Frustrated Air Canada passenger still waiting for refund post-strike

The wait continues for tens of thousands of people across the country following a national Air Canada strike nearly two months ago.

It was mid-August when roughly 10,000 unionized flight attendants walked off the job in a labour dispute with their employer. The move brought flights to a halt and disrupted the travel plans of thousands more people.

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1130 NewsRadio spoke with one man, based in Prince Edward Island, who wished to remain unnamed because he’s a frequent customer with Air Canada.

He had a work-related flight booked to Edmonton for Aug. 17 — right in the middle of the strike. It was cancelled the night before, and he had to book another flight the following week, which he says was more expensive than the original one.

“They sent me a notification saying, ‘Hey, your flight is cancelled. We looked at over 120 airlines, and we have nothing to offer you.'”

Under rules set out by the Canadian Transportation Agency’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations, “When a flight is cancelled, or once a delay reaches 3 hours, an airline must also offer alternate travel arrangements in the same class of service and using a reasonable route. The airline must rebook the passenger on the next available flight operated by them or an airline with which they have a commercial agreement.”

The passenger says he lost a week’s worth of wages and the cost of the hotel room he had booked. In total, he’s waiting to be refunded roughly $2,000.

“I was kind of hoping to be able to put a claim in for lost work hours, but that’s not an option on their claim page.”

Living in P.E.I., he says there were few airlines offering flights. He says he checked WestJet, Porter and Flair.

“There was only one flight available, and I think it was with United Airlines, and I had to fly into Denver and then back up to the West Coast of Canada. It was also $2,400, one way.”

Beyond inconvenient, the flight would have been more expensive than the usual $1,400 to $1,600 he pays to go to Alberta.

“I understand they can’t please everybody… but when it comes to an actual claim, you should be able to actually talk to somebody.”

Any communication or updates he’s received from the airline have been via automated messages — he has yet to speak to an actual person.

“I just get an automated message from the customer service line, and it just basically states, ‘We have your claim. It’s under review.’ And it’s taking longer than they anticipated. Everything is automated. You don’t get to speak to anyone in real-time. I understand they can’t please everybody… but when it comes to an actual claim, you should be able to actually talk to somebody.”

He admits he’s frustrated but not surprised.

“I just feel that it’s going to drag on, and then I’ll just get the message saying, ‘Your claims were denied,’ and then I have to do it all over again to try and dispute it. It’ll be another four to six to eight weeks, because that’s happened to me in the past. I’m confident I’ll get a response, but I’m not feeling confident they’ll classify me as somebody who is eligible for the money… then I’ll have to go do the second line of disputes, because you can dispute a dispute.”

He says he’s been a long-time customer of Air Canada, and because flights out of P.E.I. are limited, he has next to no other options.

“It’s frustrating because the amount of money that you do spend with the company. I think my total bill each year is over $20,000 with Air Canada, just travelling for work. You’d think you get a little bit better response, or they would hire more people to complete all these claims and get it over and done with.”

He’s advising anyone who encounters flight issues to keep records, including screenshots, to help with a potential fight for an expense claim.

As of Oct. 1, Air Canada has nearly 49,000 open claims — with most of them having been active for more than a month.