Four hours before departure, Ryan Farrell is surprised to learn that his flight from Yellowknife to Calgary has been cancelled.
AirCanada citing "crew constraints" citing "crew constraints" to place him on a flight departing 48 hours after the first takeoff time for the flight on June 17. I have rebooked.
Farrell was even more surprised to learn six weeks later that his request for compensation had been denied due to staff shortages.
"Air Canada flights have been delayed or canceled due to crew constraints due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, delays or cancellations have been
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Rejection "feels like a slap in the face," Farrell said.
"In the absence of a replacement crew, the flight was canceled due to the inability to assemble a crew, not because other factors inherently compromised the ability to carry out the flight." No,” he said in an email.
``I think airlines are trying to capitalize on the general emotional connection people make between 'COVID-19' and 'safety,' but in reality, their logic It doesn't work."
Air Canada's response to Farrell's complaint was not unusual. In his Dec. 29 memo, the company instructed employees to classify flight cancellations due to staff shortages as a "safety" issue, which would exclude travelers from being eligible for compensation under federal regulations. will be The policy remains the same.
Canada's Charter of Passenger Rights, the Air Passenger Protection Regulation (APPR), stipulates that cancellation or significant delay due to reasons within the airline's control is not covered by 14 days' notice. obliges the airline to pay compensation of up to $1,000. before leaving. However, if the change is required for safety reasons, the airline does not have to pay.
Canadian Transport Agency (CTA) , a quasi-judicial federal agency body says treating staff shortages as a safety issue violates federal regulations.
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“Where the crew shortage is due to the actions or omissions of the airline, the disruption is considered to be under the control of the airline for the purposes of the APPR. If it is the airline that caused the safety issue as a result of its actions, the disruption caused by the crew shortage should not be considered ``necessary for safety reasons,'' the agency said in an email.
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This stance was taken three weeks before Farrell learned that compensation was denied 7 It corroborates the decision made on 8th May. I used almost the same words in a dispute over a flight with another airline. The Regulatory Commission ruling in that case highlighted the obligations of airlines to plan ahead to "ensure that they have sufficient staff to operate the services they sell."
COVID- In a December memo issued at the height of the Omicron wave on 19, Air Canada said:
"Customers affected by these flight cancellations are entitled to standard medical care, including hotel accommodation and meals, but are not eligible for APPR claims or financial compensation.
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According to staff instructions, it will be "temporary." However, Air Canada said in his July 25 email that "in view of the continuing exceptional circumstances brought on by the COVID variant, the policy will continue to apply." Admitted.
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He said Gabor Lukacs, chairman of the Air Passenger Rights Charter, said Air Canada is a loophole in the Passenger Rights Charter. He said that he used to avoid paying compensation. , and called on transportation regulators for stronger enforcement.
"They misclassify something that is clearly not a safety issue," he said of Canada's largest airline, calling its policy "horrible."
Consumers can dispute an airline's claim denial by complying with the CTA. However, the agency's backlog exceeded 15,300 air travel complaints as of May. It said it has not ruled out safety reasons from situations requiring compensation.Payments are only ruled out as a result of "extraordinary circumstances" such as weather or political instability.
"This document, along with previous declarations and actions since the pandemic began, confirms that Air Canada's priority is to limit the cost of flight cancellations, not to provide good service to its customers. It clearly shows that it is trying to do so,” said Sylvie de Bellefeuille, an attorney at the Quebec-based advocacy group Option Consomatuaire, after reviewing a copy of the order. , said:
She said Air Canada aims to discourage passengers from claiming compensation in the first place.
Air Canada disagrees with that characterization.
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"Air Canada is hiring more employees in proportion to flight schedules compared to pre-pandemic. We had and continue to do so," the company said in a statement. We emailed a statement, indicating that we had done everything we could to prepare for operational issues.
“Air Canada follows all public health directives as part of our safety culture. We have revised our policy to better support you: Please be mindful of flight cancellations related to crew battling COVID.”
John Gladek, Director of Aviation Management Programs at McGill University He said transportation was partly to blame for the "catastrophe" as it enacted looser rules than Europe and the US.
"To mitigate liability, carriers are focused on blaming and claiming delays are beyond their control," he said. said in an email.
© 2022 The Canadian Press
