Thousands of female flight attendants to share in payout after B.C. judge approves settlement
A British Columbia judge has given final approval to a $4.5-million settlement of a class-action lawsuit against WestJet Airlines brought by thousands of female flight attendants who alleged the Calgary-based carrier repeatedly breached its contractual promise to maintain a workplace free from harassment.
The settlement was approved Aug. 10 by the Supreme Court of British Columbia, according to an update posted to the class action website by JFK Law, the Vancouver firm that represented the flight attendants. It covers 3,452 current and former WestJet flight attendants employed at WestJet mainline between April 4, 2014, and Feb. 28, 2021, who did not opt out of the proceeding by the June 8, 2024 deadline.
Based on anticipated legal fees and administration costs, JFK Law estimates that each eligible class member who submits a valid claim can expect to receive roughly $470.
WestJet denies the allegations. The settlement does not include any admission of liability or wrongdoing by the airline.
How the money breaks down
The $4.5 million figure is all-inclusive. Under terms set out in the settlement agreement and approved by the court, JFK Law will receive a contingency fee of 35 per cent of the gross settlement amount — the rate agreed to at the outset of the litigation in 2016, according to the settlement agreement. On a $4.5-million settlement, that amounts to $1.575 million in legal fees before taxes, leaving a significantly smaller pool for distribution to the more than 3,400 women in the class.
The settlement agreement also provided for a personal honourarium for the representative plaintiff, Mandalena Lewis, of up to $20,000. The court awarded $10,000, according to JFK Law's settlement update, in recognition of the time and effort she devoted to representing the class throughout the decade-long proceeding.
Deloitte has been appointed by the court as the independent claims administrator, JFK Law confirmed. The firm is preparing a secure online portal for claims submissions.
What the non-monetary terms require
Beyond the cash payment, the settlement agreement requires WestJet to retain an independent and qualified third-party consultant to conduct a workplace assessment examining three specific areas:
- the prevalence of harassment in the workplace
- the extent to which harassment incidents go unreported
- how the airline's reporting and response systems can be made more effective.
WestJet will choose the consultant, according to the settlement agreement. The results of the assessment will be reported to the airline, which is then required to provide a summary of the findings to employees.
The settlement does not require WestJet to admit wrongdoing, implement mandatory anti-harassment training for pilots, or make any admission that it breached employees' contracts — relief the original claim had sought.
A lawsuit a decade in the making
The action was originally filed by Lewis on April 4, 2016. According to the settlement agreement, it alleged that WestJet had systemically breached what the claim called the "Anti-Harassment Promise" — a term the suit characterized as embedded in every flight attendant's employment contract, committing the airline to proactively prevent harassment, enforce its Code of Conduct, properly investigate complaints, and take appropriate remedial action.
The path to settlement was lengthy. According to the procedural history set out in the settlement agreement, WestJet's initial application to have the claim struck was dismissed by the B.C. Supreme Court in December 2017. The airline's subsequent appeal was dismissed by the B.C. Court of Appeal in February 2019, and a further application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was dismissed in July 2019. A certification application was dismissed at first instance in February 2021, only to be reversed by the Court of Appeal in April 2022, when the proceeding was certified as a class action.
Following certification, the parties conducted extensive documentary production, examinations for discovery including multi-day questioning of WestJet witnesses and Lewis herself, and exchanged expert evidence, the settlement agreement states. A mediation was conducted in December 2025 with mediator Stephen Kelleher, K.C. Additional procedural steps — including applications for interprovincial subpoenas — continued into January 2026, with the matter headed toward a common issues trial when the parties reached agreement.
The settlement agreement was dated June 22, 2026.
The Guardian reported that Lewis said she was sexually assaulted by a WestJet pilot during a crew layover in Hawaii in 2010, when she was 25 years old. She reported the incident to the airline, but the pilot remained employed, and Lewis alleges that WestJet rerouted him to prevent him from being questioned by police in Maui. She was eventually dismissed by WestJet in 2016 for what the airline described in court filings as "gross insubordination" — a characterization Lewis and her legal team have always maintained was retaliation for her attempts to hold the company accountable internally, the Guardian reported.
'I'm glad it's over… but I'm just exhausted'
The settlement did not pass without internal dissent. Eight class members formally asked the court not to approve the deal in the months before the Aug. 10 hearing, citing a low payout and a lack of accountability by WestJet, the Guardian reported.
Lewis herself was pointed in her reaction. "I'm glad it's over… but I'm just exhausted. I'm shaking my head," she told the publication, adding that she had been advised the amount was the most that could be achieved given that legal expenses were mounting. She noted the stark contrast with WestJet's separate baggage fee class action, which resulted in a $12.5-million payout — nearly three times as much for a dispute involving no allegations of assault.
"We didn't get justice here," Lewis said.
WestJet did not address Lewis's specific allegations in response to the Guardian's inquiries. In a statement, the company said it was "pleased to have reached a mutually agreed upon settlement" and described itself as committed to "advancing a culture of empowerment."
