Ruling lets severely disabled off hook for cost of extra seats

Canadian airlines have a year to stop charging those with severe disabilities for extra seats they need after a landmark decision by the Canadian Transportation Agency on Thursday.

The agency ruled that the country's major air carriers must offer a single fare to those with disabilities, including the severely obese, who require two seats to accommodate them.

Also under the "one-person, one-fare" policy, they don't have to pay extra for medical attendants that must be seated with them on flights.

"The airlines failed to demonstrate to the agency that implementation of a one-person-one-fare policy will impose undue hardship on them," the agency wrote in its news release.

The agency estimates the new policy will cost Air Canada about $7 million a year and WestJet about $1.5 million a year. That's a fraction of the cost estimated by airlines in their submissions to the agency.

The transportation agency said the current practice effectively limits travel opportunities for the disabled.

During the one-year grace period, airlines will have to develop a way to determine which passengers are eligible.

As to how airlines should determine whether obesity warrants a disability, the agency pointed to Southwest Airlines, which bases the decision on whether a person can lower the seat's armrests.

'Canadians with disabilities are celebrating today'

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities, who lodged a formal complaint in 2002 along with two individuals, Joanne Neubauer and Eric Norman, applauded the decision.

"Canadians with disabilities are celebrating today," Pat Danforth, chairperson of the council's transportation committee, said in a news release.

"We hope that this decision sends a strong message to all transportation carriers," Neubauer agreed. "Access is the rule."

The agency specified that the ruling does not apply to those with disabilities who travel with a companion for non-medical reasons and those who are obese, but not disabled as a result of it.

Charter carriers not included

The ruling does not specifically apply to charter carriers, but the agency said it hopes the adoption of common rules by the major airlines will be implemented across the industry.

Currently, people with disabilities who travel by train, bus or ferry can bring an attendant with them at no extra cost — but to board a plane, they must pay extra for the attendant's seat.

"For mobility, I need somebody to assist me and with luggage, that kind of thing. These are services that are not provided by the transportation provider, so I would need that kind of assistance," said Council of Canadians with Disabilities spokesman Ron Ross, who uses a wheelchair.

"I actually live in Thunder Bay, so to travel from Thunder Bay to Toronto, I would pay two fares: one for myself, one for my attendant," he said. "You have to make that kind of decision, whether you can travel or not, because of income."

Air Canada offers some disabled travellers a 50 per cent discount for an attendant's seat — but that only applies if they buy a full-fare ticket, Ross said.