Sask. travellers continue to feel effects of Air Canada cancellations despite tentative deal
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Global News
10 minutes ago
- Global News
‘I cried': Air Canada strike costs young Girl Guides member trip of a lifetime
One activity planned for this week would've been a feather in the cap for 15-year-old Montrealer Mikaela Hosein-Patel after 10 years as a Girl Guide: her first-ever trip to Scotland. 'I was looking forward to the train ride from London to Edinburgh the most, and the (Royal Edinburgh) Military Tattoo,' she told Global News. 'I've been planning this trip for two years.' Hosein-Patel and 15 other guides and guide leaders from across the country were to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime trip organized by Girl Guides of Canada to visit parts of the U.K. They were scheduled to leave Toronto on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 16, for nine days. When her flight from Montreal to Toronto was cancelled, her dad, Pramit Patel, drove her to Toronto to catch the connecting flight to London's Heathrow Airport, but when they got there, they got more bad news. Story continues below advertisement That flight was cancelled, too, because of the strike and lockout at Air Canada, which started the day they were supposed to leave. 'I mean, I was sad and frustrated, just like every other girl that was going to go on this trip,' Hosein-Patel recalled. 'Yeah, I cried.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy She had spent the last two years raising funds to help pay for the $5,500 trip. Though the family believes that the airline will refund the fare — about 60 per cent of the cost — the family fears other fees for hotels, event tickets and other transportation might be lost. Patel holds Air Canada responsible. '(They're) generating all these profits every year, and ultimately the staff had to fight for their rights, unfortunately, holding a strike at this point,' he said. 'At the end of the day, customers are the ones that are suffering for this.' The airline estimates that 500,000 passengers were affected by the three-day job action that ended overnight Monday. Now, many of those clients are starting to file lawsuits against the airline as well as the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the cabin crew who were on strike. Hosein-Patel's family has joined a proposed class-action lawsuit against Air Canada, filed by two law firms: LPC Avocats and Renno Vathilakis. It is open to anyone worldwide to whom the airline did not provide a reservation for the next available flight or alternative travel arrangements as required by law. Story continues below advertisement 'Air Canada had a statutory obligation to book people on the next available flight when they couldn't respect the 48-hour rule,' Joey Zukran of LPC Avocats explained. He estimates damages could be in the $50-million range. Lambert Avocats is also seeking approval for a class-action lawsuit — this one against CUPE — claiming in a statement that the union's 'decision to continue its strike illegally has had the effect of prolonging and worsening the massive cancellations of Air Canada flights.' On Saturday, the Canada Industrial Relations Board asked the union to direct the flight attendants to return to work, less than 12 hours after the strike began. CUPE decided to defy the back-to-work order and the job action continued until Monday, when a tentative agreement was made with the airline. 'The class action is proposed for all persons who had a reservation for Air Canada or Air Canada Rouge for flights that were scheduled after Sunday at 2 p.m., that were subsequently cancelled because of CUPE's decision to maintain its strike,' lawyer Philippe Brault said. Neither of the proposed class-action suits has yet been approved. Global has reached out to both Air Canada and CUPE and has not yet heard back.
CBC
29 minutes ago
- CBC
Air Canada resuming flights, but P.E.I. travel advisor warns of lingering delays
Social Sharing Even though the Air Canada strike has ended, a travel expert says it will take time before flights are fully back to normal, and there are steps passengers can take in the meantime. On Tuesday, a tentative agreement was reached to end the contract dispute between Air Canada and its 10,500 flight attendants. Union members must still vote to approve the deal. The attendants walked off the job early Saturday morning, grounding hundreds of flights, and management locked them out shortly after. Staff were told to return to work after the tentative deal was reached, and flights started returning Tuesday night. Frances Gertsch, a senior travel adviser and manager of business development with Stewart Travel Group in Stratford, P.E.I., said the travel system is not yet stable and it will take seven to 10 days for schedules to stabilize. "We have planes and crew that are out of position, and planes that have been sitting on the ground that need to be checked. They need to do safety checks and maintenance. It has to happen on those before they can fly," Gertsch told CBC's Island Morning Wednesday. "Passengers need to have some patience." She pointed to an online site the airline has set up to help its passengers track the situation. The site includes updates on call centre wait times, the number of passengers rebooked, expected passenger volumes, and how much of the schedule is operating. If travellers have a confirmed booking in the next few days, she said they should expect to fly, but they need to double-check. "They need to first of all, check the Air Canada app, their airport arrivals and departures, or the Air Canada website to make sure their flight is on time and not go to the airport before they do," she said. Extra costs likely to fall on travellers Gertsch said she has helped some travellers stranded on P.E.I., but while she's been able to find flights for them to get home, they are having to stay a few extra days on the Island before they can fly out. She noted that under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, the strike was considered outside of Air Canada's control. "That's the ruling at the moment. And so they will give you a refund for any unused portion of your ticket, but they, at this point, are not saying that they will pay for any additional flights that you purchase, train tickets, ferries, car rentals, any of those things. Those would be at your own expense," she said. If travellers have travel insurance, she recommended reviewing coverage details. "Having travel insurance may help, and it may be that there's different terms with your insurance, so you might have had to wait until that flight was cancelled before you rebook, before the insurance company will cover it," she said. "[There are] lots of questions still to come, and it's going to take more patience to get all of that resolved." Aircraft and crews 'out of position' Air Canada told travellers Tuesday to expect continued disruption the next few days "as aircraft and crew are out of position." Gertsch explained that means planes and staff are not where they would normally be to operate scheduled flights. During the strike, many aircraft were positioned back to home bases such as Toronto and Montreal. "Planes that maybe do the overnight run in Charlottetown, for example, they come in at midnight, they overnight here, and they leave at five o'clock in the morning. Well, that plane was still in Toronto last night and unable to depart, and so they need to just get that back on schedule," she said. She added that for long-distance routes, it could take up to three days to reposition crews, get them the proper amount of rest under safety regulations, and enable them to fly return routes.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Flight cancelled due to Air Canada strike? You may have more rights than you think
Social Sharing The Air Canada flight attendants strike disrupted travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers. As travellers scramble to rearrange their plans, many are seeking answers about their rights. They may be surprised to learn that passengers set to depart from most European countries have more protections than those booked on domestic flights. Here's what you need to know about your rights if your Air Canada travel plans have suddenly unravelled. You have a right to a rebooked flight Air Canada announced on Wednesday that passengers affected by flight cancellations who rebooked and paid for travel on other airlines can submit claims for reimbursement. Passengers who took another mode of transport home, such as a bus, can also submit claims. "We've adjusted our policy," said Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick. "We want to take care of the customers and we want to be sure that if they are stranded right now, they can get home." The adjusted policy aligns with Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR). The regulations state that when an airline cancels flights due to a labour disruption, they must offer affected passengers a choice between a cash 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 travel agency. According to the APPR, if a large airline, such as Air Canada, can't rebook you on a partner airline within 48 hours after your original departure time, the carrier must attempt to rebook you on any airline — even a major competitor. If there's nothing available, the airline must search for alternative flights at another nearby airport, and provide transport to that airport. Airlines that don't comply face hefty fines. Earlier this year, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) hit Westjet with a $204,000 penalty for failing to rebook passengers whose flights were cancelled during a WestJet mechanics strike in 2024. During the Air Canada strike, some passengers may have found themselves stranded despite Air Canada's best efforts. That's because the carrier is the country's largest airline, and its flight attendants walked off the job during peak summer travel season. Consumer advocate Geoff White argues the lack of alternative flights for disrupted passengers highlights another problem: lack of competition in Canada's airline industry. "The reason why so many people are stranded right now is we don't have [enough] competition," said White, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. "This has to be the wake-up call." In June, Canada's Competition Bureau stated that the country's airline industry is highly concentrated with two major carriers — Air Canada and WestJet. It called for increased competition, and recommended relaxing rules that limit foreign ownership of Canadian airlines. Passengers flying from EU countries have more rights Under the current APPR, airlines are under no obligation to compensate passengers for their hotel and incidentals if they're delayed at their destination due to a strike. "Air Canada can choose, for goodwill purposes, to help you out with that, but there's no legal obligation," said Jack. Passengers also can't claim compensation for flight delays and cancellations; the APPR considers job actions beyond an airline's control. However, affected Air Canada passengers can claim compensation for both their added travel expenses and flight disruptions if their cancelled flight departed from the United Kingdom or European Union-member countries. That's because passengers departing from those countries are covered by EU air passenger rights which provide wider protections compared to the APPR. WATCH l Passengers' travel plan disrupted by Air Canada strike: Air Canada passengers in limbo as flight attendants' strike enters 3rd day 2 days ago Another day of uncertainty awaited Air Canada travellers on Monday after striking flight attendants defied a federal back-to-work order and delayed the airline's plans to restart operations. 'We haven't slept, we've been calling, we're tired,' said one frustrated passenger trying to fly to Portugal for her honeymoon. Similar to the APPR, EU rules dictate that when airines cancel flights, passengers are owed a refund or a rebooking. EU rules also state airlines can deny compensation for flight disruptions caused by a strike. However, they specify that this exemption only applies to disputes that don't involve the airline. A strike by an airline's own staff "does not release the airline from its obligation to pay compensation," the EU states online. Passengers can choose to file compensation claims under the APPR or EU regulations. Consequently, affected Air Canada passengers who qualify under EU rules can seek reimbursement for added expenses like hotels, plus compensation of up to €600 ($965 CAD). Passengers departing from the U.K. can claim up to £520 ($970 CAD). "In Europe, the view is a lot more consumer-friendly by saying, "No, no, the airline certainly could control how it interacts with its unions and the onus should be on the airline,'" said White. "We've got a long way to go here in Canada." Jack agrees. When it comes to air travel, "if something goes wrong in Europe, you're going to get treated better than you are 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's not going to help people in this current circumstance," he said. "People would be in a better position today had the government moved forward with these [rules]." The Canadian Transportation Agency told CBC News consultations for the proposed rules wrapped up in March, and that there's no timeline yet for when they will take effect. The agency did not directly answer questions about why it was taking so long to implement the new rules. Any passengers who believe Air Canada — or any other airline — didn't honour their rights can file a complaint with the CTA. However, they may be in for a long wait for resolution; in June, the federal regulator reported a backlog of more than 87,000 air passenger complaints.
