What Canada's APPR owes you when WestJet disrupts your trip
WestJet is a large carrier under Canada's APPR. This is a different, stronger regime than US DOT, keep them separate. The dollar figures below are current at our last check and can change, confirm on the call.
If the delay is within WestJet's control and not safety-related, APPR sets tiered cash compensation by how late you arrive at your final destination: about $400 for 3 to 6 hours, $700 for 6 to 9 hours and $1,000 for 9 hours or more, in Canadian dollars, paid within 48 hours. This is money in your pocket, separate from a refund or rebooking. Figures can change, so confirm them on the call.
Compensation does not apply when the cause is outside WestJet's control, such as weather, a genuine safety issue, or a labour disruption. WestJet decides the category, and it is not always right, so the reason on record matters and is worth challenging when it looks wrong. The care obligations below can still apply even on some of these.
If you are bumped from an oversold flight against your will and it is within WestJet's control, the denied-boarding compensation runs on its own higher scale: about $900 if you are re-routed to arrive under 6 hours late, $1,800 for 6 to 9 hours and $2,400 for 9 hours or more, in Canadian dollars. Never accept a voucher on the spot without knowing what you are actually owed in cash.
When WestJet gives less than 12 hours notice of a disruption and your departure is delayed 2 hours or more, its standards of treatment provide food and drink in reasonable quantities, and if the delay forces an overnight, a hotel within a reasonable distance plus transport between the airport and the hotel.
For a delay of 3 hours or more, a cancellation, or denied boarding, WestJet must find you a confirmed reservation at no extra cost on the next available WestJet, WestJet Encore or partner flight, or an alternate airline when required. If a delay of 3 hours or more qualifies and you would rather not travel, a refund with a $400 payment can apply instead. Do not let one unhelpful option stand as your only choice.
For delayed bags on flights within the Americas, WestJet provides up to $100 in Canadian or US dollars for the first 48 hours, and a further $150 after that, up to $250 total. For a bag that is lost or damaged, liability runs to about 1,519 SDR, roughly $2,800 Canadian, per passenger. Keep receipts, because these are reimbursed against what you actually spent.
APPR compensation amounts and thresholds are set by regulation, are current at our last verification, and can change, and the airline decides the delay category. We confirm what applies to your exact flight, help you file, and never guarantee a figure, the regulation and the facts of your delay set that. A claim can be filed from 72 hours after your arrival and within one year. You can read WestJet's own flight-interruptions page at westjet.com.
APPR at a glance (current CAD figures, they can change)
Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations, for WestJet as a large carrier. Weather, safety and labour delays are excluded. Confirm your case on the call.
APPR is not US DOT, and that is good news for you. A US airline owes you nothing in cash for a delay; WestJet, under Canadian rules, publishes real amounts, $400, $700 or $1,000 by how late you arrive, when the cause is within its control. Airlines do not volunteer this, and they sometimes mislabel a delay as weather. Keep the reason they give, keep your receipts, and file within a year, and let us help you claim what the regulation actually says you are owed.
Frequently asked
Does WestJet pay cash for a delay?+
How is APPR different from US DOT rules?+
WestJet blamed weather, is that the end of it?+
They offered me a voucher for being bumped, should I take it?+
My WestJet flight is cancelled and I have a cruise to catch, what now?+
Contact options
Reach WestJet directly, or let us handle it.
Contact WestJet directly
The airline's own official channels, free.