Here at Prince of Travel, we spend a fair bit of time and energy talking up Canada’s airlines for their products and loyalty programs. But there’s one regard in which our airlines have not covered themselves in glory in recent months – in fact, they’ve let people down en masse.
When the pandemic arrived on our doorstep in March 2020, travellers’ plans were affected all over the world. Governments shut down borders to slow the spread, while airlines cancelled flights or suspended operations in response.
However, when it comes to their obligations to provide customers with refunds on their flights, Canada’s airlines have adopted the self-serving strategy of withholding refunds and offering customers only a voucher for future travel (and in some cases an option to convert into rewards miles). Regardless of whether the airlines believe that these alternatives are sufficient, they fall short of their obligations under the law to provide refunds when they are requested.
To add insult to injury, when Canadians turned towards our national transportation agency to step in and provide oversight, the CTA stood with Canada’s big airlines over the interest of the average consumer. This is in spite of the actions of their global peers in the US, Europe, and Australia, who have all stood with the consumer and ordered their airlines to provide refunds.
In this video, we take a look at all the major developments so far in this unfortunate story. What is each party’s role in this fiasco, and who is most at fault? And what steps can you take to secure your refund if you are owed money from one of Canada’s airlines?
It’s time for Canada’s airlines and aviation authorities to step up and do the right thing: give people their money back on cancelled flights.
Without further ado, you can watch the video below:
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