Decision No. 55-C-A-2023
Application by Anaïs Sapienza and Thiago Souza Dantas (applicants) against ABC Aerolineas, S.A. de C.V. (Interjet) [respondent] regarding a flight cancellation
[1] The applicants purchased round-trip tickets with ExploreTrip for travel from Montréal, Quebec, to Cancun, Mexico, departing on April 22, 2020, and returning on April 28, 2020.
[2] The applicants state that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they could not leave the country. They also claim that the respondent cancelled their flight. The respondent issued a CAD 956.52 travel voucher for their unused tickets. This travel voucher was valid until February 20, 2021.
[3] The applicants state that they were unable to use their travel voucher before the expiration date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have asked that the validity period of their voucher be extended but were denied. They now seek reimbursement of their ticket purchase price.
[4] In this decision, the role of the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency) is to decide whether the respondent properly applied the terms and conditions applicable to the tickets that the applicants purchased, as set out in the respondent’s Tariff.
[5] If the Agency finds that the respondent has failed to properly apply its Tariff, the Agency may direct the respondent to take the corrective measures that the Agency considers appropriate or to pay compensation for any expense incurred by a person adversely affected by the respondent’s failure.
[6] The respondent’s Tariff states that a passenger is entitled to a full refund of the ticket purchase price when they voluntarily cancel their reservation only if they have purchased a Priority ticket. For all other types of tickets, reimbursements will not be issued if the passenger cancels the ticket themselves.
[7] In the event of a flight disruption, the respondent must offer to rebook the passenger on another flight. If this alternative solution is not suitable for the passenger, the respondent must reimburse the unused portion of the ticket. The refund must be made, at the passenger’s option, in the form of a credit to an e-wallet or to the original form of payment, within 20 business days of the passenger’s request for a refund.
[8] The applicants state that the respondent cancelled their flight. The respondent did not file an answer to the application to refute this statement.
[9] The documentation filed by the applicants to support the application shows that the applicants themselves contacted ExploreTrip on March 17, 2020, to delay their trip as they would no longer be able to travel on the dates planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the applicants’ consent and on payment of CAD 116.52, ExploreTrip cancelled their reservation and provided them with a travel voucher of an amount equal to the price of their tickets and valid until February 20, 2021, exchangeable with the respondent.
[10] In this case, the applicants themselves asked to cancel their tickets. Furthermore, the applicants had purchased tickets for which reimbursement was not available in the event of voluntary cancellation.
[11] In light of the above, the Agency finds that the applicants have not met their burden of demonstrating that the respondent failed to properly apply its Tariff when it provided them with a travel voucher valid until February 20, 2021, when no refund was required.
[12] Therefore, the Agency dismisses the application.
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 | 7.2; 21.1 |
Member(s)
- Date modified: