Airline CEOs defended carry-on baggage fees as they faced questions from MPs on the House transport committee Friday.
Earlier this month, Air Canada announced plans to eliminate complimentary carry-on luggage from its cheapest tickets on some flights. WestJet made a similar move earlier this year.
Porter, Flair and Sunwing — which was bought by WestJet in 2023 — also charge passengers an extra fee for carry-on luggage.
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau took the brunt of the questions; he and other Air Canada executives were given their own one-hour time slot. The heads of WestJet, Air Transat and Porter were grouped together for a separate hour of questions.
In his opening remarks, Rousseau argued that the new fare that excludes carry-on luggage — slated to take effect in early January — offers flexible and more affordable options for travellers.
“Travellers tend to prioritize the lowest advertised price even if additional fees make the final cost higher, and small differences in pricing can determine whether we are considered at all,” he said.
Rousseau also argued that MPs only began to scrutinize carry-on fees after Air Canada announced its decision, even though other airlines already had similar fares.
“Similar fare structures at other carriers have not raised concerns from Parliament,” he said.
Air Canada president and CEO Michael Rousseau tells a parliamentary committee that the decision to eliminate carry-on luggage from the airline’s cheapest tickets on some flights was meant to put Air Canada in a better position to ‘compete for price-conscious customers.’
WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech argued the new fare offers flexibility for passengers and said that more than a million Canadians have purchased tickets that don’t allow passengers a carry-on bag.
“It’s a choice. Everyone who buys this knows [it doesn’t include a carry-on bag]. This is not a surprise, this is something someone deliberately chooses,” he said.
Airlines that have eliminated free carry-on baggage on their lowest fares still allow those passengers to bring a small “personal item,” such as a purse or a computer bag, free of charge.
MPs pushed back and questioned whether the additional fees were a way for the airlines to make extra money.
“My fear is that instead of those dollars going back to folks who want to travel without a carry-on, it will just go to Air Canada’s bottom line,” Conservative MP Philip Lawrence said.
Liberal MP Angelo Iacono questions the CEOs of WestJet, Porter and Air Transat about the money their companies or employees received from the federal government during the pandemic. Iacono says the airlines are imposing fees on cash-strapped Canadians after taxpayers ‘bailed [them] out in hard times.’
Liberal MP Angelo Iacono blasted the executives for introducing these fees after their companies accepted taxpayer dollars during the pandemic through loans and the wage subsidy.
“Here you are imposing all these fees on Canadians and, if you don’t remember, it was Canadians that bailed you out in hard times. Thank you very much for showing good support,” he said.
Air passenger rights advocate Gábor Lukács, who also appeared before the committee, said the charge for carry-on baggage is one of several “junk fees” that airlines now impose.
He said these fees amount to “deceptive marketing tactics” that make it hard to determine how much passengers will end up paying.
But Lukács said the airlines are acting within their regulatory framework and it’s up to the government to crack down on added fees.
MPs agreed to a motion to ask the airlines for documents showing how much revenue is generated from carry-on fees.
Von Hoensbroech blasted the government for increasing the cost of air travel through government fees and taxes.
“The way [the air travel industry] is being governed actually has created a sky-high cost structure at a below-average infrastructure [level],” he said.
The WestJet CEO called on the government to freeze and reform airline taxes and fees. He also said the government should stop collecting rent from airports and allow those funds to be reinvested in airport infrastructure.
Rousseau said he’s also in favour of a review of government fees.
