‘Cheaper for Air Canada to trick you’: Many Canadians getting a raw deal on cancelled flights

Air Canada flights are once again taking off after a tentative deal was reached with the union representing flight attendants. CTV’s Austin Lee reports.

A trip to visit friends in Penetanguishene, Ont., ended in frustration for Winnipeg couple Jennifer Raposo and Dwayne Toole.

On Saturday night, just hours before their scheduled return home, their Air Canada flight out of Toronto was cancelled due to the ongoing flight attendant strike.

Toole said the airline only offered a refund or credit.

‘[The Air Canada agent] was like, ‘Would you like me to help you book with another airline?’ I was like, ‘Are you guys going to pay for it?’ And he said, ‘No,’" Toole explained.

Stranded, the couple paid $2,600 — nearly five times their original fare — to get home by Wednesday.

Under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), airlines are required to rebook passengers on another carrier, including competitors, if they can’t accommodate them on their own flights.

“Air Canada is trying to push refunds on passengers because it’s way cheaper for Air Canada to trick you,” Gábor Lukács, president of the advocacy group, Air Passenger Rights, told CTV News.

“What Air Canada is doing is actually fraud. It’s fraudulent.”

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CTV News has contacted Air Canada for comment on the situation.

Lukács urges affected travellers who paid out-of-pocket for new flights, to demand payment from Air Canada within 30 days.

“If Air Canada refuses to pay within 30 days, the next step is serving Air Canada with small claims court papers,” Lukács said.

Nigel Maxwell was supposed to fly home to Saskatchewan from Ottawa on Aug. 16, but like Toole and Raposo, his flight was cancelled.

Maxwell said Air Canada only paid for new flights after he repeatedly refused a refund.

“But until I touch ground in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and step in my car at the airport, I’m going to be holding my breath,” he said.