Air Canada returns to its operations after a long hiatus due to strikes by the airline’s flight attendants. The airline has updated its policy to cover additional accommodation and out-of-pocket expenses which its customers incurred due to flight cancellations.
The Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Air Canada, Mark Nasr, said, “Air Canada’s 40,000 coworkers, with their exceptional commitment and expertise, have allowed us to restore operations ahead of plan. We now expect to be operating very close to our normal schedule tomorrow. We deeply apologise to all customers whose travel plans were disrupted, and we’re committed to making things right for all customers — particularly those who were stranded during their trip. Earlier this week, we put in place a special commitment to reimburse out-of-pocket transportation costs, including on other airlines, rail, ground or ferries. Today, we are taking another step forward, delivering with our policies to make things right. This updated plan includes reimbursement for reasonable accommodation, meals, necessary transportation and other costs.”
The special travel expense policy states that any customer who experienced cancellations and delays between August 15 and 23 will be eligible for reimbursement.
Meanwhile, these claims must be supported with receipts and can be submitted on the airline’s customer relations portal.
Air Canada is determined to reassure its customers and address their claims as quickly as possible. However, due to the large volume of issues, it may take up to four to six weeks to resolve them.
It is important to note that this special policy will be implemented under the above legal conditions, which cover reasonable accommodations, meals, transportation and other costs.
Keeping customers’ interests in mind, Air Canada has also implemented a disruption policy to cover the expenses which customers must have incurred to get to their destination.
Customers who had to make alternative arrangements for their destinations will be able to apply for a reimbursement.
Aviation Reporter - A master's student at the University of Edinburgh, political scientist and journalist, Suhani contributes the latest trends and developments in the aviation industry to Travel Radar.