Decision No. 45-C-A-2023

April 6, 2023

Application by Xuejie Cheng and Yang Hu (applicants) against ABC Aerolineas, S.A. de C.V. (Interjet) [respondent] regarding a flight cancellation

Case number: 
23-04922

[1] The applicants purchased round-trip tickets from the respondent for travel from Toronto, Ontario to Mexico City, Mexico, departing on October 31, 2020, and returning on November 8, 2020. The respondent cancelled the flight and provided the applicants with travel vouchers. The applicants seek a refund of their tickets to the original form of payment.

[2] In this decision, the role of the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency) is to decide whether the respondent properly applied the terms and conditions that were applicable to the tickets that the applicants purchased, as set out in its Tariff.

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

[4] The respondent’s Tariff provides that if the carrier cancels a flight for reasons within its control, the carrier will provide the passenger with a refund equal to the fare and charges that they paid by either issuing a credit in the form of an e-wallet or a refund to the original form of payment used to purchase the ticket, at the passenger’s option.

[5] The respondent did not file an answer to the application. While the applicants submitted a copy of an email in which the respondent alleges that it cancelled the flight to comply with health and government measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no evidence to support that allegation and, therefore, to establish that the cancellation was due to a situation outside the respondent’s control.

[6] Accordingly, the Agency accepts the applicants’ claim as undisputed and finds that the respondent did not properly apply the terms and conditions set out in its Tariff by not providing the applicants with a refund of their tickets to the original form of payment as they requested.

[7] The applicants submitted a copy of their credit card statement, demonstrating that they paid a total amount of CAD 710.31 for their tickets.

Order

[8] The Agency orders the respondent to refund the applicants, to the original form of payment used to purchase their tickets, in the amount of CAD 710.31 as soon as possible and no later than May 24, 2023.

Legislation or Tariff referenced Numeric identifier (section, subsection, rule, etc.)
Air Transportation Regulations, SOR/88-58 110(4); 113.1(1)
International Scheduled Services Tariff General Rules Applicable to the Transportation of Passengers and Baggage Between Mexico and Canada, CTA(A) 1 21.2.2(a); 21.2.3

Member(s)

Mary Tobin Oates
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