federal government should be the one stepping up when it comes to enforcing passenger rights, but he agrees that "increasing competition — that's very, very important and pressing." WestJet calls for review Increasing competition does not appear to have been among the solutions proposed by WestJet CEO von Hoensbroech. In response to a request for comment, WestJet spokesperson Josh Yeats said, "Alexis's comments yesterday were aimed at helping to draw attention to the fact that Canada is one of the most expensive places in the world to operate an airline." Yeats did not say whether von Hoensbroech is calling for taxpayers to foot costs but that the company would like to see a review of airline regulations in Canada.
Global News
08-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
Air Canada, WestJet still ranking low on customer satisfaction, study shows
Despite some improvements since last year, Air Canada and WestJet continue to place near the bottom of the list for customer satisfaction among top North American airlines in a newly released survey. According to the J.D. Power 2025 North America Airline Satisfaction Study, overall customer satisfaction is on the rise from the same period last year when looking at the averages from the top 11 air carriers. However, the findings are more mixed when examining each specific airline and segment, particularly with Air Canada and WestJet. 'That is indicative of some significant problems in how these airlines handle passengers,' Air Passenger Rights president Gabor Lukacs says. Global News requests for comment sent to both Air Canada and WestJet have yet to receive a response. Story continues below advertisement The study was conducted by polling more than 10,000 passengers from March 2024 to March 2025 and featured three class segments for air travel: first/business, premium economy and economy/basic. Those surveyed were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with airline staff, digital tools (check-in apps and terminals, company websites, in-flight entertainment, etc.), ease of travel, level of trust, on-board experience, pre/post-flight experience, and overall value for the price paid. 'The best airlines in our study have one thing in common: they make people feel like they're lucky to be flying and that they should be flying with this airline and then the airline is happy that they're a passenger,' JD Power airline study lead Michael Taylor says. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I think that with Canadians being just as darn friendly as they are — and they are — I think both Air Canada and WestJet could leverage their people skills a little bit more, and it would help them in the rankings.' 2:02 Canadians spend 3 days trying to get home from Mexico Customer satisfaction scores showed slight improvements for Air Canada over the past year in basic/economy travel, ranking eighth out of 11 airlines in the segment in 2025, compared with ninth place last year, as well as in the top-tiered class first/business, ranking fifth out of six airlines compared with last place in 2024. Story continues below advertisement Although posting a slightly lower score compared with last year in the premium economy category, Air Canada still managed to climb the rankings from last place out of seven airlines in 2024 to sixth this year. When it comes to WestJet, customers ranked Canada's second-largest air carrier lower in customer satisfaction for its two polled classes. For basic/economy, out of 11 airlines, WestJet placed ninth this year, versus seventh a year prior, and for premium economy out of seven airlines, it was ranked in last place this year compared with fifth in 2024. Once a publicly held company, meaning anyone could buy the company's stock and become a part-owner, in 2019, WestJet shareholders voted in favour of an offer to be acquired by Onex Corporation, which took the company private. 1:55 Cross-border traffic continues to drop as travellers face new checkpoint The summer travel season is expected to be especially busy for Canadians looking to fly, including with WestJet, as more travellers opt to explore domestic destinations rather than venture to the United States. In fact, WestJet has suspended several routes to the U.S. amid weakening demand. Story continues below advertisement 'Canadians are very accepting when things are wrong…. We are being perhaps too understanding with corporations,' says Lukacs, who encourages passengers to speak up if they feel they have been mistreated by an airline. 'I would recommend passengers to take cases to small claims court when there is some merit to it, and that does create some pressure because airlines have to deal with those complaints.' In some cases, these court proceedings with airlines have led to big payouts for passengers.
