Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press Published Thursday, June 30, 2022 1:37 PM EDT Last Updated on Thursday, June 30, 2022 1:37 PM EDT
MONTREAL – Consumer rights advocates are calling for Air Canada to compensate many of the hundreds of thousands of passengers whose summer flights it canceled.
The country’s largest airline said Wednesday night that it will reduce more than 15 percent of its flights in July and August as the country’s flight network sinks under an overwhelming resurgence of travel.
The measure will mean that more than 9,500 flights, or 154 daily on average, will be reduced from the airline’s schedule, which already operates at only 80% of pre-pandemic levels. The flights link primarily with the airline’s Toronto and Montreal hubs, and run on domestic or Canada-US routes. There was no other international flight other than the United States.
“This Canada Day weekend will be tough,” CEO Michael Rousseau told employees in a note dated Thursday and obtained by The Canadian Press.
“I wish I could promise that the measures we are taking will mean an easy summer ahead. While they will definitely provide some relief, it will take time and effort and we probably won’t see the full benefit until the last part of July. “
Sylvie De Bellefeuille, a lawyer for Quebec-based advocacy group Option consommateurs, says many customers are owed compensation “absolutely” according to Canada’s passenger rights charter.
The Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), which went into effect in 2019, require compensation, other than refunds, of between $ 400 and $ 1,000 for a significant cancellation or delay that is “within the control of the carrier “, in case the traveler chooses to reject the reservation. , and in some cases when they accept it.
“I think it’s Air Canada’s decision to cancel the fighting,” De Bellefeuille said. “Therefore, people should be entitled to compensation.”
While Rousseau apologized for flight cancellations and “customer service deficits,” the general manager also said in an email to travelers that the reduction in hours resulted from tensions in the “global aviation system,” potentially out of Air Canada’s control, calling them “unprecedented and unforeseen.”
Gabor Lukacs, chairman of the air passenger rights group, said the airlines had “surpassed their capacity” in an attempt to make up for the two years of battered results.
“Even if there were physical seats available on the plane, there were no pilots, there were no flight attendants, there were no door agents,” he said, adding that the lack of flight attendants security and federal customs put it further. challenges.
“These are cancellations that are under the control of the carrier … Airlines can claim otherwise, but these claims have no water.”
Air Canada said in an email that customers receive an automatic notification of cancellations, “and this process is underway.”
“Some we can re-book immediately, while for others we will continue to look for alternatives and let them know if options are available,” said spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick.
Customers can request a refund at any time, he said.
Air Canada did not respond to questions about whether the schedule reduction was under its control, stating that it will “fulfill its obligations under APPR.”
Shares of the Montreal-based company fell 6.8 percent or $ 1.16 to $ 15.91 in mid-Thursday afternoon, deepening a drop of more than $ 21 per share earlier this month .
Jacques Roy, a professor of transportation management at Montreal’s HEC business school, said the company’s revenue will be affected, even if consolidating passengers on fewer flights increases efficiency.
“It’s definitely not good news for Air Canada. It’s their high season, this is the most lucrative quarter of the year and for the last three years it’s been negative,” he said.
At least 400,000 passengers are likely to be affected, he added.
Cathy Gray booked a family trip to Scotland months ago and has already seen her flight rescheduled once.
“We have booked and paid for car rental and accommodation and we are afraid of what we anticipate will happen with our August-September flight schedules and the domino effect on our plans,” he said.
“All of this could have been avoided if the airlines hadn’t been so greedy. It’s a shame.”
The volume of passenger distress was evident on the Air Canada website, which was flooded with travelers checking the status of their summer flight.
“We are currently having technical issues that may prevent you from retrieving your online booking,” says an alert at the top of the airline’s homepage posted Wednesday night.
According to federal regulations, if passengers were informed more than two weeks in advance that their flight was canceled or delayed for three hours or more for reasons under the control of the airline, ‘ls must make alternative travel arrangements or a refund, at the traveler’s choice. A declined booking generates $ 400 compensation in addition to the refund.
If the trip has been canceled within 14 days or less, passengers are owed $ 1,000 for a cancellation or delay of nine hours or more, and between $ 400 and $ 700 for delays of three to nine o’clock.
The airline must try to re-book passengers for a flight on its network that takes off within nine hours of the original departure time. If you can’t, you must offer to book them on another airline “as soon as possible”, free of charge, according to the passenger rights charter.