Flight risk: one year after planes delayed, passenger compensated

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This article was published 01/04/2025 (185 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man’s yearlong fight for compensation for two delayed flights highlights loopholes in federal rules that are intended to protect passengers, he told the Free Press.

In July, a B.C. small claims tribunal ordered Flair Airlines to pay almost $4,350 to Jason Brown for breaching Air Passenger Protection Regulations, but he didn’t receive payment until the Free Press contacted the airline Tuesday.

“I’m happy to get the payment, of course, but at the same time it shouldn’t have come to this. It’s silly,” Brown said. “I followed the process exactly as I was meant to, and they knew.”

He said Flair rejected a direct claim for compensation in February 2024, prompting him to submit a claim with B.C.’s civil resolution tribunal.

The tribunal awarded a default decision when Flair did not respond to a dispute notice filed by Brown.

“We recognize Mr. Brown’s entitlement to compensation under the APPR and have responded to the dispute notice filed with B.C.’s civil resolution tribunal of April 1st, despite not having record of it until now,” Flair’s commercial vice-president, Eric Tanner, said in a statement.

Brown said the dispute notice was sent to Flair via registered mail and signed for upon receipt. He emailed a copy of the default decision and order to the airline’s customer service department in July.

Flair claimed it attempted to pay Brown in July, but the transaction wasn’t processed due to an “issue” linked to a third party the airline no longer works with.

The airline “expedited” the full payment Tuesday to resolve the matter, Tanner said.

“Flair Airlines takes customer concerns seriously and is fully committed to adhering to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations,” Tanner said. “To enhance our customer experience, we’ve recently introduced a new customer experience team aimed at improving response times and efficiency.”

Brown questioned whether Flair was ignoring him before the payment was received. If the airline didn’t pay up, his next step was to seek an enforcement order via B.C.’s provincial court, requiring more of his time and a fee.

“They hope you give up. I’m sure that’s what’s happening here,” he said.

“Flair Airlines takes customer concerns seriously and is fully committed to adhering to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations.”– Flair’s commercial vice-president, Eric Tanner

Brown claimed Flair breached multiple APPR obligations when his outbound and return flights were delayed in January and February 2024. He and his two children travelled to Toronto to visit his parents.

The outbound flight left Winnipeg shortly after 4 a.m., more than eight hours late, after continuous delays, he said.

Brown said the return flight was delayed by more than eight hours, forcing him to cancel the tickets for a refund and rebook with a different airline at a cost of about $2,000.

Brown said Flair denied his bid for compensation for the outbound flight, claiming the delay was caused by unscheduled maintenance for safety reasons.

He said the same reason was given for the delayed return flight, which ended up being cancelled.

Under APPR, airlines are required to compensate passengers for flight delays or cancellations that are within their control and not safety-related.

Flair did not explain to the Free Press why the flights were delayed or cancelled.

Brown said the airline refused to provide details about the maintenance issue, citing company policies and industry regulations, after he emailed a list of questions a year ago.

He sought a refund for the entire trip, citing an APPR clause that sets out eligible circumstances, but he did not receive one prior to Tuesday’s payment.

Last year, Brown considered filing a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency, a quasi-judicial tribunal and regulator, which settles disputes between travellers and airlines.

He was put off by a backlog that, according to data from the CTA, has swelled to about 88,000 cases due to the high volume of complaints filed each month.

Advocates recommended he pursue a small claims case instead. Brown decided to file a claim in B.C. because Flair is incorporated in that province.

He noted APPR was meant to protect passengers when it was introduced in 2019.

“It feels a little toothless. They’ve given the airlines a lot of loopholes to exploit,” Brown said. “I feel the airlines are really exploiting those loopholes to a dramatic degree.”

“It feels a little toothless. They’ve given the airlines a lot of loopholes to exploit. I feel the airlines are really exploiting those loopholes to a dramatic degree.”– Jason Brown

Gábor Lukács, founder of the Air Passenger Rights group, has lobbied the federal government to bring APPR in line with European Union regulations.

The latter rules do not allow airlines to use an aircraft technical problem, even if it is unexpected, as a valid defence against paying flight delay compensation, following a 2015 European Court of Justice ruling.

“The ‘required for safety reasons’ is a made-in-Canada loophole that we have been alerting the government, the public, and the media since 2017,” Lukács wrote in an email to the Free Press.

He said airlines “have been found to stretch this excuse beyond its permissible limits.”

Lukács said the federal government has not delivered on a promise to close the loophole, after a House of Commons committee recommended harmonizing APPR with E.U. rules.

Brown offered advice to passengers who believe they were wrongly denied compensation.

“Understand your rights. When you know them, don’t give up and keep pushing,” he said. “It’s worth it for yourself and for everyone else.”

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca