Being tall can have many perks: a better view at concerts and sporting events and the ability to reach objects on the high shelves at grocery stores.  But being tall also comes with its challenges:  not being able to comfortably sit in aircraft seats with limited leg room.

But is being tall a disability?

Malcolm Johnson, who stands 6’7½ ”, filed an application with the Canadian Transportation Agency pursuant to Subsection 172(1) of the Canada Transportation Act, S.C., 1996, c. 10 (the “CTA”) against Air Canada with regard to the additional fees charged for economy class seats with extra leg room. 

Mr. Johnson argued that, because of his height, he could not sit in a “regular seat” without endangering …

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 …

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.

Two of …