Have a plan for when your plane is delayed
Travellers can’t avoid delays and cancellations on flights, but they can be prepared
You’re at the airport, excited and eager to go, but the vacation you saved and planned to the minutest detail just got interrupted.
A mechanical problem with the plane, an overbooked flight, a suspicious package, bad weather or a travel company bankruptcy can mess up travel plans without warning and airlines are only liable for delays within their control.
So being prepared for the unexpected with a plan in place can salvage a tripped up trip when you can’t count on airlines, tour operators, booked hotels or resorts to make up for your lost time. There is no Canadian law requiring airlines to compensate passengers for delays of up to 24 hours, although some do issue meal vouchers after three-hour, or longer, delays.
It’s all in the fine print under air carriers’ “conditions of carriage” and “tariff rules,” which some say travellers would be wise to read, but as one industry insider put it, “Geez, if I had to read all that it would make my eyes bleed.”
In 2013, passenger rights advocate and mathematician Gabor Lukas got a Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) judgment forcing Porter Airlines to compensate passengers for delayed flights or missed connections it was responsible for. The CTA also backed his complaint by making Air Canada compensate passengers bumped from domestic flights it overbooks — $200 for two-hour delays, $400 for two to six hours and $800 for delays beyond that. Three years earlier, Lukas’ filing against WestJet’s luggage compensation limit of $250 forced the airline to increase that amount by allowing clients to pay extra for increased coverage.
Most can’t afford the time or cost of fighting airlines but, whether they are Canadians or not, dissatisfied customers can file their complaint with the CTA, which will determine whether an airline honoured its contractual terms and conditions.
The CTA also handles more complex cases, in which a passenger feels the airline’s contract is unclear, unjust, unreasonable or discriminatory.
Airline delays are usually unavoidable, but there are cases of airlines being at fault for delays or cancellations due to scheduling changes and errors.
Flight disruptions ranked highest in traveller complaints, accounting for 42 per cent of all issues raised, according to the CTA’s 2015-2016 annual report.
Lost, damaged or delayed baggage represented 20 per cent of complaints, followed by quality of service (18 per cent), refusal to transport (8 per cent) and ticketing (8 per cent). Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat, Sunwing, United Airlines, Amer- ican Airlines, Lufthansa, British Airways and Alitalia accounted for about 75 per cent of the complaints filed during the period, with 70 per cent of those being filed against Canadian airlines. Sadly, things aren’t getting better, as the number of new air-travel complaints filed with the CTA each year has more than doubled since 2010-2011 (343) to 20152016 (826). So, while there are factors travellers have no control over, there are ways to be prepared for flight delays.
“The first and most important thing is to call in advance to make sure your flight is leaving on time,” says Dorian Werda, vice-president of operations with the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO). “Don’t just assume it is.”
TICO enforces the Ontario Travel Industry Act and standards regulating Ontario’s 2,500-member travel firms and administers the Travel Compensation Fund, financed by member companies to reimburse customers’ financial losses when a member company goes out of business or fails to provide the services the client paid for.
“It only takes one issue, and it doesn’t even have to be weather-related, to affect a flight. Conditions in Boston can affect a flight in Toronto if it can’t get here on time. Many people wonder why they can’t just pull another airplane up to the gate and away we go,” Werda says.
“There’s a lot of logistics involved: making sure the aircraft is mechanically sound, getting a crew — because if they’ve gone past their hours a new crew has to be dispatched — the catering has to be loaded, along with all the luggage,” she adds.
While it’s cheaper travelling offseason, some deals come with added delay risks. Seasoned off-peak travellers know airlines can combine their flights to fill seats, leaving passengers to kill time at the airport until a later flight.
“When tour operators aren’t selling to full capacity they start consolidating flights,” Werda says. “Instead of leaving at six in the morning, the plane might leave at noon and we get calls from people upset that they had planned to get to Cuba and be on the beach by noon, but now they’re not getting there until dinner.” Flight delay survival tips:
Include an email address and/or phone number on your flight reservation form to get airline alerts on flight changes.
Check before leaving for the airport that your flight is not delayed. A perfect day for flying where you are may not be the case where the plane is supposed to be coming from.
Chances are you won’t need trip cancellation insurance but if you do, for whatever reason, it covers nonrefundable prepaid losses.
Depart early. If your flight is delayed, cancelled or overbooked, you’ve got the rest of the day to wait it out, press customer service reps, or figure out an alternative and not have to slog it into the next day.
Be connected. Have your smartphone charged and handy so you can get flight delay updates, email/text/ phone people you need to let know you’re delayed, and reach customer service staff.
Be prepared. Keep toiletries and overnight essentials in your carry-on just in case you need them.
Before booking a flight, check your airline’s “flight delays and cancellation” policy online or via its 1-800 customer service line, to know at what point food vouchers are available and if hotel costs and transfers are covered if a flight is cancelled.
Check the airline’s policy for granting full refunds or credit for future flights if a long delay requires you to cancel your trip completely.
Keep your receipts for food, essentials, lodging and parking to show expenses incurred when filing a complaint with the CTA and seeking compensation from an airline.