FLIGHT RIGHTS
New rules give lift to bumped passengers.
In the latest victory for an eccentric young activist, the Canadian Transportation Agency has ordered three of the country’s largest airlines to grant passengers greater recourse if their flights are delayed or cancelled, or they are bumped to a later flight for issues within the carriers’ control.
The decision, which affects Air Canada, Air Transat and WestJet, stemmed from several complaints filed by Gábor Lukács, a 29-year-old former math professor who has made it a full-time hobby to be a thorn in the side of airlines.
Mr. Lukács, the so-called “Phantom of the Airline Industry,” has launched several campaigns to hold Canadian carriers more accountable to their customers, including decisions that forced WestJet to raise its domestic baggage liability to $1,800 from $250, and another that held Air Canada accountable for lost valuables in luggage on some of its international routes.
Mr. Lukács says he currently has campaigns ongoing against Porter Airlines’ baggage policies, as well as another one with Germany’s Condor Airlines.
“As an academic, I am a frequent traveller, and had a fair share of delays and cancellations. I have also seen grown people reduce to tears in minutes by airlines,” Mr. Lukacs said in an email from Italy, where he is attending a conference. “This must change.”
His latest victory stems from five complaints filed in 2009 against the three airlines over their policies to compensate passengers for delays or cancellations within the carriers’ control.
Prior to the new guidelines, it was left to the airlines’ discretion whether to grant a refund or to rebook a passenger.
If a refund was warranted, it was only provided for the unused portion of the ticket, the CTA said.
But under the new rules, passengers can choose whether to take a refund or be rebooked on a later flight if the delays are within the carrier’s controls.
In certain cases, they even allow passengers to be booked on the next flight to their destination, even if it is on another carrier, at the airline’s expense.
If overbooking or cancellations prompt travellers to cancel their whole trip if they miss their connection at another airport, they will also be entitled to a return trip home, free of charge, and a full refund for their entire ticket, the agency said.
Chantal Laflamme, CTA spokeswoman, said the new regulations would not apply to delays, cancellations or overbookings resulting from events such as weather disruptions or security issues at an airport, for example.
The CTA has given Air Canada 45 days to comply with the new rules, and WestJet and Air Transat 30 days, because they have already made headway on the changes.
Ms. Laflamme noted the new policies only apply to the three carriers named in the complaints, not their rivals such as Porter or Sunwing, which weren’t named in the complaints.