Ottawa resident's long battle to be compensated by Air Canada

For two years, an Ottawa resident has been trying to win his case against Air Canada and to be reimbursed for the thousands of additional dollars he had to pay during a trip to Portugal.

The facts alleged against the air carrier date back to July 2022. Rejean Landry had booked plane tickets to Lisbon in Portugal for him and his two children.

Their first flight from Montreal, however, was delayed by more than three hours, causing them to miss their connection in Toronto.

Mr. Landry then purchased new plane tickets for the next Air Canada flight to Lisbon.

We honestly slept on the floorhe says. Then the next morning, we were super stressed until the Air Canada agent told us “You did the right thing, you're going to get your money back.”.

Mr. Landry believed that his inconveniences would end there. But when his children wanted to return to the country, two weeks before him, they were unable to board their flight: Air Canada had canceled their return ticket.

And contrary to what the carrier's agent had said, Air Canada refused to reimburse them.

A short-lived victory

Mr. Landry claims that Air Canada tried to reach an amicable settlement and offered him $10,000 in compensation. The latter, however, declined the offer, deeming this amount insufficient.

The Ottawan finally decided to take the case to the Ontario Small Claims Court, which ruled in his favor last month.

The court is asking Air Canada to pay him nearly $15,000 to compensate for the purchase of new tickets, additional nights at the hotel, meals at the airport and other costs incurred.

However, Mr. Landry learned Thursday that the carrier would appeal the decision.

It makes my heart ache to be honestplagues the man from Ottawa who had until now represented himself. He now believes he must hire a lawyer for the rest of the procedures.

It's going to cost me thousands of dollars to earn $15,000. It doesn't make sense.

Even though he is confident he can win the appeal, he laments the time it may take. I don't know if it's going to take six months, a year, two years.

For its part, Air Canada responded by email that it did not want to comment on the case since it is still before the courts.

David versus Goliath

According to Late Flight, an organization that helps travelers defend their rights, Mr. Landry is far from alone in his situation.

It's unfortunate because these are passengers who are often left to their own devices, who have to fight, a bit like David against Goliath.explains Jacob Charbonneau, the co-founder and CEO of Late Flight, which still encourages Mr. Landry to continue his fight.

We are fighting against large corporations who have armies of lawyers, who try by all means to avoid having to pay compensation, and who are often ready to pay more legal fees than what it would have cost to pay. compensation.

Mr. Charbonneau indicates that in addition to the Small Claims Court, travelers who feel cheated can also turn to the Transportation Office.

As for him, Mr. Landry also has advice for travelers: What people should do is be ready, know their rights. When they go to the airport, if there are discussions with airline people, take your phone and record the conversations, it will help you.

With information from Antoine Fontaine