Air Canada will finally pay for refusing to refund passengers in the United States in a timely fashion, though the fine is only a small portion of what was initially proposed.
Continue reading: Air Canada Settles, Will Pay $4.5 Million For Refusing To Issue Timely Refunds
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
My theory is that this is what AC planned for all along. They didn't have the cash on hand to pay back refunds so tried to stall and delay for as long as they could, knowing they would get a fine, but hoping the fine would come at a time when they were in a healthier financial situation (and the fine would be negotiated down to an insignificant number).
I'm done with AC. This was blatant, they way they lied about how AC flights flying to and from US was under no USDOT jurisdiction to avoid paying refunds was really a slap in the face. Many needed their money, just like businesses were hit hard by the pandemic. People lost jobs during pandemic, and here is AC lying about having to refund. AC got a "pandemic loan" as the expense of passengers, and it was not even just Canadians, but worldwide.
Should have banned them from flying to the US for a year. Such paltry fines serve no purpose.
the us would never ban Canadas life support flag carrier and if they did canada would immediately ban access to Canadian airspace which is essential for us carriers.... would need up costing the us a lot.... also american has racked up a lot of Canadian fines growing to over $250 million and being settled at just 8 million, canada and the us allow each other to get away with things as along as it doest screw one side over the other
People should be thankful that the DOT actually defends consumers.. In countries like South Africa multiple airlines are doing exactly what Air Canada did and will get away with it
I was one of the passengers impacted by this. While the $4.5MM fine is better than nothing, it doesn't do justice to the hours and hours passengers have spent on the phone with condescending AC personnel. AC probably knew from the get go that they would be able to negotiate the fine down and face virtually no consequences. I bet other airlines will try this exact tactic in the future.
How do I get on board this? I've been pursuing my refund for months! I received my confirmation email in May of this year, was told it may take up to two billing cycles (of the credit card used) before it was issued. SEVEN MONTHS LATER no one can tell me where my refund is!
Huh, so that is why I got that refund back in spring from them after giving up last year…
Alitalia was worse in my opinion. They absolutely refused to refund - and only gave a year to use their ‘credits’. But they are no longer operating.. guess you can’t get blood from a turnip.
File a complaint with the DOT, I've found that gets my refunds taken care of within a week or two.
Air Canada denied me access to a plane because I did not have a negative Covid test result in hand, although I was triple vaccinated. The test was not required by my destination (France) and Air Canada's own website said a test was not required for those just passing through an airport en route to an international destination. Now they will not issue a refund. I believe they are deliberately avoiding responsibility for a mistake made by their airport employees.
Great for the US Treasury! However, I incurred $578 in additional expenses due to delays with AirCanada and will now get $10 back. US Government needs the money more than I. Please keep my refund and stop talking about how you helping the consumer.
Air canada is habitual in abusing people. There should be some serious action need against air canada specially to protect special needs sector . 9 year old with severe disabilities was treated like garbage, spited upon by air canada staff and while mother fighting for justice , it's been realized that every two weeks one disable person is targeted, harassed and discriminated. Their operation of flight should be banned condsidering children and vulnerable sector life safety at risk ,only financial loss will fix their minds .