Originally Posted by
trilinearmipmap
1. I am a Canadian resident, Canada is listed as a party to the Montreal convention, so any international flights I take from Canada should be covered under the Montreal convention. Domestic flights would presumably be covered under some other Canadian legislation.
Correct, except that your residency is not a factor.
Originally Posted by
trilinearmipmap
2. When I fly YPR-YVR-HNL on one round-trip ticket with Air Canada, for baggage damage or loss I would be covered up to 1000 XDR if I can prove actual damage, regardless of whether the damage happens on the domestic or international part of the trip.
Correct.
Originally Posted by
trilinearmipmap
3. For the same flight if the flight is delayed and can proved monetary loss due to the delay I can be compensated up to 4150 XDR.
Correct also.
Originally Posted by
trilinearmipmap
First how are you supposed to prove your monetary damages when your baggage is lost? I might have $1500.00 worth of clothing in my luggage but I won't have any receipts unless the item has been newly purchased. All I will have is an estimate of the value of my clothing.
Well, each claim is handled on a case-by-case basis, and you are free to submit any kind of proof that you may have, e.g. pictures of the items in question, witness statements, your own statement, etc.
The airline would have had a chance to examine and itemize the content of your baggage before accepting it; if it chose not to do it, then how can they disagree with your description of the contents?
Originally Posted by
trilinearmipmap
How do they define personal damages due to delay? For example, if I am delayed and my whole family loses one day of our vacation, who can put a dollar value on this? I would estimate a few hundred dollars per day per person.
This is, of course, a very difficult part. If you had a prepaid and non-refundable hotel reservation, which costs, say, $1000 per night, then you could argue that your damages were $1000 ...
Originally Posted by
trilinearmipmap
There is no mention I could see in the Montreal convention about delays due to weather. I have always understood that airlines are not responsible at all for cancelled or delayed flights due to weather conditions. There is no distinction I see in the Montreal convention regarding the cause of the delay.
That would be:
Article 19 - Delay
The carrier is liable for damage occasioned by delay in the carriage by air of passengers, baggage or cargo. Nevertheless, the carrier shall not be liable for damage occasioned by delay if it proves that it and its servants and agents took all measures that could reasonably be required to avoid the damage or that it was impossible for it or them to take such measures.
Originally Posted by
trilinearmipmap
Also whenever I travel with skis or fragile items Air Canada makes me sign a waiver of liability. However according to the Montreal Convention
"Article 26 - Invalidity of Contractual Provisions
Any provision tending to relieve the carrier of liability or to fix a lower limit than that which is laid down in this Convention shall be null and void, but the nullity of any such provision does not involve the nullity of the whole contract, which shall remain subject to the provisions of this Convention."
That is correct -- if the nature of the baggage is made known to the airline and it agrees to accept it, then it cannot disclaim liability, as that would violate the terms of the Convention. However, in practice, most airlines still try to do it.
Originally Posted by
trilinearmipmap
Finally does anyone know what rules apply for domestic flights within Canada? Whenever my luggage has been delayed I have been given no compensation at all by Air Canada, but I didn't push for it.
The provisions of the Air Canada Domestic Tariff would apply -- you can request a copy from their legal department (it's about 300 pages in length). The summary is available at
http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelin...cked.html#r2s1:
Liability for loss, delay or damage to baggage for travel wholly between points in Canada is limited to $1500 CAD per passenger