Air Canada is revising its cancellation policy amid mounting customer frustration, offering travellers the option of a voucher with no expiration date or Aeroplan points if the airline cancels their flight due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline says the new policy B次元官网网址� the previous one capped travel vouchers at 24 months, with no Aeroplan option B次元官网网址� applies to non-refundable tickets issued up to the end of June, with an original travel date between March 1 and June 30.
Air CanadaB次元官网网址檚 fresh tack comes as consumer advocates and thousands of passengers continue to demand their money back for services they paid for but have not received.
Three petitions with more than 89,000 signatures are calling for full refunds to be implemented before financial aid is handed out to airlines, two of which were presented to the House of Commons over the past 11 days.
Cathy Maltese, who was booked on an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Orlando, Fla., over the March break with her three children, said she is B次元官网网址渆xtremely disappointedB次元官网网址� with how the airline has treated customers.
B次元官网网址淎t least now my family has the option of travelling when it is safe again and donB次元官网网址檛 have to worry about the time running out for us,B次元官网网址� Maltese said in an email.
B次元官网网址淭o garner trust and respect again, they also have to give customers the option of a refund. There are many families struggling right now to put food on the table,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲hy should they lose that money?B次元官网网址�
Air Canada said it has refunded nearly $1 billion to customers since Jan. 1, largely to travellers who paid for refundable tickets.
B次元官网网址淲hile the world is making great progress against COVID-19, we know we must remain vigilant, which includes being flexible,B次元官网网址� chief commercial officer Lucie Guillemette said in a release Friday.
The loyalty points option allows customers to convert their booking into Aeroplan miles B次元官网网址渁nd get an additional 65 per cent bonus miles,B次元官网网址� she said.
Toronto resident Bob Scott, who launched a petition presented to Parliament last week by Liberal MP Yasmin Ratansi, said passengers are B次元官网网址渂ecoming increasingly angry at what they see as the governmentB次元官网网址檚 complicity in the daylight robbery being committed by the airlines.B次元官网网址�
Canada is out of step with the United States and the European Union, he noted, where officials have ordered airlines to reimburse customers for cancelled flights. The Canadian Transportation Agency chalks up the difference to U.S. and EU legislation establishing a B次元官网网址渕inimum obligationB次元官网网址� to refund that Canada lacks.
None of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 major airlines touts policies offering to return cash to passengers for the hundreds of thousands of flight cancellations since mid-March, opting instead for vouchers B次元官网网址� typically with a timeline of two years.
Pressed on the issue Thursday at his daily media conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government needs to have B次元官网网址渟ome very careful discussions with airlinesB次元官网网址� as well as Canadians to maintain a balance where travellers are B次元官网网址渢reated fairlyB次元官网网址� and the sector stays intact.
Passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs said the law requires airlines to refund customers, adding that fares may well go up in the coming year, reducing the value of travel credits.
B次元官网网址淎ir Canada continues to skirt its obligations to refund the approximately $2.6 billion dollars it owes to passengers,B次元官网网址� Lukacs said in an email.
Airlines have been sending repatriation flights and offering customers vouchers, but typically they advertise no refund policies for cancelled routes.
WestJetB次元官网网址檚 website highlights future travel credit for cancelled flights, but says: B次元官网网址淲e are not processing refunds to original form of payment at this time.B次元官网网址�
The disclaimer comes despite the companyB次元官网网址檚 tariff B次元官网网址� the contract between airline and passenger B次元官网网址� which states that B次元官网网址渢he unused portion of the passengerB次元官网网址檚 ticket(s) will be refundedB次元官网网址� in the same form as it was purchased, B次元官网网址渟hould the alternate transportation proposed by the carrier not meet the passengerB次元官网网址檚 satisfaction.B次元官网网址�
On Friday, Air Canada also said it will bolster its summer schedule, which nonetheless remains more than 50 per cent smaller than last year as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pound the airline industry.
The 97 destinations compare with 220 last summer but mark an improvement from the past six weeks, when 95 per cent of its flights were still suspended.
Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press
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