CALGARY – Three aspiring pilots are suing a popular flight training school and Westjet after they say the program they paid for wasn't delivered.
The three plaintiffs were enrolled in the "WestJet Flightpath Program" that they say promised faster flight certification and eventually a pre-interview with WestJet. All three were expelled.
Rick Nelson says he was expelled after he complained about some items on his bill and attempted to switch to a cheaper program.
"We asked the manager if we could have a detailed breakdown of our invoices and our accounting to figure out what exactly we were being charged for," says 30-year-old Nelson.
"It was at this point that we realized we were being overcharged significantly above and beyond what was required for the program."
He is one of three former students who are now suing the Springbank Air Training College after they allege the company tacked on unexplained fees, required booking additional flight time and did not provide enough access to flight times, slowing the accelerated commercial training they had each paid a premium of roughly $30,000 for.
The suit also alleges the school withheld records of their flight time, which was critical to securing certification.
"Not only were we terminated from the program, they refused to give us any of the money that we had left on account," Nelson says. "They refused to give us our pilot training records, which are two crucial pieces of material that we need to move on (in our careers)."
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
The lawsuit was filed last week in the Court of Queen's Bench against Springbank Air Training College, seeking a refund on the unused portion of their tuitions, as well as damages totally nearly $300,000 each.
WestJet is also named in the lawsuit alleging it misrepresented how the program could help students.
Both the flight school and WestJet declined to comment on the case.
The accelerated 14-month flight training program costs more than $95,000.
