I would argue that Air Canada hasn't fully reimbursed you for al costs. Yes they did compensate you for the delay pursuant to APPR. But since this was an international itinerary, the Montreal Convention also comes into effect which provides up to $7000 in reimbursement for out of pocket expenses such as nights lost at prepaid hotel bookings that were made. I would now chase Air Canada down under Montreal Convention to capture all of the out of pocket expenses incurred.

The law is silent when it comes to things like reasonableness. All that matters is that you claim compensation for what is owed under the law and reimbursement for expenses incurred. For instance, airlines love to say that during an overnight delay you are capped at a specific amount for hotels. That's bollocks, since if you have to make a hotel booking last minute in many cases it's expensive.


Minimum connections times are only come into play at time of booking. In other words, Air Canada cannot sell you an itinerary where the minimum connection time at the connection point is below a prescribed amount. However, once the flight is booked the itinerary is deemed legal and any delays incurred enroute are irrelevant as what matters is when you get to the gate now. For instance, I have been on flights with them where they were delayed by an hour or two but all that time was made up in the air (i.e. AC34 from SYD to YVR comes to mind). Similarly, when you arrive at an airport it may not be busy and so takes considerably less than MCT to connect. When AC rebooks you onto another flight, that becomes a commercial decision they make to free up a seat they believe you won't be able to use so they can give it to somewhere else. It is a type of denied boarding that is covered under the APPR. Also crucial to note is that AC's tariffs and contracts of carriage are irrelevant when it comes to things like EU261 or APPR. They can write whatever they want in it, but the law and consumer protections will always trump the consumer guarantees provided by you under law (it's the same reason why a product that states a warranty for a limited time period like 1 year has no effect in many countries)

When did you arrive at your final destination and when did the airlines make a change to your schedule? If the answer is more than 4 hours after were originally scheduled to arrive and less than 2 weeks ago, then EU261 applies since the itinerary started in the European Union. I would first start by pursuing the airline that caused the first delay, which in this case is Lufthansa. If they come back and say no, then you claim with Air Canada under EU261 and see what they have to say. In particular, I would point out to them that they decided to unilaterally move you flight to one that departed 4 hours later and that change alone caused you to arrive at your final destination more than 4 hours late. Denied boarding since you don't have your checked luggage with you is a fairy tale airlines like to tell passengers. There is no legal requirement for passengers to travel with their luggage. How do I know? I've travelled with people who haven't had their bags show up with them at their baggage carousel. So how on earth did the airlines manage to get the bags reunited with the owners? Obviously they had to load it on another flight. Additionally, and this is something the airlines don't want you to know but guess what? There is security screening of checked bags too! If you've flown through a small Canadian airport like YSJ, and have checked bags, you manually have to escort the bag through an x-ray scan before heading to your gate!

-RooFlyer88