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UPDATE: On Nov. 26, 2020 a judge ruled that the proposed COVID-19 Canadian airline ticket refund class action lawsuit is outside the Federal Court’s jurisdiction. Even though air travel is reportedly within the scope of federal responsibility, the court struck the Plaintiff’s statement of claim out without leave to amend. The court however, did not weigh in on the COVID-19 flight refund issue itself.
The defendants argued that “it is plain and obvious that the Federal Court has no jurisdiction in this matter.” The judge agreed, ruling that the claim was more of a contractual dispute. This means the proposed class action lawsuit will need to be heard in provincial courts to, potentially, be certified.
Top Class Actions will continue to update this COVID-19 Canadian airline ticket refund class action lawsuit as updates become available. Click on the “Follow Article” at the top of this page to get the latest updates about this proposed class action lawsuit by using your free Top Class Actions account. For the latest updates, keep checking ca.TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter.
Five Canadian airlines have been hit with a class action lawsuit seeking refunds on behalf of passengers who can no longer use the airline tickets they purchased due to COVID-19 travel advisories imposed by the Canadian government.
Plaintiff Janet Donaldson filed the COVID-19 plane ticket refund class action lawsuit against Swoop Inc., WestJet Airlines Ltd., Air Canada, Air Transat A.T. Inc., and Sunwing Airlines Inc.
“This is a consumer protection class action seeking to enforce each passengers’ rights to a refund for monies paid for their air tickets, when they are not able to travel for reasons outside of the control of the passengers,” the Canadian airline ticket refund class action lawsuit states.
Janet says she used Expedia in January to book a round-trip ticket with WestJet to travel from Vancouver to New York on April 17 and return on April 23. She says she paid $361.39 for the flight, at which time she entered into a Contract of Carriage with WestJet.
According to the COVID-19 Canadian airline refund class action lawsuit, the Class Members all entered into a Contract of Carriage with one of the airline defendants that included an express and/or implied term providing the right to a refund in circumstances outside of the Class Members’ control.
On March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic due to the highly contagious nature of the virus. Two days later, the Government of Canada issued a travel advisory against non-essential travel outside of Canada and restricting the entry of foreign nationals into Canada. Individuals were also advised to stay home unless it is absolutely necessary to leave.
Janet says she, along with the other potential Class Members, complied with the Government of Canada’s guidance and did not embark on their airline travel plans that they booked before March 11.
Airlines also took initiative and cancelled and/or suspended numerous flights to account for the much lower demand for air travel, the COVID-19 airline ticket refund class action lawsuit alleges.
“Regardless whether the flights were cancelled/suspended by the Defendants, or the Class Members adhering to the Declaration to not commence their itineraries, all of the Defendants failed to provide the Class Members with refunds of the monies they paid to a Defendant under their respective Contracts of Carriage,” according to the COVID-19 Canadian airline ticket refund class action lawsuit.
Janet alleges the defendants implemented new policies that would allow them to keep Class Members’ money and offer travel credits instead of a refund. She says the airlines are essentially forcing Class Members to “forego their fundamental right to a refund” and instead spend their money to purchase future travel with the same airline, even though the Class Members may not wish to book a trip with that airline in the future.
Janet filed the Canadian airline ticket refund lawsuit on behalf of herself and a proposed Class consisting of anyone who entered into a Contract of Carriage with any of the airline defendants for travel on a flight scheduled between March 13, 2020 and the date the Government of Canada withdraws its COVID-19 travel advisories, and who has not received a refund.
The COVID-19 airline ticket refund lawsuit also seeks to represent a subclass of Class Members whose flights were cancelled and/or suspended in response to the COVID-19 crisis from March 13, 2020 until May 31, 2020 for Westjet and Swoop and April 30, 2020 for Sunwing, Air Transat and Air Canada. Janet notes that these dates may be changed if the court decides to do so.
Last week, the Canadian Transportation Agency posted a “Statement on Vouchers” on its website. According to the statement, some airlines have contracts that provide for refunds in certain circumstances, “but many have clauses that airlines believe relieve them of such obligations in force majeure situations.”
The CTA concluded that it is appropriate for air carriers “to provide affected passengers with vouchers or credits for future travel, as long as these vouchers or credits do not expire in an unreasonably short period of time.”
Attorney Simon Lin notes that this CTA statement is meant to provide guidance about how to handle an unprecedented situation and is not legally binding.
The Canadian airlines ticket refund class action lawsuit is an important step toward helping travelers get refunds for their flights, but it won’t provide any immediate relief. Consumer advocates recommend contacting the airline directly to demand a refund based on the terms of the contract. If the airline fails to issue the refund, consumers may be able to dispute the charge on their credit card.
Did you buy a plane ticket that you now cannot use due to the COVID-19 travel advisories? Tell us your story in the comment section below!
Janet is represented by Me. Jérémie John Martin and Me. Sébastien A. Paquette of Champlain Avocats and Simon Lin of Evolink Law Group.
The COVID-19 Canadian Airline Ticket Class Action Lawsuit is Janet Donaldson v. Swoop Inc., et al., Case No. T-428-20, in Ontario Federal Court, Canada.
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52 thoughts onCanadian Airlines Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over COVID-19 Cancellations
Booked flight in July 2019 to travel May 2020 Air Canada cancelled the flight, all I am offered is refund of taxes of under A$200 for a flight costing A$5441.26 originally. Can’t take credit note as due to my age I cannot travel internationally next year.
Had always imagined Canadians like Australians had fair consumer rules but have now changed my mind. Only hope I have is a claim on my insurance which was purchased in July 2019 prior to Covid19 exclusions.
Have a Delta Airlines flight too but believe USA have ruled refunds will be paid.
I purchased 2 separate trips.
1 trip to San Diego at the beginning of April and the second was a trip to Memphis at the end of April.
I booked with air canada and they cancelled the flights which gave me a credit for 24months but I would prefer a refund.
Purchased four round trip tickets from Vancouver to Anchorage. Have credit good for 24 months but would prefer refund.
My wife booked a flight with Air Canada from Whitehorse to Vancouver round trip and also with Philippine Airlines from Vancouver to Manila return. She booked this flight many months in advance and a few weeks before her flight , they told her the flight was cancelled and that she would have to rebook the flight, she only had a small window to be able to rebook because she works and could not get the time off, we tried several times to rebook with Cheapo Air and they kept telling us they could not book her on the days she wanted. Finally my wife ask them for a cancellation and she went to another flight booker and got the dates she wanted . When she cancelled with Cheapo Air, they told us it would be 3 to 4 months to get a refund, it has now been over 4 months and they keep telling us to wait. This all happened before the Corona Virus came around. No one should have to wait this long for a refund, my wife had to borrow money to be able to take the second flight and still owes that money.
CANCELLED return flight from lima to edmonton canada virtually locking us in here as no refund seems to be coming or punitive damages for the stress and unknowing when our flight will be forthcoming, only tickets available has been to toronto at 5 times the normal cost with the embassy lottery seats but hard to get anyway, would like full refund of airfare and punitive damages which apply here for all the extra costs and unprofessional behaviour from air canada on this to say the least, if someone in my family is ill or dies because of this,………. heaven help us
My wife and I had booked a trip to Singapore for April 13 2020. A flight has been cancelled on us twice now, first because many people had cancelled their flight so the airline didn’t have enough people on that flight to justify flying, we altered our trip to go through a different connecting city but were told by Expedia (whom we booked through) that in cases when the airline cancels a flight on us we could get a refund. Our newly booked flight went on to get cancelled as well but we were advised to contact the airlines/Expedia on a date closer to our actual trip because the call traffic was very high. Now we are only being offered travel credit as opposed to our refund and we definately want our money back.
I booked a trip to Mexico via Swoop for April 8. They canceled the flight but issued a credit that I can use for 24 months. I’ve emailed them about it And asked for an actually refund to the original form of payment and was told that as an ultra low cost company I should be happy that they even did that… very frustrating.
I now have two trips cancelled,
By chance this year two close couples we know decided to go on destination weddings. We usually only do one trip per year but saved up a long time to do both this year. One Mar 30 with sunwing and the other May 1 with Air Canada. Both have cancelled and keep telling me they will only give me a travel credit voucher! This is very frustrating, we may never be able to book vacations due to the health care and military services we provide per our careers. We have no guarantee our Employers will ever accept any future Vac bookings exactly when we want them. Just need to know how do I join the suit,?
I booked a ticket to Germany at the beginning of the year and was scheduled to fly at the end of March. Air Canada was swamped and could not take customer calls but did advertise a “credit” that customers could get if they cancelled their flights. I did this but was never issued any credits even though I have screenshots of the process where it promises such reimbursement. Now, Air Canada refuses to respond to any of my inquiries. They also cancelled this flight so I would not have been able to take it even if I didn’t cancel.
My wife and I booked a trip to Las Vegas with Expedia in January 2020 and the trip was to be taken on March 31, 2020 to April 5th, 2020. We paid for the flight “in full”, as required, to Expedia and we receive a notice from Air Canada (and Expedia) that our flight was cancelled indefinitely. I requested a refund from Expedia and I was told that the airlines were refusing to refund any monetary value but “MAY” (nothing yet) issue some form of voucher for later use. I have been in touch with Expedia, and Air Canada several times. but so far to no avail. I would be willing to forego a small portion of my tickets in order to receive a cash refund as we have no idea when we will be able to fly again and even if Air Canada is able to fly, there is no assurance that we will be allowed to use these vouchers to get back into the U.S any time soon? Thank you for your time and attention.
Me and my partner, back in December 2019, booked a dream vacation to Japan for April 2020, the 6th through the 16th.
Our flight would have taken us from Florida to Canada with a 3 hour layover and then into Tokyo. When this whole thing started, they changed our layover to be 15 hours long. To me, that alone is a significant change, and not what I paid for. I specifically chose a flight with a shorter layover so we could spend the most time in Japan.
Then all the borders closed and we were no longer able to get into Japan. Florida is in a safer-at-home.
Air Canada refused to refund us any money. They never even called or emailed to tell us our flight was canceled. It just vanished from the website.
When I spoke to someone about this they said they wouldn’t give any one refunds because it would cause them to go bankrupt.
Well, I’m out of a job because I’m non essential, and they are holding onto money that would be used for groceries or medical bills.
Not cool Air Canada… Not cool…