B.C. couple wins compensation in legal battle with Air Canada over delayed flight

A Kelowna, B.C., couple have won their small claims case against Air Canada after a flight delay stranded them and three family members in Vancouver for two days en route to Egypt.

On Tuesday, British Columbia's Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) awarded the couple $2,000 in compensation, plus $155.48 in interest and fees, after finding Air Canada did not sufficiently prove the primary reason for the delay was out of its control. 

Abdallah Mohamed, Ghada Ali and three other family members were supposed to leave Kelowna for Vancouver at 5:30 p.m. on July 4 and arrive in Cairo late in the evening of July 5. 

But their flight was delayed by more than two hours, causing them to miss their connecting flight from Vancouver to London. 

Air Canada then rebooked them on a flight leaving Vancouver at 6 p.m. on July 6, which got them to Cairo 56 hours later than originally scheduled.

In their claim, the couple said the first flight was delayed due to staffing issues that were within Air Canada's control. 

They sought $5,000 in total compensation, $1,000 for each passenger who arrived more than nine hours late according to Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations.

Air Canada contested this, arguing the delay was outside of its control and caused by air-traffic control and ground delay programs (GDP) operated by Nav Canada.

A GDP issued by Nav Canada (NavCan) delayed the incoming flight to Kelowna, which had a knock-on effect on the couple's flight from Kelowna to Vancouver, the CRT found.

But another WestJet flight departed Kelowna on time at 5:30 p.m. on July 4, and the GDP in place in Vancouver did not begin impacting arrivals until after the delayed Air Canada flight had already landed, according to evidence submitted to the CRT.

NavCan also listed airline staffing issues as contributing to the flight's delay, but Air Canada did not provide evidence to refute that, according to the decision.

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"While I have found there was a GDP outside Air Canada's control that had some impact on [outbound flight] AC8279, I find the weight of the evidence does not show that was the primary cause," wrote CRT vice chair Shelley Lopez in the Aug. 8 decision.

"I find the onus is on Air Canada to show the primary cause of the delay that impacted the applicants' ability to make their connecting flight AC862 was outside their control and I find it has failed to do so."

In her decision, Lopez ordered Air Canada pay Mohamed and Ali $1,000 plus $33.99 in interest each, as well as $87.50 to cover half of the CRT filing fee.

However she found the couple could not seek compensation on behalf of the other three unnamed family members and dismissed the balance of the claim.

Mohamed and Ali did not respond to requests for comment from CBC News. 

More than half of Air Canada's flights were delayed by more than 15 minutes in the last month, the most of North America's 10 largest airlines, according to aviation data company Cirium.

Passenger compensation system failing, say experts

Consumer rights experts and advocates say the decision is encouraging, but the fact customers have to go to small claims court to get compensation is a sign "the system is not working."

The Canadian Transportation Agency's complaint process for delays, cancellation or lost or damaged baggage is meant to be streamlined, but with more than 50,000 complaints in the queue, many passengers are waiting more than a year, said one expert.

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"It's unfortunate that consumers have had to go to the tribunals to basically get decisions reviewed," said John Gradek, a faculty lecturer at McGill University's school of continuing studies' aviation management program.

The agency is now proposing stronger protections for passengers, but Gradek says Ottawa needs to implement tougher rules and fines to force companies to pay customers what they are owed as delays, fuelled in part by chronic shortages of key staff, still plague airlines.

"Airlines need to be basically brought to reckon that these situations are not acceptable," said Gradek.

Gábor Lukács, president of non-profit advocacy group Air Passenger Rights Canada, says he hopes more people take their cases to small claims court to hold airlines accountable.

With "this type of compensation, amounts are powerful and effective if [airlines] are systematically required to make the payment," he said.