Passenger rights advocate urges travellers to be patient
Gabor Lukacs, a passenger rights advocate, says airlines aren't required to give refunds but must rebook passengers on another flight.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
31 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘Super disappointed': Customers around the world vent frustration following Air Canada strike
Travellers wait in line for the next available agent at the Air Canada counter in Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Dorval, Que., Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi For Emily Ramos, a Toronto teacher travelling with her husband and two children, a long-planned summer trip to Nova Scotia has turned into a nightmare of cancellations, skyrocketing costs, and unanswered calls. She is not alone. Already, CTV News Toronto has heard from nearly 100 Air Canada customers Saturday morning, including families stuck abroad, passengers stranded at airports and travellers left on hold for hours. Many say they remain in limbo, citing that their flights have not yet been cancelled, leaving them unable to claim refunds or rebook elsewhere. The strike by Air Canada's flight attendants — which began at 12:58 a.m. ET Saturday — has suspended all operations by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge, disrupting an estimated 130,000 passengers each day. Across the country, hundreds are gathered at airports picketing and raising awareness for workers' rights. Air Canada Air Canada flight attendants picket at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan (The Canadian Press) 'Our Canadian airline is now abandoning us' Ramos says her family's six-day vacation could now come at a loss of thousands of dollars. They've booked non-refundable hotels in Nova Scotia but are unable to confirm if their Monday morning flight will depart. 'The one airline that is … our Canadian airline is now abandoning us and it really is frustrating,' Ramos said. 'We're looking at either losing all non-refundable hotel money to the tune of two or $3,000 and not going on the trip, or spending five or $6,000 to get ourselves there and hoping to figure out the way back later.' With children aged eight and 13, she says flexibility isn't an option. 'We try to do one family vacation every year, and this is it,' Ramos said. Emily Ramos Emily Ramos, a Toronto teacher is seen pictured with her family. She along with many others are dealing with the results of widespread Air Canada strike (CTV News photo). Her frustration goes beyond her own disrupted trip. 'I'm super disappointed them as a company.' she said. 'Air Canada is usually the most reliable up until this point … there aren't as many airlines that we can rely on.' Other passengers voiced similar concerns. A traveller returning from the Czech Republic said they received notice their flight was cancelled, but Air Canada could not rebook them within 48 hours. 'They urged me to accept the refund, or call them if my travel is flexible. I tried calling, but it's impossible to get through so now I'm stuck in limbo,' the passenger said. 'Extremely disappointed' Some travellers say they have lost confidence in the airline altogether. Anat Baron, a Canadian traveller scheduled to fly home to Los Angeles on Sunday, said she has received no updates about whether her flight will operate. Despite the strike, she says she was still able to check in through the Air Canada app. 'I'm extremely frustrated. I have been on the app non-stop,' Baron said. 'Why am I able to check into my flight right now when my plane is clearly not going? They have the technology. They have the know-how … what are they doing?' Baron said her recent experiences with the airline have been riddled with cancellations, delays and lost luggage in years past. AC Luggage is seen as travellers wait in line at the Air Canada counter in Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Dorval, Que., Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi (The Canadian Press) 'I think the mark of any great company that's in the service business is, what do you do when things go wrong — and they fail every single time,' she said. 'Air Canada does not make you feel like they care about their passengers. Period.' Air Canada's response In a statement issued Saturday, Air Canada urged passengers not to head to the airport unless they already had a confirmed ticket on another airline. 'Air Canada will notify customers with imminent travel of additional cancelled flights and their options,' the airline said. 'For those customers due to travel soon whose flights are not yet cancelled, Air Canada has put in place a goodwill policy to allow them to rebook their travel or obtain a credit for future travel.' The airline also says it offers its sincere regret for the impact the strike has had on customers. 'Air Canada deeply regrets the effect the labour disruption is having on customers.' Share your story with us Has your Air Canada flight been cancelled? Are you stuck abroad waiting to get home? How has the strike disrupted your travel plans? Share your story by emailing us at torontonews@ with your name, general location, and phone number in case we want to follow up. If you're from outside Toronto, share your story by emailing us at dotcom@ with your name, general location and phone number. Your comments may be used in a future story.
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Air Canada strike begins as flight attendants walk off the job
More than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike early Saturday morning, after the airline and the union representing them failed to reach a deal ahead of the deadline. With a work stoppage now in effect, Air Canada estimates that 130,000 customers will be affected each day of a strike, a figure that includes 25,000 Canadian travellers who are abroad.
CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
Skipping the U.S. and taking a vacation to East Coast this year? It will cost you.
FREDERICTON — In September 2024, Natasha Beitman Brener and her husband decided to take a three-week vacation to Canada's East Coast. Beitman Brener, a lawyer in Kingston, Ont., spent about six months planning the trip, looking at various options to stay in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. 'We are young, we don't have all the money in the world, we have a mortgage. So we went on this trip and we thought, 'oh, this will be affordable compared to something like Japan' . … We were going to cook our own food,' she said in a recent interview. They rented a recreational vehicle in Montreal for about $6,000, and between campground parking fees, gasoline, groceries, park passes, a round of golf, and a couple of dinners out, Beitman Brener said the total added up to $15,000. 'It was the most incredible trip. We loved it. It was worth it. It was incredible. The East Coast is so extraordinary,' she said. 'But it was $15,000 and we talked to our friend — they went to Japan for three weeks for the same price, with flights. And I said to my husband, 'well, we could have gone to Japan for the same price.'' This year, as a trade war grinds on with the United States, Canadians who decide to vacation within their country are realizing their patriotism comes with a hefty price tag — and some are choosing to scale back their plans. For Alick Tsui, a St. John's, N.L., resident, a recent five-day, two-person trip to Port Rexton, N.L., cost him about $3,000. He is avoiding spending his dollars in the United States because of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and comments of annexing Canada. But high prices are forcing him to cut costs for future trips in Canada. 'Before I would stay for four nights, now I may cut it down to three nights. But that won't change my plan to travel.' Tsui said he and his wife try to save money with 'economical' lunches from gas stations. 'But nighttime, we try to find whatever we can to have a good meal. Not expensive, but a good meal,' he said. The couple went to Vietnam and Thailand earlier this year for about 10 days; that trip cost about one-third the price that he usually pays for a week's vacation in Canada. Beitman Brener, meanwhile, says she wanted to take a mother-daughter vacation this month after the lawyer had some unexpected time off. The duo sought to travel within Canada on a budget of $3,000 for four nights and five days. They too are avoiding travelling to the United States. She looked into several locations, including Quebec City and Manitoulin Island in Ontario, but — even with sharing a hotel or Airbnb room — their accommodation costs would have been about $3,000. Along with food and gas, the total would have been about $6,000, she said. They couldn't justify the cost so they chose to spend two nights at a boutique hotel in their hometown. The fact each vacation has to be planned down to every meal because of high costs has removed some of the joy of taking a spontaneous holiday in Canada, she said. A scan of individual round trip flights from Toronto to cities on the East Coast for the week of Aug. 18 -23 showed prices to Halifax ranging from around $700 for Flair Airlines to nearly $1,700 for WestJet; about $1,200 via Air Canada to $2,500 via Air Transat to St. John's; and between $1,500 and $3,000 on Air Canada to Charlottetown. A vehicle rental for five days the week of Aug. 18 -23 in Halifax, St. John's, and Charlottetown ranged from an average of $1,500 for an SUV to $1,000 for a sedan. For the week, hotel rooms in Halifax, St. John's and Prince Edward Island ranged from around $200 a night to $500. Richard Powers, associate professor at University of Toronto's Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, said two main reasons can help explain why travel within Canada is so expensive — lack of competition among airline services and fallout from COVID-19. Airlines haven't reinstated some of routes they cut down at the height of the pandemic, he said. How long the fallout from COVID-19 will last is anybody's guess, Powers said. 'That's the million-dollar question.' When it comes to accommodation, he said the high prices can be blamed on minimal supply. 'I'm just booking Vancouver for the fall, and I'm having trouble finding a place for under $500 a night,' he said. 'That's a lot.' Restaurant bills in Canada add up — when compared with those in Europe — because of the tipping culture that adds 15 to 20 per cent for each meal, he said. With the push to support Canadian tourism, Powers said, people are willing to pay 'a bit of a premium.' 'How much premium is the question? And it's almost getting out of control.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2025. Hina Alam, The Canadian Press
