Decision No. 24-C-A-2023

[1] The applicant purchased a round-trip ticket through a travel agency to travel from Montréal, Quebec, to Kigali, Rwanda, departing on July 12, 2019, at 3:00 pm and arriving on July 13, 2019, at 6:50 pm. The outbound itinerary consisted of a connecting flight in Toronto, Ontario, and Brussels, Belgium, but during the wait at the Montréal airport, the applicant was informed that the flight from Montréal to Toronto would be delayed for about two hours due to Air Canada fleet constraints. As this delay would prevent the applicant from taking her connecting flight in Toronto, Air Canada decided to rebook the applicant on a replacement flight, from Montréal to Kigali, via Brussels and Cairo, Egypt, which was scheduled to arrive in Kigali on July 13, 2019, at 10:45 pm.

[2] The replacement flight from Montréal to Brussels was also delayed, because the aircraft that was supposed to be used for this flight had to be replaced. The applicant therefore arrived in Brussels 1 hour and 33 minutes late. The applicant states that she missed her connecting flight from Brussels to Cairo because of this delay. She also states that Air Canada then offered her a replacement flight enabling her to arrive in Kigali on July 14, 2019, at 3:00 am.

[3] According to the applicant, she experienced “other mishaps” and arrived in Kigali on July 14, 2019, at 11:00 pm, with a delay of 28 hours and 10 minutes.

[4] Air Canada states that the applicant would have ultimately been rebooked by EgyptAir on a replacement flight from Brussels to Kigali, via Cairo and Entebbe, Uganda. No details have been provided by the applicant regarding this EgyptAir replacement flight or the “other mishaps” that she experienced. The applicant states that because of delays during her trip, she was not able to attend her own wedding, scheduled for July 14 at 9:00 am., and that her baggage was missing when she arrived in Kigali. She also states that she had to purchase several replacement items while waiting for her baggage to be delivered, which was 4 days later.

[5] The applicant seeks compensation in the amount of CAD 2,500 for all expenses related to the delay and the loss of her baggage. This compensation includes an amount corresponding with the cost of the replacement items purchased while she was waiting for her baggage to be delivered, as well as CAD 300 for food expenses and CAD 400 for taxi fares for each time she went to the airport to try to retrieve her baggage. She also seeks compensation under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR).

[6] In this decision, the role of the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency) is to decide whether the respondents properly applied their Tariff to the ticket that the applicant purchased.

[7] If the Agency finds that the respondents have failed to properly apply their Tariff, it may direct the respondents to take the corrective measures that it considers appropriate or to pay compensation for any expense incurred by a person adversely affected by the respondents’ failure.

[8] The applicant refers to the provisions of the APPR, but these regulations were not in effect at the time of the incidents. Therefore, the applicant is not entitled to any compensation under the APPR.

[9] The applicant also refers to Regulation (EC) 261/2004in her email exchanges with Air Canada. Air Canada’s Tariff incorporates Regulation (EC) 261/2004, but provides that this regulation applies only to flights from the European Union and Switzerland. In this case, given that the applicant’s flight was from Canada, the Agency does not have the jurisdiction to consider this aspect of the application.

Flight delay

[10] The applicant arrived at her destination with a delay of 28 hours and 10 minutes. According to Air Canada’s Tariff, times shown in timetables are approximate and not guaranteed, and do not form part of the contract of carriage.

[11] When the departure of the applicant’s flight was delayed at the Montréal airport, Air Canada was required to either rebook her on another one of its flights, or to rebook her on the flight of another carrier with which it has an agreement for this purpose.

[12] Air Canada rebooked the applicant first on another one of its flights at the Montréal airport and then on an Egyptair flight at the Brussels airport.

[13] Therefore, the Agency finds that Air Canada properly applied its Tariff when it rebooked the applicant twice on replacement flights and that it used its best efforts to carry the applicant with reasonable dispatch.

Time limit for claiming expenses

[14] The Montreal Convention requires the passenger to submit a written complaint to the carrier within 21 days from the date on which the baggage was placed at the passenger’s disposal.

[15] According to Air Canada, the applicant did not submit a claim for her interim expenses while she was waiting for her baggage to be delivered until November 4, 2020, over a year after the incidents.

[16] However, the applicant filed an email exchange with Air Canada, demonstrating that she had submitted her claim on July 31, 2019, within the 21-day time limit.

[17] Therefore, the Agency finds that the applicant submitted her written claim within the 21-day time limit set out in the Montreal Convention and that Air Canada is liable for the damage caused by the delay in carrying the applicant’s baggage.

Replacement items

[18] The applicant incurred various expenses to replace the items in her baggage. She filed evidence indicating that she purchased clothing and toiletries. The Agency finds it reasonable that the applicant purchased most of these items, given that she was travelling for her own wedding and these items were related to this event, but that it was unreasonable for her to purchase a third pair of shoes and a second perfume. One of the invoices filed by the applicant, the one dated July 15, 2019, is illegible and two items on the July 16, 2019, invoice, MAC and Signal, are not sufficiently detailed. The applicant is therefore not entitled to compensation for these items.

[19] In light of the above, the Agency finds that Air Canada did not properly apply the terms and conditions set out in its Tariff when it did not compensate the applicant for the replacement items that she purchased while she was waiting for her baggage to be delivered.

[20] Therefore, the Agency finds that the applicant is entitled to compensation in the amount of RWF 1,495,000, or CAD 2,093.

[21] Regarding the food expenses and the taxi fares that the applicant claimed for each time she went to the airport to try to retrieve her baggage, the applicant did not explain how she incurred these expenses or provide any supporting evidence.

[22] Therefore, the Agency finds that the applicant did not meet her burden of proof to demonstrate that the delayed baggage resulted in these expenses. Accordingly, the Agency dismisses this part of the application.

Order

The Agency orders Air Canada to compensate the applicant in the amount of CAD 2,093 as soon as possible and no later than April 24, 2023.