13th Annual Aviation Conference

January 19th, 2012  |  Comments

The aviation partners of Paterson, MacDougall LLP and Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP are pleased to announce that the 13th Annual Aviation Conference will be held on Wednesday, February 1, 2012, at the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre.

The 13th Annual Aviation Conference continues its tradition of excellence in providing an opportunity for exceptional speakers to come together with attendees from all areas of the aviation industry to examine and discuss topical issues that affect our industry.

The conference will include panel discussions on developments in the areas of aviation law, government initiatives, insurance, commerce and regulation that affect all of us in Canada and internationally. Speakers at this year’s conference will canvass such issues as the Canadian all-in airfare advertising changes, jurisdiction for suits against tour operators, statutory requirements for payment of passenger medical expenses, Canadian Transportation Safety Board reporting requirements and the annual legal update on liability.

For details, click here. 

 

As the Fur Flies: Airlines Ordered to Amend Pet Policies

January 16th, 2012  |  1 Comment

A recent Canadian Transportation Agency decision has ruled that Air Canada, Jazz and WestJet need to amend their policies with respect to the carriage of cats as carry-on baggage in the aircraft cabin.

The decision resulted from a complaint by three passengers who all suffer from severe cat allergies. Although some of the complainants asked that all animals (other than service animals) be prohibited in the cabin, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) only decided the issue with respect to cats as the complainants were only allergic to cats, and not other animals.

In a previous hearing, the CTA ruled that the complainants’ allergies were severe enough to constitute a disability. The next question for the CTA was whether the current policies of Air Canada, Jazz and WestJet constituted an obstacle to the mobility of the complainants. If so, the CTA would consider the appropriate accommodation to be made for the complainants and persons whose cat allergies result in a disability. Read the rest of this entry »

“Death Review” Panel?

January 10th, 2012  |  Comments

In November 2011, the British Columbia coroner’s office announced the appointment of a “death review” panel to inquire into float plane safety in the province.

The purpose of this exercise is unclear.

According to the coroner’s office, the panel was created in response to four “commercial float plane crashes between August 2008 and May 2010”.  From the perspective of November 2011, this is hardly a rash of accidents.  More significantly, the Canadian Transportation Safety Board has already undertaken and completed its investigations into these accidents and delivered its final reports.  These reports disclose little or no commonality among the four accidents other than the fact that they occurred during flying operations on the west coast of British Columbia. Read the rest of this entry »

Federal Court of Appeal Suspends Order Requiring Compliance with Official Languages Act

December 29th, 2011  |  Comments

On December 12, 2011, Chief Justice Blais of the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada (“FCA”) granted a suspension (a “stay”) of a rare structural injunctive order, pending an appeal commenced by Air Canada (click here for decision).

The Plaintiffs, Michel and Lynda Thibodeau, had initially logged eight complaints with the Commission of Official Languages concerning the lack of bilingual services on eight different Air Canada flights.  Due to its former Crown Corporation status, and unlike other Canadian airline carriers, Air Canada is required to comply with the Official Languages Act (the “Act”).

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Uncle Sam is Watching (Part 2)

December 7th, 2011  |  Comments

In a previous post, we discussed amendments to the Aeronautics Act which allowed Canadian airlines to provide passenger information to the United States Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) for international flights that not only land in, but also overfly the United States.  The specifics of the information to be provided was to be set out in future regulatory amendments.  The new amendments came into effect on September 30, 2011.

Under the U.S. Secure Flight program, air carriers are required to share certain passenger information for flights travelling over continental U.S. airspace to a third country.  The information is to be provided to the DHS approximately 72 hours before departure.  In situations where the reservation was created within 72 hours of departure, the information must be submitted as soon as possible.

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British Columbia Aviation Council 2011 Conference and Silver Wings Banquet

November 28th, 2011  |  Comments

Congratulations to the British Columbia Aviation Council for another successful Silver Wings Awards Banquet! 

As always, the highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Council’s annual industry awards and aviation student scholarships.  Industry award recipients included Pulselite Canada, the CHC Safety and Quality Summit, Central Mountain Air and the Abbotsford Airport.  The winner of the Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award was Barry Lapointe of Kelowna Flightcraft. 

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Plane Crash Fraud Charges in Brazil

November 25th, 2011  |  Comments

The AFP Global News Agency reported yesterday that federal prosecutors in Brazil have pressed charges against 20 individuals who claimed they were relatives of air crash victims.

According to prosecutors, the fraudsters faked social security documents and claimed they were relatives of deceased victims.  In reality, those victims had no heirs.  The fraudsters then illegally collected pensions, and allegedly netted $1.6 million from the scam.   

Plane crash victims from the following 3 crashes were targeted by the gang:  a)  Air France Flight 447,  b) Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907, and           c)  TAM Airlines Flight 3054.

Educational Malpractice Doctrine Applies to Aircraft Flight Training

October 1st, 2011  |  Comments

In January 2003, a Cirrus SR-22 crashed in low visibility near Hill City, Minnesota.  The two occupants of the recently purchased aircraft perished in the accident.  The next of kin of the pilot and passenger later commenced an action against Cirrus and a university alleging that they failed to provide the pilot with adequate flight training.

The pilot, Gary Prokop, had obtained his pilot’s licence in 2001 and had logged about 225 hours of flight time (mostly on his previous aircraft, a slower and less complex Cessna 172).  Mr. Prokop had not obtained his Instrument Rating. He was therefore not permitted to fly in meteorological conditions that were below VFR weather minimums.

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Fun In The Sun

October 1st, 2011  |  Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a longer than expected summer hiatus (no doubt inspired by the very late arrival of summer in Vancouver), the Alexander Holburn Aviation Law Blog is back!  Stay tuned for a post regarding a lawsuit alleging inadequate flight training.

Aw Nuts! CTA Refines the Buffer Zone

July 6th, 2011  |  Comments

As outlined in a previous post, the CTA has determined that a nut allergy can be a disability which must be accommodated by air carriers.  The previous rulings required carriers to set up buffer zones when provided with at least 48 hours notice of an allergy by a passenger and that only peanut free and nut free foods could be served to all passengers in the buffer zones.

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