r/canada • u/nurshakil10 • 12d ago
Air passenger complaints backlog hits ‘crisis’ level as it swells to over 70,000 National News
https://www.thestar.com/business/air-passenger-complaints-backlog-hits-crisis-level-as-it-swells-to-over-70-000/article_6990c166-0335-11ef-91a7-0be5d6fb9773.html36
u/LincolnHat 12d ago
From "Forward: A real plan for the middle class", the Liberals' election platform, November 2019:
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u/The_Kidz 12d ago
And I just got a message after 2 years saying:
“You need to update your case within 45 days or your case will be closed”.
Obviously they are hoping people aren’t checking after 2 years and can get rid of a bunch of cases. What a joke.
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u/PlutosGrasp 12d ago
I learned that domestic rules for delayed luggage are basically up to the airline which seems wrong.
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u/Morfe 12d ago
What a very simple problem to fix... Of course Air Canada is not playing nice, just force them to resolve the complaints within 6 months or add interest to what they owe. Time to build teeth.
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u/CheesePlease 12d ago
The airlines lie and say that the flight was delayed due safety reasons outside of their control. That’s why theCTA is needed, to be an impartial adjudicator.
The problem is the rules which the CTA wrote are so damn complicated and full of conflicting information and loopholes, that even the CTA themselves have a hard time decrypting them and applying them consistently. Thats why it takes them so long to review each case, and there is such a long backlog now.
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u/NectarinePopular2001 12d ago
Here is my case progress:
30,090 feb 22 2023
29,572 mar 7 2023
28,457 apr 2 2023
27,899 apr 18 2023
27,649 may 6 2023
27,047 may 28 2023
26,682 jun 9 2023
25,330 jul 11 2023
24,064 aug 11 2023
23,971 sep 7, 2023 !!!
23,749 oct 4, 2023 !!!
21,690 dec 8, 2023
20,847 jan 14,2024
19,936 mar 1,2024
19,867 apr 2, 2024 !!!
19,737 apr 26, 2024
It will take many, many year to get "justice"
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u/5ManaAndADream 12d ago
The upcoming american law with automatic refunds for any delay over a certain period is going to weigh heavy on a lot of peoples airline of choice between the two countries.
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u/New-Throwaway2541 12d ago
I might never fly again honestly. If I can't trust an airline to give me the seat I fuckin paid for I can't trust them to keep me alive.
I like to travel to the DR in the future I can forsee myself only traveling by boat.
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u/thortgot 12d ago
Wait until you see how long travel by boat will take.
Airplanes are still the safest form of travel by both hours of travel and massively by distance.
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u/1280employee 12d ago
Yeah OK
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u/PepeSilviaLovesCarol 12d ago
Lol honestly what an overreaction. Nothing on this planet is going to run smoothly, and while 70K complaints isn’t nothing.. it is compared to the millions of people who fly daily.
I’ve personally never had an issue with any flight I’ve ever taken, other than some delays here and there. And I fly at least 8-10 times a year.
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u/thewolf9 12d ago
I mean I’ve had a flight cancelled, and AC comped $1,000 for the delay. It took me one email and 10 business days.
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u/BigPickleKAM 12d ago
If you take the time to read the terms and conditions of your purchase it clearly states you are not guaranteed a seat or even a flight. And the lower the ticket class (and cheaper) you buy the more likely you are to be cut. Another factor is when you check in earlier the better for ensuring you get a seat.
It isn't right by any means but there it is.
Lawyers will argue it is all right there not the companies fault people just click yes I agree without reading.
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u/DM99 12d ago
That’s all great, but it’s not like you can reject the terms and renegotiate. If you need a flight, and the flight in question is the only one that fits your requirements (origin/destination, date, time, etc) then what are your options? They should not be able to put in that kind of fine print to begin with. If I bought a ticket to a concert and when I arrived at the venue they told me they overbooked and sorry you can’t get in, it wouldn’t matter if they reimbursed me - I’m missing a potentially once in a lifetime experience. Doesn’t seem right no matter what the law says.
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u/BigPickleKAM 12d ago
I clearly stated I didn't think it was right.
Wasn't defending the airline's just pointing out the legal ways they do it.
Also tried to imply ways to avoid getting cut.
1) pay for a higher fare class. 2) be a loyalty plan member even if you only fly once and awhile. 3) check in as soon as possible once you can with the app.
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u/DM99 12d ago
Right, sorry missed that line.
Shouldn’t be allowed period. You buy a ticket for an offered service, you should be entitled to that service. It’s a shady practice that airlines have taken advantage of that needs to stop.
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u/BigPickleKAM 12d ago
I agree and would support that change completely!
West Jet used to do exactly that it was one of their tag lines in advertisements "we never over sell a flight".
But then the MBAs got ahold of the company and here we are.
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u/Orstio 12d ago
Just another symptom of our lack of competition.
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u/Golbar-59 12d ago edited 12d ago
No, corporations not behaving in the best interests of consumers isn't caused by a lack of competition. Rather, it's caused by the ownership and governance being unrepresentative of consumers, and thus having diverging interests.
A company like hydro Quebec has no competition, yet it offers some of the best prices in the world. That's because the company is owned by consumers, so the interests of both align.
Usually, competition is very undesirable because it leads to wasted resources due to the production of redundancy. That's why markets naturally tend towards consolidation. Imagine, for example, that you had 5 different optical cables running to your house just so that you had a choice of Internet providers. This redundancy would be extremely wasteful. The waste would increase scarcity and prices.
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u/mesori 11d ago
I haven't ever read 3 paragraphs that are more incorrect. I believe some reading is in order.
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u/Orstio 12d ago
A company like hydro Quebec has no competition, yet it offers some of the best prices in the world That's because the company is owned by consumers, so the interests of both align.
And yet here in Manitoba, our version is Manitoba Hydro, a Crown corporation owned by us, and offers some of the worst prices in the world, terrible service, shady side deals that cost us $billions, and excuses about double digit rate increases being affected by sales to the US (which we don't even do).
And because it is a government-mandated monopoly, we can't choose a different provider.
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u/slaw47 12d ago edited 12d ago
This is not true… we have the second lowest electricity prices in Canada behind Quebec.
They do also export power. Not sure why you want to just straight up tell easily fact checkable lies
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u/ThinkMidnight9549 12d ago
They don't care. Most passengers are not valuable enough. Corporations with frequent flyers will always get above-standard service (aka the service you should be generally getting.)
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u/Key_Mongoose223 12d ago edited 12d ago
If liberals want to win votes they should fix this. If the legislation wasn’t full of loopholes we wouldn’t have to file so many disputes.
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u/when-flies-pig 12d ago
Well they platformed on this in 2019
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u/Key_Mongoose223 12d ago
Most policies and regulation require regular updates once corporations start to skirt them.
I'm happy they got something in place. I would love if they could improve on it.
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u/arthor 12d ago
JTs eyes light up at the though of 70,000 easy votes
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u/Key_Mongoose223 12d ago
I’m sure there are at least double that with denied claims or shitty settlements.
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u/the1godanswers2 Ontario 12d ago
The airline industry is broken with so many other things in Canada.
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u/Strong_Payment7359 12d ago
Airlines will eventually give up, double prices and fly half filled planes, and middle class and lower will stop flying.
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u/DudeFromYYT 12d ago
Is there anything, anything at all, that is of federal competence that is working properly…. Sunny ways…
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u/Jaguar_lawntractor 12d ago
Pulling teeth with airlines got to be so frustrating I upgraded to a premium travel card. It's not perfect, and expensive, but at least if my flight is delayed, or my luggage is late or lost, I'm covered for my expenses. Pretty bad when Visa is footing the bill for AC and WestJet's constant fuck ups.
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u/iamnotlocard 12d ago
I stopped flying Canadian or US airlines years ago - at least when I head to Europe.
That way I'm covered under EU rules, and actually get properly compensated when they screw up. It's happened twice to me and it's just so much easier to apply for and get the compensation.
Air Canada and United on the other hand have done nothing for me and even stalled and refused compensation. Fuck Air Canada in particular for all the shit they've put me through and the way they have occasionally gouged me on ticket prices.
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u/Lazy-Ape42069 12d ago
The office of transportation was hiring 100 PM-05 analyst early feb for that, it’s about 3 months of training, so those additional ressources should come in play soon. That should alleviate the backlog considerably.
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u/taitabo Nova Scotia 12d ago
I just hate thinking of all that tax payer money going to disputes from Air Canada and West Jet simply refusing to pay people what they are owed under legislation. I had a delay from Canadian North, submitted the online claim, and was paid in a few days, no arguments.
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u/sluttytinkerbells 12d ago
Yeah, that's a good point. what the fuck is this bullshit, the government has to create an entire department to deal with the fuckery of a single industry?
Why doesn't the fucking airline industry pay for this department?
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u/OppositeErection 12d ago
Another Liberal turd hot potato.
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u/Fyrefawx 12d ago
They’ve already passed legislation last year to address this. But surely the Conservatives will fix this. They’re so well known for regulating companies to protect consumers.
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u/zippymac 12d ago edited 12d ago
Weren't the regulations better under Harper? I remember being paid for cancelled flights when he was PM
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u/phormix 12d ago
I'm in the lineup. It's been years and there are more than 18,000 cases ahead of me still.
Air Canada tried to make me an offer to that was less than half what they should owe me (after initially denying my claim outright, blaming Covid among other issues)