Delta Air Lines Inc. v. Lukacs: Supreme Court Weighs In On Canadian Transportation Agency's Application Of Civil Courts' Tests Of Standing

The Supreme Court of Canada recently released its decision in Delta Air Lines Inc. v. Lukacs, 2018 SCC 2, in which it considered whether the Canadian Transportation Agency (the "Agency") acted reasonably in dismissing the complaint of Gabor Lukacs against Delta on the basis that he met neither of the tests for standing that have been developed and applied by the civil courts.

Dr. Lukacs, a former assistant professor of mathematics, who refers to himself as an "air passenger rights advocate", filed a complaint with the Agency in which he argued that Delta's practices in relation to the transportation of obese passengers were discriminatory. Dr. Lukacs is not obese. Rather, his complaint was based on an email sent by Delta to a passenger who had complained to the airline that he was uncomfortable during a flight as a result of being seated beside another passenger "who required additional space". In its email apologizing for the passenger's discomfort, Delta stated that it encourages "large passengers" to book additional seats in order to "guarantee comfort for all", but that if a passenger requires more space when onboard the flight, the passenger may be asked to move to another location on the plane, or, if the flight is full, to take a later flight. Dr. Lukacs claimed that these practices were contrary to section 111(2) of the Air Transportation Regulations, which prohibits unjust discrimination in an airline's conditions of carriage.

In its consideration of the complaint, the Agency questioned whether Dr. Lukacs had an interest in Delta's practices governing the carriage of obese persons. In the civil courts, litigants must have either private or public interest standing. Private interest standing requires the claimant to establish that they have a direct personal interest in the subject matter, while public interest standing requires the court to apply a three-part test, one aspect of which is whether the claimant has a real stake or a genuine interest in the claim. Previous Supreme Court of Canada case law states that the test for public interest standing is to be applied in flexible and discretionary way.

Dr. Lukacs argued that he had private interest standing on the basis that the practices at issue were in respect of the carriage of "large", and not "obese", persons, and that the fact that he was six feet tall and 175 pounds meant he could be considered a "large person". The Agency rejected this argument. It was not satisfied that he...