Journey plans dashed by Air Canada strike? You could have extra rights than you assume

The Air Canada flight attendants strike has disrupted journey for a whole lot of hundreds of passengers. 

As travellers scramble to rearrange their plans, many are looking for solutions about their rights. They could also be stunned to be taught that passengers set to depart from most European nations have extra protections than these booked on home flights.

Here’s what you could learn about your rights in case your Air Canada journey plans have all of the sudden unravelled. 

You have a proper to a rebooked flight

Under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), in case your flight is cancelled on account of a labour disruption, airways should give you a selection between a money refund or a rebooked flight.

“For better or for worse, you don’t have to take the refund,” says Ian Jack, spokesperson for the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), a non-profit journey company.

According to the APPR, if a big airline, akin to Air Canada, cannot rebook you on a accomplice airline inside 48 hours after your unique departure time, the provider should try to rebook you on any airline — even a serious competitor.  

If there’s nothing accessible, the airline should seek for different flights at one other close by airport, and supply transport to that airport.

Airlines that do not comply face hefty fines. Earlier this 12 months, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) hit Westjet with a $204,000 penalty for failing to rebook passengers whose flights had been cancelled throughout a WestJet mechanics strike in 2024.

Any passengers who imagine Air Canada did not honour their rebooking rights can file a complaint with the CTA. However, they might be in for a protracted look forward to decision; in June, the federal regulator reported a backlog of greater than 87,000 air passenger complaints. 

Also, some passengers could discover themselves stranded regardless of Air Canada’s finest efforts. That’s as a result of the provider is the nation’s largest airline, and its flight attendants have walked off the job throughout peak summer season journey season. 

“There’s just not enough left on WestJet, Air Transat, etc. to [rebook] everybody,” mentioned Jack. “Unfortunately, some people may be left without a lot of alternatives right now other than to take the refund.”

Air Canada echoed that thought in an online statement the place it pledged to “provide customers alternative travel options to the extent possible.”

Consumer advocate Geoff White argues the shortage of other flights for disrupted passengers highlights one other downside: lack of competitors in Canada’s airline business. 

“The reason why so many people are stranded right now is we don’t have [enough] competition,” mentioned White, government director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.

“This has to be the wake-up call.”

In June, Canada’s Competition Bureau acknowledged that the nation’s airline business is extremely concentrated with two main carriers — Air Canada and WestJet. It known as for elevated competitors, and beneficial enjoyable guidelines that restrict international possession of Canadian airways.

Passengers flying from EU nations have extra rights

Under the current APPR, airways are underneath no obligation to compensate passengers for his or her resort and incidentals in the event that they’re delayed at their vacation spot on account of a strike.

“Air Canada can choose, for goodwill purposes, to help you out with that, but there’s no legal obligation,” mentioned Jack. 

Passengers can also’t declare compensation for flight delays and cancellations; the APPR considers job actions past an airline’s management.

However, affected Air Canada passengers can declare compensation for each their added journey bills and flight disruptions if their cancelled flight departed from the United Kingdom or European Union-member countries. That’s as a result of passengers departing from these nations are lined by EU air passenger rights which give wider protections in comparison with the APPR. 

WATCH l Passengers’ journey plan disrupted by Air Canada strike: 

Air Canada passengers in limbo as flight attendants’ strike enters third day

Another day of uncertainty awaited Air Canada travellers on Monday after hanging flight attendants defied a federal back-to-work order and delayed the airline’s plans to restart operations. ‘We have not slept, we have been calling, we’re drained,’ mentioned one pissed off passenger making an attempt to fly to Portugal for her honeymoon.

Similar to the APPR, EU guidelines dictate that when airines cancel flights, passengers are owed a refund or a rebooking. EU guidelines additionally state airways can deny compensation for flight disruptions caused by a strike. However, they specify that this exemption solely applies to disputes that do not contain the airline. 

A strike by an airline’s personal employees “does not release the airline from its obligation to pay compensation,” the EU states online. 

Passengers can select to file compensation claims underneath the APPR or EU laws. Consequently, affected Air Canada passengers who qualify underneath EU guidelines can seek reimbursement for added bills like resorts, plus compensation of as much as €600 ($965 CAD). Passengers departing from the U.K. can declare as much as £520 ($970 CAD). 

“In Europe, the view is a lot more consumer-friendly by saying, “No, no, the airline actually may management the way it interacts with its unions and the onus must be on the airline,'” said White. 

“We’ve bought a protracted solution to go right here in Canada.”

Jack agrees. 

When it comes to air travel, “if one thing goes unsuitable in Europe, you are going to get handled higher than you might be in Canada,” he said. 

Where are the new rules?

More than two years ago, the federal government proposed changes to the APPR that, if they had been enacted by now, might have helped out many Air Canada passengers. 

The proposed changes, designed to strengthen the APPR, include a requirement for airlines to cover hotel costs and incidentals during any type of flight disruption — including those caused by labour disruptions. 

Jack says it’s unfortunate the proposed rules remain in limbo as passengers grapple with the Air Canada strike. 

“Sadly, it isn’t going to assist folks on this present circumstance,” he said. “People could be in a greater place right now had the federal government moved ahead with these [rules].”

The Canadian Transportation Agency instructed CBC News consultations for the proposed rules wrapped up in March, and that there is not any timeline but for when they may take impact. The company didn’t straight reply questions on why it was taking so lengthy to implement the brand new guidelines.