Air Canada has cancelled a partial flight from Montreal to Vancouver and rebooked two men via Kelowna.
The British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered Air Canada to pay two men $400 each after their flight from New Brunswick to British Columbia was cancelled.
According to the August 12 rulings by tribunal vice-chair Kate Campbell, James Sullivan and Michael Zimmerman had each booked a ticket for a flight from Fredericton, NB, to Vancouver in June 2023.
After arriving at Fredericton Airport, Air Canada cancelled the flight from Montreal to Vancouver and rerouted via Kelowna.
They said their arrival in Vancouver was delayed by more than three hours but less than six hours.
Each of them demanded compensation of $400 under air passenger protection regulations.
Air Canada said the flight in question was cancelled for safety reasons due to unforeseen engine maintenance. Air Canada said the couple were rebooked on the next available flight based on market capacity.
The airline stated that the couple was not entitled to compensation under regulations.
Campbell said that “the defendant airline bears the burden of proof as to whether a delay was within its control, as it is best placed to provide evidence of the delay of its own flights.”
She said the airline had not explained why it could not replace the grounded planes with another aircraft type.
“In my view, Air Canada has not demonstrated that it complied with its duty to mitigate the effects of the engine delamination. That is, Air Canada has not demonstrated that the cancellation was necessary for safety reasons.”
