Flight delays and cancellations: CTA to beef up air passenger bill of rights #2

Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations, which came into effect last summer, are set to be strengthened starting December 15. Those fees to book a seat near your children are getting kicked to the curb; airlines will now be required to seat families together. The new regulations also stipulate cash compensation for late and cancelled flights.

– Philippe Blain, Vice President of Travel Services, CAA-Quebec

Starting at the three-hour mark, a passenger whose flight is delayed must be compensated. At 9 hours, that compensation climbs to a cool $1,000. And there’s more to it than monetary compensation. Airlines also have to assist passengers with their travel plans. That includes booking seats with a competitor to get people to their destination within a reasonable timeframe. They are also responsible for ensuring the comfort of travellers forced to wait, by providing food, overnight accommodations, and means of communication, all according to well-defined criteria.

Airline obligations and passenger compensation vary according to numerous criteria. The regulations are more forgiving toward airlines when the delay or cancellation is caused by a factor outside their control, like a natural disaster. But for delays or cancellations within the airline’s control, like a planning error, the penalties are much stiffer.

Your flight didn’t go according to plan? You want to know your rights or find out how to file a claim? The essentials are summed up in CAA-Quebec’s handy Air travel: Rights and recourse guide.

Sit near your children for free

To make sure they’re near their children, parents have been paying up to $100 per flight in seat-booking fees. As of December 15, those fees will be a thing of the past. For children 4 years or younger, airlines will be required to seat at least one parent beside the child. Children 5 to 11 years will have to be seated in the same row, with no more than one passenger between parent and child, and teenagers 12 to 13 years old will have to be no more than one row away from a parent.

These rules will be added to those that came into effect in summer 2019 as part of the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, which covered airline obligations regarding clear communication, denied boarding (overbooking), tarmac delays, lost or stolen luggage, and the transportation of musical instruments, among other things.

About CAA-Quebec

CAA-Quebec, a not-for-profit organization, that assists each of its members by providing mobility, travel, insurance, and residential benefits, products, and services. Its CAA-Quebec Travel division maintains a presence across most of the province with 14 Travel Centres, marketing exclusive tours and cruises as well as custom-tailored products for all types of traveller.

– 30 –

_____________________

^{1 Survey conducted from November 27 to December 4, 2019, among more than 1,500 Canadians. A probability sample of the same size would have resulted in a margin of error of ±2.5%, 19 times out of 20.}