Do you have questions about our editorials? Questions about hot topics in the news? Each week, the editorial team responds to readers of The Press.
I would like to know who abolished the position of referee [des voyageurs]. How long has the position existed? And finally, why was the position abolished?
Francois Martel
Canada is the poor cousin of traveler protection compared to Europe. Your reactions to our editorial from last Sunday “The arbiter of travelers is K.-O. »1 provided us with striking proof of this.
The treatment received by two readers of The Pressone traveling with Air Canada, the other with Lufthansa, couldn’t be more contrasting.
Judge for yourself…
Sylvie Fortier had a nightmare traveling to Vancouver with Air Canada in January 2020, as we told in a column recounting her misadventures2.
Snowstorm, mechanical problem, personnel problem… everything was going wrong. Mme Fortier arrived at her destination 41 hours late, having languished at the airport for two nights and spent six hours on the tarmac.
As if that weren’t enough, his claim for compensation was also an obstacle course. It was only after three years of struggle that she finally received compensation from the carrier, which reimbursed her accommodation and meal costs at the airport (around $360) and offered a travel credit. valid for a reservation until March 2023 ($800 for her and her spouse).
“I had to do several follow-ups before the settlement. If I had given up, it is certain that I would have had no news of them, ”reports Mme Fortier.
Élise-Mercier Gouin’s experience with Lufthansa is poles apart.
Last May, she traveled from Montreal to Geneva via Munich. But she missed her connection because the first part of the flight was delayed. She finally took off from Munich about four and a half hours later than planned.
On her return, she wrote to the carrier to request reimbursement for her meal, which had cost around 20 euros. She added in her email: “I don’t know if I am entitled to any other type of compensation for this delay. If so, I would appreciate receiving it. »
Guess what ? Lufthansa paid compensation of 611 euros (C$890) directly into his bank account. “I still can’t believe it, but I see that their laws really protect passengers, unlike here,” said the traveler.
She is a thousand times right.
THE Air Passenger Protection Regulationsor Travelers Charter, which came into effect in Canada in 2019, after years of waiting, is too complex and too lax.
In the event of a delay, the carrier must pay compensation ranging from $400 (more than three hours of delay) to $1,000 (more than nine hours). But he has nothing to pay if the delay was beyond his control (ex.: weather) or necessary for safety reasons beyond his control (ex.: unexpected mechanical failure), which allows him to slip too far easily.
And passengers find themselves at the mercy of the carrier when it comes to determining the cause of the delay.
Sylvie Lambert experienced this with her husband when she returned from the Dominican Republic last December. The plane landed more than three hours late, which entitled him to compensation.
But Air Transat replied that the delay was attributable to a mechanical problem, independent of the scheduled maintenance… and therefore beyond his control. She asked to see the documents. Answer: “These are internal working documents and therefore confidential. »
Without proof, how do you expect passengers to assert their rights? They have to trust the carriers with their eyes closed!
Of course, it is possible to file a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency (OTC). But there are 18 months of waiting. And the watchdog doesn’t have a lot of teeth, unlike the Air Travel Complaints Commissioner who was created in 2000… but who unfortunately disappeared.
“I would like to know who abolished the position of referee? asks François Martel.
It was Ottawa that eliminated the position in 2004, supposedly to save money, explains Liette Lacroix Kenniff, who was the last to occupy the seat. But it worked out well for the air carriers, starting with Air Canada, which had just sheltered itself from its creditors and was fighting back against this commissioner with a firm hand.
Twenty years later, we find ourselves back at square one. With travelers still poorly protected and poorly defended. Pitiful.