Absolutely - but this whole line of discussion requires taking OP's account as offered, otherwise it's just another "I Work At The Airport" story.

November 8, 2022 - overheard the gate agent for AC8031(YVR->YCD) looking for 1 volunteer to move their ticket to November 9 in exchange for accommodations/food vouchers as well as the choice between a $1400 voucher or $1200 cash. Flights to the island were severely overbooked due to cancellations from crew constraints.

YYZ-YWG - March 12, 2023
 

I was queueing by the Tim Horton's Express near D24 at YYZ when I overheard the gate agents asking for 2 volunteers:

Date of IDB/VDB - YYZ-YWG on March 12, 2023
IDB or VDB - VDB
Compensation dollar amount - $400
Cash (cheque) or eMCO - not sure, but guessing Interact transfer
Flight # you were DB'd from - not sure as it was not my flight, but it was departing around 1800-ish
Flight # you were placed on after being DB'd (also indicate if next day) - VDB customers were offered a flight the next day
Were hotel vouchers provided? - Yes
Were food vouchers provided? - No

Was denied boarding and AC doesn't want to pay the $2400
 

Hello there,

I was booked on AC flight 304 from Vancouver to Montreal on May 14. I went to the airport on time and was listed on standby. There were about 20 people on standby for my flight. I asked why so many and they said their flight to Montreal the night before at 11 PM was cancelled. I wanted to fly but eventually was denied booking involuntarily. I watched the flight taxi away from the gate. They said I was eligible for $2400 compensation and gave me a “Denied Boarding Compensation Confirmation” voucher for $2400 saying “compensation will be issued within 48 hours by wire transfer or cheque sent by mail.”

Two days later I received an email offering me $100 credit. That's a far cry from $2400 I was promised so I called them. They said my flight had been cancelled so they didn't actually deny me booking and all I was getting was the $100 credit. This doesn't seem fair because 1) I find it hard to believe the flight was actually cancelled and 2) what happened to the flight after I was denied booking isn't my concern.

I did look up the flight and it is marked as cancelled. But I am wondering if maybe they just changed the number of the flight and flew it anyway. Can anyone look up and see if they just changed the flight number and it flew to Montreal anyway? I tried but I don't know how. It's AC flight 304 on May 14, supposed to arrive in Montreal around 16:34.

Also, legally speaking, I believe Air Canada still owes me $2400 regardless of what happened to the flight after I was denied booking. Is this correct? If so what are my steps to collect this money? Thanks for any help you can provide.

Welcome to FT.

Here's what flew between YVR and YUL on May 14. The plane could have taxied off like you said and then had a problem (mechanical, ATC restrictions, passenger offloaded which then put the crew over their duty time, etc) and that could have caused the flight to be cancelled.

It's unlikely you'll get the full $2400 but you can try...
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b016b5b373.jpg

If that's what you have, hold AC to it.

Other steps? write in again, write their twitter account, contact the media / travel advocates. as they love to write bad press about the airlines. plus it is a pretty unique and interesting situation

I agree that the you were involuntarily denied boarding. The flight # you booked and were confirmed on DID board and AC gave legally obligated paperwork saying $2400. Obligation, if any, based on whatever happened after any standbys were cleared and the flight was "closed" is between AC and those other passengers. As full evidence of the timing tell them to refer to your paperwork and the fact that the agent probably did your alternate flight rebooking at the same time (perhaps before boarding was even complete).

Twice I've actually been presented with *voluntary* denied boaridng compensation before the plane boarded then it turned out there were no shows and they told me I could board afterall. The first time the agent expected the voucher back, I said no takebacks. Her supervisor sided with me after I mentioned I just lost seat priority then and my exit row would now be a middle seat in the last row. The next time I was expecting the same pushback, so I not only took a photo of the voucher but used the voucher immediately, so that the remaining value was $0. :)

Landing time info for Compensation Claim
 

Hi, back on May 6th my son and family flew LHR-YUL-YOW. When they landed in Montreal they checked with Air Canada only to be told their boarding passes for the final leg were "no good" and they were given new ones for a later flight... no explanation. One was for a confirmed seat, the other 3 were standby for the later flight. After clearing customs etc. they walked to the gate, only to find that their original flight (AC8009) was still in the middle of boarding. My son went to the agent and asked that they be allowed to board, only to be told the flight was full. He asked why he and the family had been given a later flight. The response was " the computer makes those decisions"

What I am trying to find out is what the landing time for their new flight (AC8015) was for compensation claim purposes, Flight Radar doesn't have the information for that flight in its history. If the delay is less than 3 hours, would they still be able to claim any compensation for denied boarding?

Many thanks for any info,

Here you go.

You're mixing two separate issues here. There's denied boarding and general delays. Denied boarding ("IDB") is when you have a valid reservation and are at the gate on time but get bumped because the flight is oversold. There's no time threshold on IDB (see APPR).

The 3-hour threshold applies to general delays (APPR). The situation is much more favourable if you get this treated as IDB than a delay.

But on a connection, it's somewhat murky. There's a well-known IDB case that pre-dates APPR where a guy was re-booked off his original connection to a much later flight because the computer said he wouldn't make it, and he got treated as IDB, although in that case, he had two connections and AC thought he had missed the first one.

AC probably won't give you the full IDB compensation, but probably better to ask for it since it's much better for you, and maybe they offer you something between that and the general delay compensation.

Although be prepared for them to argue it was all safety and/or weather and therefore they owe you nothing for anything.

Thanks Adam, and apologies for starting a new thread! I'll pass the info on to them. Their flight in from LHR was delayed, but as they proved, even without rushing through the formalities and walking at a normal pace, they still made it to the gate with plenty of time to spare for the original flight. To add insult to injury they even managed to lose their bags for 24 hours!

Let the fight begin!

$1800 VDB - YYZ-FRA - July 2, 2023
 

I was seated near E72 when I heard the gate agents announce over the PA that they needed 4 volunteers willing to go next day for $1800 plus a hotel stay.

July 9
YVR-YZP
$2400 credit to fly tomorrow.

I forgot about this thread. I've had a couple this year already.

July 4 VDB
AC 23 YVR-KIX
$2700 credit to fly via SFO on UA the next day (no AC 23 on the 5th). I was in J, but the offer was the same for everyone. I think I was the only one who actually got it, though.

Going to spend my credit tomorrow to fly to LHR next month :). The return flight looks pretty full, so maybe I'll get another chance!

How does an optional bump interact with flight cancellation compensation?
 

deleted, question answered elsewhere

I'm getting this second hand.
One of the YVR-YYZ flights yesterday morning.
$2400 + hotel