Last month, the airline canceled its return flight to Toronto from New Orleans – five hours before it was scheduled to depart. Her rebooked flight didn’t leave until the next day.
After her trip, Lowe sought compensation for the delay and the US$394 she spent on a hotel plus incidentals.
Air Canada responded that Lowe did not qualify for cash. Instead, the airline sent her an email — seen by CBC News — outlining the challenges the company is facing due to the recent increase in travel, including long lines, baggage handling issues and flight delays.
But the email left out an important detail: why Lowe’s flight cancellation did not warrant compensation.
“I don’t think they have a valid reason,” said Lowe, who lives in Whitby, Ont. “I think if they were really honest and transparent about what happened … they know they would be responsible and they would have to compensate the passengers on the flight.”
Lesley Lowe of Whitby, Ont., says Air Canada never explained why it denied her compensation for a canceled flight. Under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations, airlines are supposed to provide an explanation when they deny passengers compensation for delays and cancellations. (Submitted by Lesley Lowe)
Lowe is one of many air passengers who, during this summer of mass flight delays and cancellations, claim they have been unfairly denied compensation by their airline.
The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) has yet to confirm whether it will take action against non-compliant airlines — despite calls from air passenger rights experts that the time has come for severe punishments to be imposed.
“These [air passenger regulations] they’re not actually properly enforced in a strict way,” said Daneil Tsai, a Toronto-based consumer advocate and business lawyer.
According to federal rules, airlines must pay compensation — up to $1,000 — only if a flight delay or cancellation is within an airline’s control and not required for safety reasons. Air carriers must also cover accommodation costs for flight interruptions under their control.
WestJet and Air Canada have sparked customer outrage for the first time after continuing to deny compensation for some flight disruptions caused by crew shortages; — despite a recent CTA clarification that staff shortages are generally within an airline’s control and warrant compensation.
Now, some passengers are speaking out about another concern: airlines not providing adequate explanations about why they were denied compensation.
Disappointed with customer service
—@julia5chmidt
—@The__Fed According to the CTA, airlines must explain in “sufficient detail” the reasons for the flight interruption, including why no compensation is warranted. But Lowe said Air Canada never provided an explanation, even when he responded and asked for an explanation. “They just closed my case,” he said. “They don’t respect me as a customer to even answer my question.” A “foggy” explanation Shakheel Bhatti of Mississauga, Ont., is still waiting for a clear reason why WestJet denied him compensation for a three-hour delay when he flew from Vancouver to Toronto in June. In an email seen by CBC News, WestJet’s only explanation was that the disruption was “due to a post-departure delay beyond WestJet’s control.” However, according to flight tracking service FlightAware, the delay occurred before departure. “The facts don’t line up with what WestJet is saying,” Bhatti said. Furthermore, WestJet never explained why the delay was beyond its control. “You can’t really question something that’s this nebulous,” Baty said. “I think it’s an obstruction of justice for anybody to give you that kind of vague, nebulous, non-descriptive answer.” WATCHES | Travelers say they were unfairly denied compensation: Travelers say they are being unfairly denied compensation for Air Canada flight cancellations Some travelers say they are being denied compensation for canceled Air Canada flights, as the airline claims flight disruptions are due to crew restrictions and beyond their control. Both WestJet and Air Canada declined to comment on individual cases. All told CBC News they follow federal air passenger regulations and noted that a 2020 CTA survey found no data that airlines had deliberately misled passengers when denying compensation claims. “A complaint does not constitute wrongdoing by an airline, it is simply a dispute over the interpretation of these very complex, situational regulations,” an Air Canada spokesperson said in an email. “That’s why the CTA has a complaint process.” Passengers who believe they have been wrongly denied compensation can file a complaint with the CTA to help solve their problem. The federal transportation regulator is currently involved accumulation of 18,200 air passenger complaints thanks to a recent spike: In the four months between April and July, the CTA said it received 7,500 new complaints, a significant increase over last year. Higher fines? Transport Canada spokeswoman Laurel Lennox said in an email that the department has given the CTA an additional $11 million to help clear a backlog of complaint cases and “make sure airlines are operating within the rules.” This cash injection was first announced in the April 2022 federal budget and Lennox gave no indication of any new enforcement plans. To date, the CTA has not fined airlines for wrongfully denying reimbursement. In an interview last week, the agency suggested that sanctions, including fines, could be forthcoming. “We’re really looking at all the enforcement options … available to us,” said CTA spokesman Tom Oommen. He declined to give further details. While consumer advocate Daniel Chai supports fines, he said they may not be much of a deterrent because the current maximum penalty per violation is $25,000. “If anything, it’s just the cost of doing business for a multi-billion dollar airline.” Tsai recommends that the CTA impose fines of at least $250,000 per violation, plus multimillion-dollar penalties for repeat offenders. “This will really make the airlines think before they try to pass their responsibilities on to consumers,” he said. In its 2020-21 annual report, the CTA also recommended increasing the maximum fine to $250,000 for companies, saying the current cap “is outdated as it was set in 1996”.
According to the CTA, airlines must explain in “sufficient detail” the reasons for the flight interruption, including why no compensation is warranted.
But Lowe said Air Canada never provided an explanation, even when he responded and asked for an explanation.
“They just closed my case,” he said. “They don’t respect me as a customer to even answer my question.”
A “foggy” explanation
Shakheel Bhatti of Mississauga, Ont., is still waiting for a clear reason why WestJet denied him compensation for a three-hour delay when he flew from Vancouver to Toronto in June. In an email seen by CBC News, WestJet’s only explanation was that the disruption was “due to a post-departure delay beyond WestJet’s control.” However, according to flight tracking service FlightAware, the delay occurred before departure. “The facts don’t line up with what WestJet is saying,” Bhatti said. Furthermore, WestJet never explained why the delay was beyond its control. “You can’t really question something that’s this nebulous,” Baty said. “I think it’s an obstruction of justice for anybody to give you that kind of vague, nebulous, non-descriptive answer.” WATCHES | Travelers say they were unfairly denied compensation:
Travelers say they are being unfairly denied compensation for Air Canada flight cancellations
Some travelers say they are being denied compensation for canceled Air Canada flights, as the airline claims flight disruptions are due to crew restrictions and beyond their control. Both WestJet and Air Canada declined to comment on individual cases. All told CBC News they follow federal air passenger regulations and noted that a 2020 CTA survey found no data that airlines had deliberately misled passengers when denying compensation claims. “A complaint does not constitute wrongdoing by an airline, it is simply a dispute over the interpretation of these very complex, situational regulations,” an Air Canada spokesperson said in an email. “That’s why the CTA has a complaint process.” Passengers who believe they have been wrongly denied compensation can file a complaint with the CTA to help solve their problem. The federal transportation regulator is currently involved accumulation of 18,200 air passenger complaints thanks to a recent spike: In the four months between April and July, the CTA said it received 7,500 new complaints, a significant increase over last year.
Higher fines?
Transport Canada spokeswoman Laurel Lennox said in an email that the department has given the CTA an additional $11 million to help clear a backlog of complaint cases and “make sure airlines are operating within the rules.” This cash injection was first announced in the April 2022 federal budget and Lennox gave no indication of any new enforcement plans. To date, the CTA has not fined airlines for wrongfully denying reimbursement. In an interview last week, the agency suggested that sanctions, including fines, could be forthcoming. “We’re really looking at all the enforcement options … available to us,” said CTA spokesman Tom Oommen. He declined to give further details. While consumer advocate Daniel Chai supports fines, he said they may not be much of a deterrent because the current maximum penalty per violation is $25,000. “If anything, it’s just the cost of doing business for a multi-billion dollar airline.” Tsai recommends that the CTA impose fines of at least $250,000 per violation, plus multimillion-dollar penalties for repeat offenders. “This will really make the airlines think before they try to pass their responsibilities on to consumers,” he said. In its 2020-21 annual report, the CTA also recommended increasing the maximum fine to $250,000 for companies, saying the current cap “is outdated as it was set in 1996”.
