Decision No. 135-C-A-2021

[1] Tipu Rani Sarker purchased round-trip interline tickets for herself and her child for travel between Toronto, Ontario, and Dhaka, Bangladesh, with flights offered by multiple carriers. The first flight segment on their itinerary was for travel from Toronto to Washington, District of Columbia, with Air Canada, departing at 2:55 p.m. on January 14, 2020.

[2] Mrs. Sarker claims that she was not properly informed of a change to the departure gate for this flight and, as a result, she and her child did not arrive to the proper boarding gate on time. Their baggage was offloaded and the flight departed without them. Air Canada cancelled their reservation and Mrs. Sarker purchased new tickets to complete their travel the next day.

[3] Mrs. Sarker seeks reimbursement for the cost of replacement flights for herself and her child in the amount of CAD 1,995; transportation to and from the airport in the amount of CAD 75; meals in the amount of CAD 50; and compensation for stress and suffering. She also asks the Agency to enforce communication inside airports for passengers, and to issue a warning to Air Canada for its alleged discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity, and misconduct.

[4] In air travel complaints, the Agency examines whether an air carrier has properly applied the terms and conditions of its tariff; the relevant rules of Air Canada’s International Passenger Rules and Fares Tariff No. AC2 containing Local Rules, Fares & Charges on behalf of Air Canada Applicable to the Transportation of Passengers and Baggage between points in Canada/USA and points in Areas 1/2/3 and between the USA and Canada, CTA No. 458 (Tariff) are set out in the Appendix.

[5] The Agency does not have the authority to decide whether Mrs. Sarker was discriminated against by Air Canada agents based on her race and ethnicity. It notes, however, that Mrs. Sarker may consider submitting a complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, which investigates certain discrimination-related complaints under the Canadian Human Rights Act, RSC 1985, c H-6.

[6] Communication of gate changes in airports is not a term and condition of transportation in Air Canada’s Tariff; therefore, the Agency cannot enforce these communications, as requested by Mrs. Sarker.

[7] The Agency does not have the authority under the Canada Transportation Act, SC 1996, c 10, to award compensation for stress and suffering in regard to Mrs. Sarker’s complaint. Therefore, the Agency will not consider these aspects of her application.

[8] Rule 70(B) of Air Canada’s Tariff required Mrs. Sarker and her child to be available for boarding at the boarding gate at least 15 minutes before the flight’s scheduled departure. Mrs. Sarker states that she realized that the departure gate for their flight had changed around 2:55 p.m.—which was the originally scheduled departure time of the flight—and then made her way to the correct gate. Therefore, Mrs. Sarker was not present at the boarding gate at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time of departure. In light of this, the Agency finds that Air Canada properly applied Rules 70(B) and 70(C) of its Tariff when it cancelled the reservations for Mrs. Sarker and her child after they did not arrive at the boarding gate on time.

[9] According to Rule 70(C) of Air Canada’s Tariff, when a passenger fails to be at the boarding gate on time, Air Canada may reassign their seat and/or cancel the passenger’s reservation. In these cases, the passenger is only entitled to a refund in accordance with Rule 100.

[10] Based on Rule 100(A)(1) of the Tariff, Economy Basic tickets are entirely non-refundable and hold no credit for future travel. For all other non-refundable tickets, the unused value may be used toward the purchase of another ticket within a year from the date of issue if the ticket is fully unused provided that the customer cancels their booking prior to departure. The tickets purchased by Mrs. Sarker are clearly marked as being non‑refundable, and based on the evidence provided, she did not cancel her booking prior to departure. Given this, Mrs. Sarker is not entitled to a refund for the tickets.

[11] Since Air Canada properly applied the Tariff, Mrs. Sarker is not entitled to be reimbursed for their replacement tickets, meals or transportation to and from the airport.

[12] In light of the above, the Agency dismisses the application.

APPENDIX TO DECISION NO. 135-C-A-2021

International Passenger Rules and Fares Tariff No. AC2 containing Local Rules, Fares & Charges on behalf of Air Canada Applicable to the Transportation of Passengers and Baggage between points in Canada/USA and points in Areas 1/2/3 and between the USA and Canada, CTA No. 458

Rule 70 Check-In and Boarding Time Limits

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(B) Boarding

The passenger must be available for boarding at the boarding gate at least 15 minutes (exception for Tel Aviv 60 minutes, and Casablanca: 30 minutes, for domestic flights and flights to/from the U.S.: 15 minutes) prior to scheduled departure time of the flight on which he/she holds a reservation.

(C) If passenger fails to meet any of these requirements, the carrier may reassign pre‑reserved seat and/or cancel the reservation of such      passenger(s) who arrives past the aforementioned time limits. Carrier is not liable to the passenger for loss or expense due to failure by a passenger to comply this rule. Carrier’s liability shall be limited to providing a general refund, per rule 100.

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Rule 100 Refund

(A) General

Refund by carrier: for unused ticket or portion thereof, or miscellaneous charges order, refund will be made in accordance with this rule.

(1)   Economy basic tickets are entirely non-refundable and hold no credit for future travel. For all other nonrefundable tickets, the unused value may be used toward the purchase of another ticket within a year from date of issue if ticket is fully unused or from first departure date for partially used ticket, subject to any fee or penalty contained in applicable fare rules and subject to customer cancelling the booking prior to departure.

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