Canceled flights | “It’s not fun to lend money to Transat”

Citing pandemic uncertainty, Transat AT is withdrawing from certain destinations, forcing its affected customers to wait up to three months before getting their money back. Passenger rights advocates question whether these refunds comply with federal rules.

Julien arsenault
Press

Madeleine Lévesque believed she had found a bargain by booking, on August 31, at a unit cost of approximately $ 500, two return tickets between Montreal and Vancouver for the ski trip she was to take with her spouse as of February 10 next.

However, her plans changed on October 7 when she learned that her flight was canceled by Air Transat, which, by email, attributed its decision to “the uncertainty surrounding the maintenance of travel restrictions.” The wait for the refund could be as long as 12 weeks, the message warned. Press viewed the email.

Up to 1^er May there are no more flights from Montreal to Vancouver. M^me Lévesque turned to Air Canada to book two more tickets, but the unit price had doubled to around $ 1,000.

Less publicized, these cancellations occur while Transat AT is pushing for the relaunch of its activities. Over the past week, the company has enhanced its flight offer for the summer as well as a direct link between Quebec and London as of May 11.

In an email, the Office de la protection du consommateur indicated that the Consumer Protection Act “Does not specify a time limit for reimbursing a consumer, in the event that a carrier cancels his contract”. The government body has not commented on the delay of up to 12 weeks.

Rules followed?

The message sent by Air Transat only mentioned the refund option. However, the provisions of Air Passenger Protection Regulations provide that in the event of a cancellation attributable to the carrier, the carrier must offer “alternative travel arrangements so that passengers can complete their planned itinerary as soon as possible”.

These options may include a different route or rerouting on the wings of another airline. If these arrangements “do not meet the passenger’s needs”, reimbursement will apply.

“It seems reasonable to argue that under the Regulations, the carrier must first offer alternative flight arrangements,” said Yahia Belhaddad, attorney at Late Flight. In other words, it seems to me that the company can only offer the refund without going through the alternative arrangements first. ”

Consult the Air Passenger Protection Regulations

The president and general manager of the Late Flight company, Jacob Charbonneau, believes that this file should end up before the Canadian Transportation Agency (OTC) in order “to obtain a judgment that would set a precedent”.

In his remarks, M^e Belhaddad also stressed that, given the absence of decisions from the OTC, a vagueness persisted. The Regulations have been in effect since December 2019.

Maribelle Provost found herself in the same situation after paying, at the end of September, some $ 500 for a return trip to Roatán (Honduras), with a departure scheduled for January 20. Shortly after, she also received an email informing her that Air Transat was canceling its flights for the winter.

M’s stay^me Provost, who ended up buying a ticket from Sunwing, will cost him an additional $ 400.

“I had already paid for diving packages and accommodation,” she recounts, on the phone. I couldn’t cancel. It is not fun to lend money to Transat. This is the feeling I have. “

M^me Provost isn’t the only one who thinks this way. On social networks, several followers of Roatán deplored the cancellation of their flight by Air Transat, which turned their plans upside down. The wait for refunds was also strongly criticized.

Honduras and Vancouver were on the list of destinations for the “winter 2021-2022” program presented by Transat AT last June.

On the backs of travelers

Despite several requests made by Press, it was not possible to conduct an interview with representatives of Transat AT Her spokesperson, Debbie Cabana, indicated, by email, that the delays were attributable “to the context of the pandemic and the overall volume of reimbursements to to treat “.

“Customers whose flight has been canceled and who want reprotection or an alternative can get it,” she wrote.

M^my Lévesque and Provost said they were never informed of any options other than reimbursement. Asked, M^me Cabana replied that she could “not add more details to the information which [n]u [avaient] already communicated ”.

For Gábor Lukács, lawyer specializing in passenger rights and founder of the Passenger Rights website, Transat AT “sabotages” federal regulations by doing so.

The Late Flight executive also laments that airlines are slow to hand over money to their customers.

“We saw this during the pandemic,” he recalls. We continued to sell tickets knowing that we would cancel flights. These are millions at 0% interest. It saves a lot of money. “

MM. Lukács and Charbonneau say they have not seen similar situations with other airlines. Policies vary from company to company.

At Air Canada, for example, it is indicated that in the event of cancellation, reimbursement is provided if it is impossible to find a seat in another aircraft or by adding a connection to the planned route.

“What is written seems correct,” says Lukács. Is this what Air Canada is doing? This is another question. “

The lawyer said he received complaints from Air Canada customers who were having difficulty convincing the company to redirect them to another company in the event of cancellation.