Tech firm estimates Air Canada owes passengers $66M+ for disruptions & lost time

Passengers of Air Canada whose travel was disrupted by last month’s flight attendant strike are estimated to be owed more than $66 million in compensation for lost time and inconvenience, according to a Toronto-based aviation technology company.

This amount is in addition to any refunds or rebookings the airline may owe.

Data shared with The Globe and Mail by airfairness—a company that assesses passenger eligibility for compensation using commercial aviation data—indicates that nearly 54,000 travellers could be entitled to around $52 million under European Union regulations for labour-related disruptions occurring between Aug. 13 and Aug. 22.

An additional 15,204 passengers could receive compensation under U.K. regulations, amounting to approximately $14.8 million, according to estimates from airfairness, the Globe reports.

Overall, their data indicates that 3,292 flights were cancelled globally during the period studied. The European Union and the U.K. are among the few regions that provide air passenger compensation for labour-related disruptions.

Compensation is distinct from refunds or expense reimbursements, the Globe points out.

While reimbursements cover out-of-pocket costs and refunds return the price of tickets and related purchases, compensation is an extra payment for the inconvenience, time lost, and disruption caused by a flight interruption.

Airfairness reports that roughly 551,697 passengers were affected by Air Canada’s labour disruptions, which started when the airline began pre-emptively cancelling flights following a strike notice from the flight attendants’ union and continued until most services resumed on Aug. 22.

“It is Air Canada’s policy to abide all regulations in the jurisdictions where we operate at all times,” said Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick in a statement. “Because we are a publicly traded company, to the extent that we disclose costs associated with the disruption, this will occur with our regular, quarterly financial reporting.”

In the same timeframe before the labour disruptions, only 116 flights were cancelled, impacting roughly 14,500 passengers.

Estimated compensation under EU and U.K. rules for these cancellations would total about $2 million, reports say.

Most passengers eligible for compensation due to the labour disruptions fall under the European EC261 regulations and their U.K. counterpart, UK261.

Under these rules, strikes by airline staff are considered within the airline’s control, entitling passengers to compensation for their inconvenience—up to approximately $970 per person.

These regulations cover passengers travelling from the EU or the U.K., regardless of the airline. 

None of the compensation estimates provided by the firm fell under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations.

Under Canadian rules, strikes by airline staff are viewed as beyond the airline’s control. As a result, passengers impacted by such strikes are not entitled to compensation, although they are still entitled to prompt refunds or rebookings.

Flight attendants reject deal

Air Canada has fully resumed its operations after the high-profile flight attendants strike – which started August 16, and lasted nearly four days – grounded its aircraft, disrupting the flights of some 500,000 customers.

The airline has also updated its goodwill policy to reimburse customers who incurred out-of-pocket expenses for hotels, meals and transportation during the labour action. Click here for details.

Financial analysts say Air Canada faced roughly $61-million a day in lost revenue during the strike, but the full financial impact is not yet known.

Air Canada’s flight attendants recently rejected the tentative deal that ended the strike, with 99.1 per cent of members voting “No” on the wages that were proposed.

The airline and CUPE, the flight attendants' union, will now enter mediation to resolve their outstanding issues, with both sides saying that another strike is off the table.

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