Originally Posted by
capedreamer
Unsurprisingly, Air Canada is trying to get out of providing APPR compensation. From AC Customer 'Care':
I have responded pointing out the cabin crew shortage and will report back what they say.
EDIT: The more I think about this response (and those others have reported in this thread), the more upset I am. What is the point of a consumer protection law if companies can just get out of it so easily by claiming a delay was outside their control? First, there is such an information asymmetry; most travelers have no idea about ExpertFlyer or how to find out the reason for a delay. Second, if the reported delay reason becomes such a crucial factor in determining liability, airlines will be incentivized to not provide the true reason for delay. In most cases, I imagine delays are caused by a multitude of factors, so airlines can just easily pick the one that shifts the fault to someone else (e.g., the airport in this case). I really hope the CTA will put an end to this.
Years ago, I filed an EC261 claim under EU passenger protection law with OS and was pleasantly surprised by how quickly and without fuss they provided the compensation I was due. Clearly that law actually has some teeth unlike apparently the APPR.
AC responded again with another bs explanation:
While I am sorry and understand your disappointment with our decision, our response is in line with the Air Passenger Protection Regulations set by the Canadian Transportation Agency. I’d like to take this opportunity to explain how our decision, as it relates to your claim, is in accordance with these regulations.
When a flight is disrupted, we send notifications in real time that provides our best assessment of the reason for the delay at that time. However, many factors can play a role and contribute to a delay. We do our best to share reasons for disruptions, as well as updates of the situation as events unfold. Once the flight is completed, we investigate further: we identify and analyze the elements that may have contributed to the delay, to assess the root cause of your flight’s arrival delay. This may be different from the reason or reasons originally communicated to you.
In your case, it was determined that the root cause of your arrival delay was airport constraints and outside our control. This played the most significant role in causing the delay of your flight at departure and therefore unfortunately you are not eligible for compensation.
Although this may not be the answer you are looking for, I thank you for your understanding.
To offer me a $300 eCoupon after a 24+ hour delay that required me to spend an ungodly number of hours in airports across Canada is insulting. Seeing no further point in pursuing this with AC, I decided to file a complaint with the CTA. This automated response is not promising:
We continue to receive a high number of cases. There are more than 46,000 cases waiting to be reviewed. The wait time between when you submitted your case and when it is reviewed can be more than 18 months. We continue to improve our review process to reduce wait times. We assure you that the wait time will not affect the outcome of your case. Please do not resubmit the same complaint.