Originally Posted by
nli007
Your assertions could have merit certainly. I think the key point is whether the passenger gave the airline a reasonable opportunity to meet its obligations. Under EU261, airlines must reroute passengers at the earliest opportunity, and under Canada’s APPR large carriers must rebook within 48 hours or issue a refund. If the passenger made genuine efforts to reach the airline, such as waiting on hold or trying multiple channels, and the airline still failed to deliver within those timelines, then responsibility shifts to the carrier. The law places the duty on the airline, but it also expects the passenger to allow a fair chance for the airline to fulfill that duty before self‑rebooking.
I have no doubts there will be a lot of complaints and claims to the courts and regulators and maybe we will get some interesting caselaws out of this.
I don't have the link handy, but I believe there's a BC CRT case somewhere that addresses a carrier's obligation to rebook and their failure to do so.
Iirc it was a WestJet pax, during one of their meltdowns. They sent an email saying "we're looking for flights" but the pax never got a rebooked itinerary. They were awarded alternate travel arrangements by the CRT since the carrier never rebooked them (and the pax never cancelled their ticket to accept a refund).