Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
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.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
52 thoughts onCanadian Airlines Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over COVID-19 Cancellations
I booked a family vacation with Sunwing and purchased cancellation insurance for $4100.00
Our departure date was to be March 16. On March 13, I decided to follow the advice of the Federal Government and not travel unnecessarily. I could not get Sunwing on the phone and had to fill out a form online. I received an automated reply saying that Sunwing would contact me. 8 months later I have still not received a phone call, a letter or an email. I have repeatedly called them and was finally told I have a credit on file. There are a lot of reasons other than the Pandemic that we may not be able to travel in the time given to use that credit. This was our year to travel. On our time, not Sunwings.
Update on travel and my discussions with the Government.
I have been in touch with the Minister of Transportation’s office and the Prime Minister’s office and have been told that they are “monitoring” the situation. They “do not” want to give refunds even though we, as passengers, had to pay for these tickets (contracts, if you will) long in advance and when we did we had no idea Covid-19 would hit. I fully understand that the airlines had no way to predict a pandemic, but we, as contracted passengers, should have the right, (according to the passenger’s bill of rights, for what it’s worth) to a full refund since the airline could not fulfill its obligation and provide the service it was contacted for.
Not to be sarcastic, I also asked the Minister of Transportation: “If he, as a person (not as a Government employee), had signed an agreement to purchase a certain vehicle from a dealership, and had to put a several thousand dollar down payment, months in advance, to secure this vehicle, and for reasons beyond the dealerships control they could no longer provide this vehicle, would he consent to let them keep his money?”
This was an honest question as to what he would agree to! Would he just, out of the goodness of his heart, allow the dealership to keep his money (for about two years, because he doesn’t want them to be in financial difficulty), or would he want to cancel the contact and obtain a full refund so that he could look for an alternative solution.
No reply.
This is basically what is happening, we the customers are being held hostage by the Airlines and the Government as they don’t want you to get your money back. If you accept, in the future, to travel and have to wear a mask, in the airport, four hours before your flight, five or six hours (or more) during your flight, and when you get off you have to wear your mask, will you really want to travel?
If you have debts, due to the Pandemic, and can’t afford to travel, what good is a credit if you are unable to use it? If the airfare increases in the future (to your original destination) you will be held hostage to pay the increase or forfeit the money that you originally paid.
It’s time to get reimbursed.
My sister and I were escorting our mother to Paris Italy and England for the last time to see her sister. We booked for April 25 retuning May 10 but was canceled do to Covid.
There is little chance we will be able to do this trip as our mother is now going to AL and there is no way we can travel during a pandemic with her.
We want this money returned to her bank account as it’s the right thing to do.
We cannot use up $2100 in travel bank with in the two years given
I booked a 21 day trip with Sunwing, for a total cost of 3600, returned within 1 week, and now they are offering me a voucher for 1300 dollars, for what they call un-used hotel time. This would be the most expensive one week trip ever….. how can they get away with that? they seem to be covering their butts, and passing the loss onto the customer… I will likely join a class action suit.. once I figure out how to do it, as 1300 is nothing, now its a matter of principle.
Will you let me know if there is a suit or law for these situations? We had a similar problem.
I purchased a round trip vacation for myself and my three daughters to go to Cuba. We would have left on May 15th for 6 nights. The total amount for the trip was $4000. I am now being told by Sunwing that I am only entitled to the travel voucher, good for 2 years. Well, first of all who knows when we’ll be able to travel again and even when we can, I am not sure how comfortable we’ll feel getting on a plane or being in a busy resort.
The other aspect is that I have not received an email or phone call stating that I am receiving this credit. I called and spoke to someone at Sunwing after unsuccessfully trying to look up my cancelled trip using my booking number online but it kept saying ‘invalid’. The lady at Sunwing said she can see me on their system but that I won’t be able to access anything because my booking number is in fact ‘invalid’ because my trip had been cancelled. I told her I would feel much more comfortable getting something in writing etc. She told me to call Travelocity (who I booked through) and they should be able to send something. I still haven’t been able to talk to a ‘live’ person there..
It’s all so frustrating
People keep pestering Air Canada, Expedia and the Canadian Government, The Canadian Government is throwing $100s or millions at Air Canada, and Expedia is no better, saying that they will not refund only issue vouchers according to Air Canada’s policy . Write your MP, write Expedia, Write the Prime Minister, the Transportation Department and tell them that all of these companies need to refund the cost of your tickets before getting bailouts, as people just won’t have the money to take vacations, or get insurance in case they have to extend their stay in foreign Countries, if anything happens.
My husband and I booked an all inclusive trip with Sunwing in February to go to Punta Cana in June ( were to leave June 8th).
I asked for a complete refund as we are unable to travel now. We live in Northern Ontario on Moose Factory Island which is an isolated community. The Chief of Moose Factory is not allowing anyone leave or enter the island except for essential workers needed at the hospital here. I am an essential worker at the hospital and I cannot leave anyway. The Ontario Northland train service is also no longer running up to Moosonee which is the only way for us to leave to go down south to Cochrane ( the nearest town by rail). We cannot travel by plane from Moosonee as we have two large dogs to bring with us and they
are not allowed. Plus it is really expensive to fly out from Moosonee. We want a full refund for our $4069 dollars as we do not wish to travel anywhere out of the country now due to covid-19. Sunwing has not replied to my request for a full refund. They did send an email stating we can have up to two years to use a voucher. Like I said we decided not to leave the country at all in the future. At least while covid-19 is around. How do we get into the class action lawsuit against Sunwing? Angry, frustrated and disappointed with Sunwing!
How do I get in on this class action?
Wow, I knew I wasn’t alone. I apologize I have not read the other horror stories. We were in PV, Mexico in March 2020, on a flight booked with Westjet. When the government in all their stupidity closed our destination airport, Winnipeg, Westjet was forced to cancel the flight. On Mar 17, we booked a indirect flight with AC, through Calgary and then Winnipeg, for the 23rd, I think it was the morning of the 20th that AC cancelled the flight. I view it as a money grab, and am pretty sure they never intended to make that flight. We managed a standby flight on the 22nd into an airport that was also on the list of airports closed to international travel. Other flights went out of PV, before, after, and on the day we were to fly. Just over 1100 dollars for two one way tickets, far more than a normal charge. We are unable to use the credit in portions, one time only, and it has to be used in our names. We are both over 65 and it seems unlikely we will ever use these flights. We have our Westjet credit which we view as fair, as we paid a good portion in credits, and the Government closed our destination airport. We also have lots of Aeroplan miles to try and use. In talking to AC, I was referred to our contract, and I did, read it and it clearly states that if AC cancels our flight we are entitled to a refund in the method of payment that we paid for the flight.
We have a trip booked with air canada for june which hasnt been cancelled as of yet but of course we are expecting it to be. It took me 6mnths to save the money for this trip for my boyfriends 40th bday and i got it on sale for $250 cheaper than usual for the resort he wanted we booked in feb for that reason
Im concerned if it gets cancelled what garantee do i have to get that price again i cant afford to go higher and than with a voucher from air canada what if they go bankrupt do i lose out completely…and if we just change the date of the trip to a later date (which defeats the purpose of the vacation for his 40th bday) and covid comes back or they are still not flying than do we lose out all together
Id prefer at this point to get my money back than go through all these what ifs and stress