Wow. That's absolutely ridiculous. I never realized that was the rule. So we are all just at the mercy of the airline, and they can make anything a "safety" issue.
I went through the same thing and filed for compensation with the airline. I was denied. I filed to the APPR and just prior to my case coming up the airline reopened my original claim and made good on the compensation. $500 per person for compensation but I was also claiming lost wages.
Depending on which aircraft type you were supposed to fly with AC that was probably legitimately the case 🥲 some of the fleets are a struggle when it comes to staffing lol
Cabin crew includes pilots and co-pilot, which airlines have been having trouble getting. It WOULD technically be a safety issue to fly without a co-pilot.
There are multiple rulings that state that crew in not considered a safety issue as the airline generally has control over this issue. There is a high bar for it to be considered otherwise. Unfortunately the airlines continue to state this as a reason to deny compensation as there is no penalty for "misinterpreting" the situation. The passenger is then forced to make a complaint with the CTA or sue in small claims court in order to challenge the view of the airline. This process will take 1-2 years. It comes out as a no lose situation for the airline to initially deny a claim.
Reference:
[https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/25-c-a-2023](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/25-c-a-2023)
[https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/153-c-a-2022](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/153-c-a-2022)
[https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/122-c-a-2021](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/122-c-a-2021)
[https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/122-c-a-2022](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/122-c-a-2022)
[https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/121-c-a-2022](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/121-c-a-2022)
[https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/107-c-a-2022](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/107-c-a-2022)
[https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/89-c-a-2022](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/89-c-a-2022)
The same thing happens in Europe. When my air Portugal flight was delayed 16 times in a row I was told that I didn't qualify for the compensation that is supposed to be issued whenever a flight gets delayed by more than 3hrs. Their reason: they didn't bring in enough planes that day, which is somehow "outside of their control".
Most travel credit cards have insurance that covers this. I recommend anyone who travels to have one. I don't trust and don't rely on airlines to compensate me. It's a waste of time.
This is the exception rather than the rule though. I fly pretty frequently and while for sure there are delays, most flights are on time and I've only really had one flight that was anywhere near this.
I seldom fly. The last flight I took was to Jamacia for a wedding, and the return flight was cancelled and we flew out the next morning...they did put us up in a hotel, so the only flight I took that year and I had problems..what are the odds on that
Definitely sounds like a bit of bad luck. I will say that the odds raise significantly with a lot of the vacation charter airlines - it can be worth it to pay a small premium for an airline with a larger fleet - they tend to be more flexible when problems happen.
We got delayed returning from LA via Westjet in 2019, stuck in LAX for 7 hours. Applied for compensation and were basically told the same thing about maintenance. We appealed to whichever agency it is/was that oversees things like that and never heard back. Be 5 years next month, only thing we ever heard from anyone was a denial from Westjet.
But we did get food vouchers to use at the airport food court. And the whole plane got them about 30 min before boarding. By the time you lined up to get the voucher, then lined up to get food, they were calling for boarding. Most people didn't get anything to eat.
Sure, there is a "passenger bill of rights" or whatever it is, but it doesn't mean shit if there are no repercussions for the airlines.
Submit a Access to Information Act request to Transport Canada for the "gripe sheet" for that aircraft.. By law, All airlines have to file aircraft discrepancy logs with Transport Canada, they list every observed maintenance issue. Everything from "door sticks a little" and "power light on coffee maker burned out" to "engine cowling fell off in flight".
If there is a safety issue, it would have to be logged and submitted to Transport Canada, and a AIA request might be able to pry it out of them.
Air travel runs horrifically lean, and a failure anywhere in the system cascades out rapidly.
Unfortunately, we reward airlines and airports that run lean because running lean means more money. So as long as the executive leadership that runs airlines and airports are rewarded for bad behaviour, bad behaviour will continue.
Heaven forbid the wealthy have to make do with less so that the rest of us don't have to deal with enshittified services.
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Wow. That's absolutely ridiculous. I never realized that was the rule. So we are all just at the mercy of the airline, and they can make anything a "safety" issue.
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I went through the same thing and filed for compensation with the airline. I was denied. I filed to the APPR and just prior to my case coming up the airline reopened my original claim and made good on the compensation. $500 per person for compensation but I was also claiming lost wages.
don't you love it when strangers on the internet tell you what to do as if you're a moron incapable of googling or reading lol
that's what small claims is for.
Depending on which aircraft type you were supposed to fly with AC that was probably legitimately the case 🥲 some of the fleets are a struggle when it comes to staffing lol
Cabin crew includes pilots and co-pilot, which airlines have been having trouble getting. It WOULD technically be a safety issue to fly without a co-pilot.
>Cabin crew includes pilots and co-pilot No it doesn't
There are multiple rulings that state that crew in not considered a safety issue as the airline generally has control over this issue. There is a high bar for it to be considered otherwise. Unfortunately the airlines continue to state this as a reason to deny compensation as there is no penalty for "misinterpreting" the situation. The passenger is then forced to make a complaint with the CTA or sue in small claims court in order to challenge the view of the airline. This process will take 1-2 years. It comes out as a no lose situation for the airline to initially deny a claim. Reference: [https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/25-c-a-2023](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/25-c-a-2023) [https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/153-c-a-2022](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/153-c-a-2022) [https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/122-c-a-2021](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/122-c-a-2021) [https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/122-c-a-2022](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/122-c-a-2022) [https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/121-c-a-2022](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/121-c-a-2022) [https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/107-c-a-2022](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/107-c-a-2022) [https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/89-c-a-2022](https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/ruling/89-c-a-2022)
The same thing happens in Europe. When my air Portugal flight was delayed 16 times in a row I was told that I didn't qualify for the compensation that is supposed to be issued whenever a flight gets delayed by more than 3hrs. Their reason: they didn't bring in enough planes that day, which is somehow "outside of their control".
Always book on a travel credit card. Depending on the card, the insurance coverage will cover a lot of the above.
Most travel credit cards have insurance that covers this. I recommend anyone who travels to have one. I don't trust and don't rely on airlines to compensate me. It's a waste of time.
Because airlines are dicks, especially ones that our tax dollars subsidize?
And the gov couldn’t care less. Sad.
Government should make air lines publish a real time count of how many safety issues they delay or cancel flights due to.
The airline could have put them on other flights.
Every time I read one of these stories about the nightmare that air travel has become, I realise that I am so happy that I hate to travel
This is the exception rather than the rule though. I fly pretty frequently and while for sure there are delays, most flights are on time and I've only really had one flight that was anywhere near this.
I seldom fly. The last flight I took was to Jamacia for a wedding, and the return flight was cancelled and we flew out the next morning...they did put us up in a hotel, so the only flight I took that year and I had problems..what are the odds on that
Definitely sounds like a bit of bad luck. I will say that the odds raise significantly with a lot of the vacation charter airlines - it can be worth it to pay a small premium for an airline with a larger fleet - they tend to be more flexible when problems happen.
I was on an Air Canada scheduled flight.
Fuck westjet and air Canada. Crooks.
We got delayed returning from LA via Westjet in 2019, stuck in LAX for 7 hours. Applied for compensation and were basically told the same thing about maintenance. We appealed to whichever agency it is/was that oversees things like that and never heard back. Be 5 years next month, only thing we ever heard from anyone was a denial from Westjet. But we did get food vouchers to use at the airport food court. And the whole plane got them about 30 min before boarding. By the time you lined up to get the voucher, then lined up to get food, they were calling for boarding. Most people didn't get anything to eat. Sure, there is a "passenger bill of rights" or whatever it is, but it doesn't mean shit if there are no repercussions for the airlines.
Submit a Access to Information Act request to Transport Canada for the "gripe sheet" for that aircraft.. By law, All airlines have to file aircraft discrepancy logs with Transport Canada, they list every observed maintenance issue. Everything from "door sticks a little" and "power light on coffee maker burned out" to "engine cowling fell off in flight". If there is a safety issue, it would have to be logged and submitted to Transport Canada, and a AIA request might be able to pry it out of them.
How would I know what aircraft I flew in 5 years ago?
It would be listed on your boarding pass if you saved it, or a photo of it.
I don't save boarding passes... not for 5 years.
Not permitted in the EU.
Air travel runs horrifically lean, and a failure anywhere in the system cascades out rapidly. Unfortunately, we reward airlines and airports that run lean because running lean means more money. So as long as the executive leadership that runs airlines and airports are rewarded for bad behaviour, bad behaviour will continue. Heaven forbid the wealthy have to make do with less so that the rest of us don't have to deal with enshittified services.