Case Library

Passengers can sue for APPR compensation at the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal. The Canadian Transportation Agency does not have the only say. But a 72-hour pilot strike notice is a labour disruption, so these passengers got no compensation.

WestJet agreed at the hearing to refund the tickets and pay $1,000 to each passenger, and the court ordered it. The court refused punitive damages, but it ruled that the Montreal Convention does not apply when the passengers never flew, so the Convention's ban on punitive damages was not the reason.

The secrecy rule for Agency complaint decisions breaks the Charter guarantee of freedom of expression. Decisions and orders of Complaint Resolution Officers must be open to the public, and only mediation records stay confidential.

Porter refused to board a passenger over missing birth dates that its codeshare partner had not passed on, and its own staff then failed to follow the fix procedure. The tribunal found Porter negligent even without a contract and ordered it to pay for the replacement flight.

A passenger who books through a travel agent has her contract with the agent, not the airline. WestJet was right to send her back to RBC for a date change, and she could not prove RBC was unable to fix it, so her claim for a replacement flight was dismissed.

Air Canada paid the full $1,785.95 lost-bag claim after the passengers filed at the tribunal, so the tribunal dismissed the claim as moot. It still called the passengers the successful party and ordered Air Canada to repay their $138.22 in fees and expenses.

Air Canada won a judicial review of a $2,079.72 delayed baggage award because the complaint officer never explained why purchases made after the bag arrived were linked to the delay. The Federal Court confirmed it can review Complaint Resolution Officer orders and sent the claim back to a different officer.

A landing gear fault found by the crew before departure was a safety cancellation, and the next flight cancelled because of it was treated as a safety cancellation too. The passenger got no APPR compensation, and the tribunal said it cannot award money for a poor explanation of a denied claim.

A strike notice is a labour disruption outside the airline's control, so no APPR compensation. But taking a refund did not stop the passengers from claiming their extra costs under the Montreal Convention.

Air Canada's check-in agents set off a chain of phone calls that got a family's valid Canadian visas cancelled while they stood at the counter, and the family was stuck in Panama for 33 days. Air Canada could not prove its agents took all reasonable measures to avoid the delay, so it owed the family's proven hotel and living costs under the Montreal Convention.

The airlines tried to strike down APPR compensation for international flights. They said the Montreal Convention is the only law that applies. The Supreme Court disagreed: APPR compensation is a fixed consumer entitlement, not a damages claim, so both laws stand together.

WestJet's computer cancelled the passengers' boarding passes for a tight connection before they landed, and they missed a flight that left with empty seats. The court said the automatic cancellation, not the earlier de-icing delay, caused the 16-hour delay, so it was within WestJet's control and each passenger got $1,000.

When a flight is delayed for several reasons, the tribunal looks for the most significant one. Here it was the December 2022 Vancouver snowstorm, so no compensation. Only the passenger, not the ticket buyer, can claim.

A weather cancellation does not protect the airline when the replacement flight is late for its own reason. The court looked at the rebooked flight on its own: a 3.5-hour crew delay meant $400 for each passenger.

A delay caused by an earlier delay is only outside the airline's control if the airline proves it took all reasonable steps to limit the knock-on. Air Canada had ten hours in Toronto and filed no evidence, so it paid $400. It also paid $715 for a bag lost for 24 days.