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As airline ticket refund class action lawsuits pile up across Canada, Air Passenger Rights, a consumer advocacy group, is seeking answers from the Supreme Court of Canada.
The passenger advocacy group has sought leave to appeal a May 2020 decision of the Federal Court of Appeal, which rejected the group’s attempt to obtain a mandatory interlocutory injunction requiring the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) to remove a statement on refunds posted on its website.
Air Passenger Rights filed the ticket refund lawsuit against the CTA in April, over an online statement that condoned vouchers over cash refunds. According to the statement, “an appropriate approach in the current context could be for airlines 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.”
The agency later clarified that the online statement regarding ticket refunds was not legally binding.
Nevertheless, Air Passenger Rights founder, Gabor Lukács, claims that the CTA’s statement misleads the public about its right to be reimbursed and contradicts previous decisions of the quasi-judicial body.
Ticket Refund Class Action Lawsuits Contest Vouchers
Another case that took issue with the CTA was one of the first ticket refund class action lawsuit’s to raise the controversial statement. The class action lawsuit Canada was filed on March 27, and targets five Canadian airlines over ticket refund refusals for flights cancelled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Two days before the ticket refund class action lawsuit Canada was filed, the CTA posted its infamous “Statement on Vouchers” on its website.
More legal action followed the March 27 airline ticket refund class action lawsuit, including a Quebec class action lawsuit targeting Air Transat for the same reason.
In addition to the handful of proposed airline ticket refund class action lawsuits filed by disgruntled passengers, three petitions calling for customer refunds have collected over 109,000 signatures.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Air Canada was the subject of 1,705 of the 10,415 refund complaints filed in May against non-U.S. airlines, placing Air Canada ahead of 80 other foreign carriers in this category.
United Airlines topped Air Canada’s devastating ticket refund complaint toll with a whopping 3,215 complaints.
The U.S. Department of Transportation issued an enforcement notice in April reminding airlines that if the airline cancelled a flight, customers are entitled to a full ticket refund. Similar action, however, was not taken in Canada.
Air Passenger Rights took the CTA’s March statement to mean that the federal government “sided with airlines” and left Canadians to foot the bill to keep planes flying post-pandemic.
Legal Options for Passengers Seeking Ticket Refunds
According to a Global News report, passengers can file a ticket refund complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation to push for regulatory action against airlines.
For more serious issues that require legal action, passengers can file a formal complaint. This, however, may require the help of a lawyer to submit.
Gabor Lukács was reportedly approached by a team of University of Ottawa law students who were completing a course in legal technology. As part of their studies, they had to automate a solution to a legal issue.
A law student at uOttawa, told reporters that she and her classmates saw the obstacles passengers faced when seeking refunds for COVID-19 travel disruptions and set out to streamline the complaint submission process.
She and her classmates created Formidable Solutions, an app based on the Documate platform that can draw up a formal legal complaint for submission to the U.S. Department of Transportation by inputting documents such as flight confirmations and cancellation notices.
Additionally, the CTA’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations impose minimum obligations on airlines regarding, among other things, what to do in the case of flight cancellations. As per the Regulations, airline operators must ensure that passengers complete their itinerary in the event of flight cancellations or disruptions. This entails an obligation to provide “alternate travel arrangements or a refund.”
Where cancellations result from events outside of the airline’s control, such as government-mandated travel restrictions, carriers are only required to ensure that passengers eventually arrive at their destination. This means that, strictly speaking, Canadian regulations on flight cancellations do not require airlines to provide passengers with cash refunds.
However, whether this is true for individual passengers hinges on the wording of the contract or airline refund policy. Additionally, contract law and relevant legislations will determine whether a voucher is, indeed, legal. Where an airline provides that passengers will be refunded for flight cancellations, the airline will typically be bound by the contract.
Have you purchased a ticket for a flight that was subsequently cancelled due to COVID-19? Have you been refunded for the flight? Share your experiences with us in the comments below!
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19 thoughts onAirline Ticket Refund Class Action Lawsuits Reach Supreme Court of Canada
Back in November 2019 my wife booked a flight from Toronto to Lisbon with flighthub. The flights were supposed to take place in May 2020 but because of the pandemic all flights were canceled. In April 2020 my wife canceled her booking and she was issued a credit that should be redeemable for a new booking until April 2022. We’re now trying to rebook and they’re telling us that the credit actually expired in November 2021, although her online flighthub account still states the credit is good till April 9 2022. They passed us to Air Portugal and after many hours on the phone waiting to talk to someone they declined their responsibility and sent us back to Flighthub for a resolve. Air Portugal told her that the credit was valid for 2 years starting with the date of the initial booking while Flighthub posted to her account that the credit eas valid through to April 2022 which marks 2 years from the date she canceled her booking.
In any case all Air Portugal flights to Canada were canceled until March 2022 so even if we had tried to rebook within the validity window of the credit, there no flights available.
We’re out $800 and apparently we can kiss it goodbye. They shouldn’t be allowed to operate a business like thus, they’re scamming people out of their money. I’d like to sue them or something
Add me to
I purchased airline tickets through Flighthub for March 23, 2020 flights from Vancouver to Orlando and return in the amount of $800 plus US dollars. Due to the timeframe I had to travel in for a conference I had to choose connecting flights with Delta and Alaska. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic flights were cancelled and I had to commit to up to a 2 hour “on hold” wait time just to fight for a credit which apparently expired January 2021 (a time when there were still travel bans/restrictions on Canadian’s personal travel). I received no further notifications from Flighthub advising when the credit ends, extensions, etc. I called today and was advised the same line as everyone seems to be reporting. That my credit has now expired and there is no supervisor at their location and that someone would contact me in 48-72 hours. This company should be fined and their license to operate as a business should be removed. They are keeping customers money without providing the services paid for and/or actual resolutions, which can only be identified as theft. I don’t understand why this company is permitted to continue to retain an operating business license without consequence. Refunds should be issued to customers immediately and this company should be shut down!
I booked a flight in Jan 2020 for my family and I to fly from Vancouver, BC to San Diego, CA in April 2020.
The flight was cancelled due to Covid 19 and they promised a refund of only $1117.71. The full price that I paid was $1568.26.
A couple months after the cancellation, they offered a voucher for the flights which was valid until April 2021. Towards the end of April 2021, they told me that I would receive a refund of the $1117.71 within 12 weeks.
12 Weeks later, still no refund. I called my credit card company and they say that because there was a voucher offered within a 120 days after the original purchase, they are unable to reverse the charge or get involved whatsoever…even though the voucher has now been cancelled.
I still have not received the refund. Each time I call, they say that they are waiting to hear back from the airline. I called the airline (Air Canada) personally and they say that I need to contact the website which I originally purchased from.
Each time I call Flighthub, I get a different story. They either say that it is still processing or that a manager will call me within 72 hours. I asked for a contact name and number and they will not provide it. They have now told me on 3 different occasions that my case has been escalated and that someone will be in touch within 72 hours and still, nothing has happened.
I would really like to proceed with some sort of class action lawsuit against them. This absolutely ridiculous.
I had round trip ticket issued by flighthub.com carried by United and Air Canada from Quebec City to San Francisco for 2020-03-31.
It was cancelled because of covid-19. When I try to re-book the flight with the issued credit – I am getting this message:
“Unfortunately we are not able to complete your request at this time. For further assistance, you may call us at 1-800-900-1431”
I called and waited for hours to talk to an agent – who asked me pay almost the same amount extra for the re-booked flight – I refused.
This is a scam – they are supposed to re-book without asking extra when the cancellation is not by fault of mine.
I want to sue flighthub for price gouging.
My special birthday cruise was canceled in March due to the pandemic. This was a cruised planned a year in advanced by my family in London for my birthday. I booked through Sunwing in Canada I live here. The cruise line Marbella Discovery cancelled the cruise and refunded the money to passengers . My family in London received their money. Sunwing refuses to refund my money that they have received and giving vouchers instead. I would like a refund in the original form of payment, I don’t feel safe going on a cruise anymore. As a matter of fact will there be a cruising! It’ almost a year I am paying for a service that haven’t been rendered. I am not satisfied and frustrated!
I bought tickets in August 2019 through Flighthub to fly to Italy in April 2020.
I did purchase the travel insurance offered by Flighthub which states that if the airline cancels your flight you are eligible for a refund. My flight was indeed cancelled due to COVID 19. As of 11/28/2020 I am still getting the run around from FlightHub / Azores Airlines / Tap Air Portugal about my refund. I was out $2,000 and none of these companies i trusted in with my travel plan seems to care as they still will not respond to my refund request.
We had flights booked for April 2020 to Orlando with WestJet to get on a cruise. Our flights were cancelled and rebooked for September 2020. The government had imposed no non essential travel so we cancelled our flights and were refused a refund. We were told 24 months for a voucher was plenty of time to use it. Now the pandemic is still ongoing and our expiration date on the voucher is coming fast. We feel under the circumstances of the timeline that will be left the voucher she be given back as cash or in the very least have no expiration date.