Air Canada Bills Passenger for Delaying Flight

Gus Fuentes is being billed $1,350 (Canadian) for being an ass onboard an Air Canada jet, before it took off from London for Toronto. His antics caused him to be kicked off the plane, and the airline sent him a bill for causing the flight to be delayed. While he vows to fight the Man and not pay, the Canadian Transportation Agency has already ruled that the airline was within its rights when it sent Gus the bill.

We’ve got mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, the putz who causes a ruckus should be held responsible, and delays do cost airlines money. But Air Canada isn’t a state trooper doling out speeding tickets. Some passengers are idiots, and you have to deal with them. It’s part of doing business. Can the airline send any and all passengers a bill for whatever behavior it deems unseemly?

Turn it around: When airlines delay your flight, causing you to miss a connection, a meeting, or anything else you scheduled, try sending them a bill. If they pay it, let us know, and Paypal us a cut.

So what do readers think? Should airlines bill disruptive passengers for the delay, or is that taking things a bit too far?

Air Canada bills unruly flyer $1,350 [Toronto Star]

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