McCormick v. Porter Airlines (Canada) Limited, 2026 BCCRT 308

Does this apply to you?

This case applies if an airline refused to let you board because of a problem with your booking record, and the problem was not your fault. It matters most if you bought the ticket from another airline or through a travel agent, so your contract was not with the airline that turned you away. The tribunal found the operating airline still owed a duty of care and had to pay for the replacement flight.

What happened

Dawn McCormick and her friend, CS, booked a trip from Vancouver to Madrid through a travel agent. Air Transat sold the tickets. The first leg, Vancouver to Montreal, was a Porter Airlines flight sold under Air Transat's name through a codeshare agreement. It departed at 8:45 am on 7 May 2024. The second leg, Montreal to Madrid on Air Transat, departed at 11:40 pm the same day.

Ms. McCormick and CS arrived at the Porter check-in desk at 6:15 am, 150 minutes before departure. Porter's tariff recommended 120 minutes. Porter refused to check them in. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) had rejected the check-in with an error code that meant the passengers' birth dates were missing from the booking.

To make the Madrid connection, Ms. McCormick booked the next available flights. There was no direct flight to Montreal, so she booked Vancouver to Toronto and a separate Toronto to Montreal flight, on two credit cards. One credit card company reimbursed the Toronto to Montreal flights. The other refused to reimburse the Vancouver to Toronto flight. She claimed $1,783.86 for that flight at the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) and represented herself.

What the passenger argued

Ms. McCormick said the booking was correct and blamed the missing birth dates on Porter's computer issues. She said Porter's refusal to board her forced her to buy the replacement flights. She also asked for $48.38 for registered letters she sent to her travel agent, Air Transat and Porter before filing, and $100 for Wi-Fi, long-distance calls and anxiety.

What Porter argued

Porter said it properly refused to board Ms. McCormick and CS because their booking did not include their birth dates, as required. It said the travel agent caused the error, so the loss did not come from anything Porter did or failed to do. Porter also pointed out that Air Transat was the marketing carrier and Porter only operated the flight under a codeshare. The tribunal took this to mean Porter was saying Ms. McCormick had no contract with Porter to sue on. Porter was represented by its in-house counsel and asked the tribunal to dismiss the claim.

What the tribunal decided

The CRT could hear the case. On 12 December 2025 a CRT vice chair made a preliminary ruling on jurisdiction because of Air Passenger Rights v. WestJet Airlines Ltd., 2025 BCSC 2145. That court decision said claims under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) must be handled by the Canadian Transportation Agency. The vice chair found the APPR did not apply to this claim. It was a claim in breach of contract or negligence. The tribunal member agreed and took the case.

No claim in contract. Porter's screenshot of the booking confirmation showed Air Transat sold the Porter flight as an Air Transat flight. Ms. McCormick did not dispute that. Her contract was with Air Transat, not Porter, so she could not win against Porter in contract.

Porter still owed a duty of care. Courts and the CRT have found that airlines owe passengers a duty of care because of the close relationship between them. The member cited Haley v. Air Canada, 1998 CanLII 1140, and Visscher v. Air Canada, 2024 BCCRT 146. Those cases did not involve a codeshare, but the member found the duty arises independently of the contract. Porter undertook to provide a service to Ms. McCormick. It made no difference that Air Transat paid Porter rather than the passenger. Under Haley, that duty includes having adequate staff and procedures in place so passengers can board on time.

Porter breached that duty. The travel agent's passenger name record (PNR) history showed both birth dates were in the booking. Porter did not address that evidence. Porter's own internal email of 14 January 2025 said TS, the code for Air Transat, did not add the birth dates to the booking. So the error arose in the codeshare communication between the two airlines, not with the travel agent. The same email set out Porter's procedure for this exact error: a customer service representative can add the birth dates in Porter's GoNow system, save the changes in Finalize, and CBSA will then clear the passengers for check-in. The email also said the Porter representative did not save the birth dates during check-in on 7 May. Ms. McCormick had arrived 150 minutes early, so there was plenty of time to fix the problem. The member found the passengers could not board "as a direct result of Porter's failure to follow their own check-in procedure".

The loss was proven. Ms. McCormick provided her credit card statement for the Vancouver to Toronto flight. Porter did not deny any part of her account of the rebooking. The tribunal found Porter caused a loss of $1,783.86.

Some expenses were refused. There was no evidence the registered letters were necessary. There were no receipts for Wi-Fi or long-distance calls. Anxiety cannot be a dispute-related expense, and Ms. McCormick had not claimed damages for anxiety in her Dispute Notice, so it would be unfair to Porter to consider it now.

The tribunal ordered Porter to pay $1,783.86 in damages, $122.12 in pre-judgment interest from 7 May 2024, and $125 in CRT fees, a total of $2,030.98.

Why this matters

• The airline that checks you in owes you a duty of care even if you bought the ticket from a different airline under a codeshare. You do not need a contract with the operating airline to sue it for negligence.
• Not every airline claim is an APPR claim. After the 2025 BC Supreme Court ruling sent APPR claims to the Canadian Transportation Agency, the CRT can still hear a claim framed as breach of contract or negligence.
• An airline's own internal emails can prove your case. Porter's investigation showed both the true cause of the error and the procedure its staff failed to follow.
• Arrive early and keep the proof. Ms. McCormick's 150-minute arrival left Porter no excuse, and her credit card statement proved the loss.
• Claim everything in your Dispute Notice. The tribunal would not consider damages for anxiety because they were not set out from the start.

The details