I really doubt there would be EU compensation for a similar problem in Europe, other than paying for hotel and food.
I beg to differ. I was left stuck overnight in DUS last year with Air Berlin due to issues "outside of the airline's control" and still got granted the entire 250 EUR per pax (eventhough the ticket only cost about 50 EUR!).
A judge in the UK also ruled recently that bird strikes do count
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ne...n-judge-rules/.
I don't agree that a birdstrike warrants this much compensation. I'm a commercial pilot so fully understand the safety implications of dispatching with a defective aircraft. But if there was something more available for her, then why not come on here and ask? If anyone could give me a straight answer, it should be the regulars who are
au fait with Air Canada and passenger rights in Canada for that matter.
It does not sound as though you proposed any other specific reroute. Perhaps had your wife (not you) done so, she might have received that. It is often the case that carriers will do what is asked if something is proposed. Harried agents at the airport will often do what is asked when presented with the exact flight numbers.
I know that this is the case, all airlines are the same, but I disagree that I should have to make multiple phone calls and/or check availability myself. When I got the e-mail from Air Canada to say the flight was cancelled, I was on a bus (in Montreal actually, I'm here for work!), with only my BlackBerry for internet access and just about to walk in to a 2 hour briefing. I didn't have the luxury of logging on to a PC to check all available options. Unfortunately, she also lost her cellphone on this trip and so the first I was able to talk to her was when she got on to WiFi at the airport hotel. If she'd called me whilst still at the airport, I would have told her to stand firm and demand a better solution than the one she was given!