The Canadian government is proposing a new "passenger bill of rights," that would work to protect passengers of flights that are delayed. This would also extend to passengers who are denied a seat when their flight is overbooked.
The rebate for Canadian passengers on delayed flights could be as high as $400 and if the flight is delayed more than 9 hours, Canadians could receive a rebate of $1000.
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TL;DR Canada's Minister of Transport is looking to table a "passenger's bill of rights" that would require airlines to pay passengers rebates based on how long they have to wait for a delayed flight. You could also be eligible for $1000 if your flight is overbooked.
Hey @AirCanada, maybe don't always overbook your flights. I want to go home.
The Canadian government is proposing this "passenger bill of rights," to combat overbooking and delays. The outline that was given this morning will be open for public consultation until February 20th, 2019.
Under the guidelines given by Transport Minister, Marc Garneau, the minimum rebate for a three hour delay could be as high as $400 and a delay of nine hours could get you as much as $1000.
Even better, if you get bumped off your flight because of overbooking or scheduled aircraft maintenance you can apply for $900 of compensation. If your flight is delayed because of scheduled maintenance you could be eligible for as much as $2,400.
@aircanadaI'm actually surprised there isn't already some kind of passenger protection for these kinds of things. It's completely unfair that airlines can overbook flights or carry on scheduling take-off times when there is maintenance planned.
Also, it goes without saying thatthese opportunities for compensation would not apply to delays that are considered "unforeseen events." That would include delays caused by weather, emergency maintenance, airport operation issues, or medical emergencies.
.@WestJet @AirCanada do you overbook flights? Do you have a policy of denying people seats they've paid for?
The Transport Minister plans to begin finalization of the regulations after public consulations ends on February 20th. This could mean a developed bill by spring with provisions that could come into effect by summer 2019.
I love the idea of the Canadian government sticking up for Canadian passengers, because it can often feel with airline travel that we're being taken advantage of or seen as money to fill seats and not real humans with travel plans.
It’s been a while since I’ve flown @AirCanada. Forgot about the endless, endless delays with no information from the ground crew that are a part of the fun pic.twitter.com/DakVOmtyyB
To know that the Transport Minister sees this and is willing to step in and send this message to aircraft carriers is totally a move in the right direction.