Decision No. 92-C-A-2023

[1] Josiane Lord purchased a round-trip ticket for travel with Interjet from Montréal, Quebec, to Lima, Peru, via Mexico City, Mexico, departing on June 5, 2020, and returning on June 17, 2020.

[2] Ms. Lord states that Interjet cancelled her flight due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that she was provided with a travel credit without the possibility of having a refund.

[3] Ms. Lord seeks a refund in the amount of CAD 548.31, that is the amount that she paid for her ticket.

[4] In this decision, the role of the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency) is to decide whether Interjet properly applied the terms and conditions applicable to the ticket that Ms. Lord purchased, as set out in its Tariff.

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

[6] While air carriers are required to file a tariff with the Agency before they begin to operate an international air service, the Agency does not have a tariff from Interjet with respect to the air service at issue in this case.

[7] Nevertheless, the Canada Transportation Act provides that the obligations of the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) are deemed to form part of the terms and conditions set out in the carrier’s tariff. For this reason, the Agency will consider those obligations in this decision.

[8] Under the APPR, when a flight is cancelled for reasons within the carrier’s control, the carrier must provide alternate travel arrangements or a refund if those arrangements do not meet the passengers’ needs. The refund must be processed to the original form of payment.

[9] Interjet did not file an answer to the application. Therefore, there is no evidence that demonstrates that the cancellation was outside the carrier’s control or within its control but required for safety.

[10] The Agency accepts Ms. Lord’s claim as undisputed and finds that the cancellation of Ms. Lord’s flight was within Interjet’s control. Consequently, the Agency finds that Interjet failed to properly comply with its obligations under the APPR when it did not provide a refund to Ms. Lord for her ticket.

Order

[11] The Agency orders Interjet to provide Ms. Lord with a refund in the amount of CAD 548.31 as soon as possible and no later than July 25,2023.