A few of the many thousands of Air Canada customers still waiting for refunds reached out to Speakers Corner nearly three months after a labour strike grounded flights for three days.
Lynda Elstad, who spoke to us as she was boarding another Air Canada flight this month, was one of those impacted by the disruption in August.
Air Canada promised to payback those customers for expenses incurred booking with other airlines or in some cases, due to flight cancelations. They also vowed to reimburse the cost of food and lodging.
“But they (Air Canada) seems to be waiting and waiting,” Elstad said.
Many customers point out they paid for their expenses with credit cards.
“That means those who incurred those expenses are paying tens of percent in interest charges on their credit cards, which is making it profoundly troubling,” said Gábor Lukács, President of Air Passenger rights.
He believes the delay in reimbursements isn’t only an inconvenience for those still waiting for payment, it’s illegal.
“The law is clear and an airline has to respond to these complaints within 30 days and I would find that response also means payment as well. You cannot take four to six weeks after you respond to remit payment.”
Lukács also puts blame on the federal government for not putting enough pressure on Air Canada to get those payments sent out.
“I know that there is an investigation ongoing by the Canadian Transportation Agency, but this should be a very open public inquiry where Canada’s executives are being called to testify and explain what on earth they are doing.”
In a statement, Air Canada acknowledged the delays telling us some cases are more complex than others and taking more time.
“At present, we are processing about 1,400 requests a day and expect to have most complete by the end of November,” a spokesperson said.
According to their website, 88 per cent of claims have been resolved, with just more than 8,000 cases still pending.
Lukács says passengers still waiting have been patient enough.
“I would say if you didn’t receive the payment yet and they already admitted how much they owe you, your next step is take Air Canada to small claims court and make them pay for it.”
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