Lai v. Air Canada, 2023 BCCRT 772

Does this apply to you?

This case applies if the airline says your delay was a "knock-on" from an earlier problem it did not cause. The tribunal held that the airline must prove it took all reasonable steps to limit the knock-on. It also applies if your checked bag was lost for 21 days or more, or if your insurer paid part of your costs.

What happened

Chik Lai flew Air Canada from Vancouver to Edinburgh through Toronto on 28 June 2022, with two family members. The Vancouver to Toronto flight was fine. The Toronto to Edinburgh flight, AC806, left almost five hours late and arrived 4 hours and 40 minutes late. His checked bag did not arrive. He got it back on 22 July, 24 days later.

Air Canada refused his claims. He went to the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) for $1,200 in APPR compensation for three passengers, $95 for a baggage fee, and $715 in expenses while his bag was missing.

What Air Canada argued

Air Canada said the delay was a knock-on from two earlier events outside its control. The aircraft's first flight that day was held 2 hours and 10 minutes by a US Customs backlog in Toronto. Its next flight then arrived late from Los Angeles, and the Toronto airport authority ordered a customs hold that kept passengers on board for about 90 more minutes. Air Canada filed its internal Netline flight logs to prove the timing.

On the bag, Air Canada agreed the expenses were reasonable but said any insurance payment should be deducted. It said it had never charged a baggage fee.

What the tribunal decided

The logs were reliable. Mr. Lai said the Netline records were Air Canada's own documents and could not be trusted. The tribunal disagreed. The times could be checked against airport records, so Air Canada had no reason to falsify them. The first two delays were outside Air Canada's control.

But Air Canada had to prove mitigation. Section 10(2) of the APPR says a knock-on delay is only outside the airline's control if the airline took all reasonable measures to limit the impact of the earlier delay. The tribunal applied the Canadian Transportation Agency's Decision 122-C-A-2021. Air Canada knew at 10:12 am that the aircraft was running late. AC806 did not leave until after midnight. That gave Air Canada more than ten hours in Toronto, Canada's largest city, to find another aircraft or crew. Air Canada gave no evidence that it tried, or that it could not. The tribunal held that the airline is in the best position to explain its mitigation efforts, so the burden falls on it. Without evidence, the delay was treated as within Air Canada's control.

$400, for one passenger. Under section 19(1)(a)(i), a large airline owes $400 for an arrival delay of three to six hours. The tribunal followed Mohamed v. Air Canada, 2023 BCCRT 661: compensation belongs to each passenger, so Mr. Lai could not claim for his family. They could claim on their own.

$715 for the bag, with no insurance deduction. Section 23(1) of the APPR covers bags lost for 21 days or more. Air Canada had agreed the expenses were reasonable. The tribunal refused to deduct the $100 the insurer paid. Under the Supreme Court's decision in Cunningham v. Wheeler, a wrongdoer does not benefit from the victim's insurance.

No baggage fee refund. Air Canada's records showed no fee was charged, and its tariff gives one free checked bag on flights to Europe.

Air Canada was ordered to pay $1,115 in damages, $42.18 in interest, and $62.50 in tribunal fees, a total of $1,219.68.

Why this matters

• "Knock-on delay" is not a free pass. The airline must show what it did to limit the damage from the earlier problem, and it carries the burden of proof.
• The bigger the airport and the longer the warning, the more the tribunal expects the airline to find another aircraft or crew.
• If your insurer covered part of your baggage costs, the airline still owes the full amount.
• Each passenger must claim for themselves, even within one family.

The details