Statistics 2016-2017

 Table of contents

Overview

Total rulings by Members

Note: Sometimes a single ruling is made that covers multiple cases. As well, some cases may result in multiple types of rulings.

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Orders 212 229 227 309 423
Decisions 353 405 438 458 518
Determinations 14 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Permits 353 374 355 485 481
Final letter decisions 14 25 32 25 18
Interim decisions 58 68 83 93 189
Total 1004 1101 1135 1370 1629

Disputes resolved by the Agency

Disputes resolved by facilitation

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Accessible 53 40 15 20 12
Air 2126 716 706 519 370
Marine 0 0 0 0 0
Rail 14 3 24 6 31
Total 2193 759 745 545 413

Disputes resolved by mediation

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Accessible 10 3 5 4 1
Air 55 20 19 7 4
Marine 0 0 0 2 0
Rail 7 6 7 10 3
Total 72 29 31 23 8

Disputes resolved by adjudication

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Accessible 6 3 5 8 17
Air 14 21 116 24 16
Marine 6 2 9 4 6
Rail 8 18 17 17 10
Total 34 44 147 53 49

Fostering compliance

Inspections and investigations

Agency enforcement officers conduct periodic inspections and targeted investigations to verify that service providers comply with the Canada Transportation Act, the Air Transportation Regulations and the Personnel Training for the Assistance of Persons with Disabilities Regulations.

Agency officers also regularly verify that any person or corporation that advertises air fares complies with all-inclusive air price advertising regulations.

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Air carriers - periodic inspections 139 167 141 156 225
Passenger terminals - periodic inspections 22 27 34 23 29
Targeted investigations 34 45 82 75 40
Verification of air carriers' advertisements 16 9 39 102 n/a
Total 211 248 296 356 294

Contraventions Note 1

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Monetary penalties 15 10 19 29 7
Informal warnings 5 4 21 96 123
Formal warnings 43 43 73 115 39
Total 63 57 113 240 169

Providing consumer protection for air passengers

Number and outcome of air travel complaints

Note: These statistics only include complaints that were submitted to the Agency – they do not reflect the total number of air travel complaints against air carriers. Many travellers resolve their complaints directly with the carrier.

New complaints and complaints carried over

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Carry-over from previous reporting period 269 236 283 137 54
New complaints 3367 826 824 882 529
Total 3636 1062 1107 1019 583

Outcome of complaint

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Resolved by facilitation 2126 716 706 519 370
Resolved by mediation 55 20 19 7 4
Resolved by adjudication 14 21 116 24 16
Determined to be outside of the Agency's mandate 517 26 57 76 42
Withdrawn 40 24 72 43 23
Total 2752 807 970 669 455

Number of complaints in progress at year end (March 31)

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Complaints in progress at year end 884 269 185 331 118

Number of complaints resolved (by carrier)

Note: Complaints against more than one air carrier are counted for each carrier involved in the dispute resolution process.

Complaints against an air carrier include complaints that were made against that carrier's subsidiaries and affiliates. For example, Air Canada includes complaints against Jazz Aviation, Sky Regional, Air Georgian, etc.

The "Other" category includes carriers that:

  • only have 1-2 complaints against them; and/or
  • ceased operations in the previous reporting periods.

Number of complaints against Canadian carriers

  2016-2017 Note 2 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Air Canada 1556 449 428 434 233
Air Transat 141 22 34 26 18
CanJet 0 1 4 7 6
Porter Airlines 43 14 19 12 3
Sunwing 51 25 29 35 26
WestJet 166 36 34 25 14
Other 28 14 13 7 1
Total 1985 561 561 546 301

Number of complaints against U.S. carriers

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
American Airlines 40 17 14 7 6
Delta 19 7 1 9 3
UnitedNote 3 76 36 38 31 21
US Airways 1 1 3 9 6
Other 6 1 6 1 2
Total 142 62 72 57 38

Number of complaints against European carriers

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Air France 20 5 13 13 9
AlitaliaNote 5 13 14 18 12 8
British Airways 27 10 13 13 9
Iberia 2 1 1 15 4
KLM 19 5 9 14 9
Lufthansa 47 15 20 6 13
Swiss International 7 4 3 74 51
Other 151 27 14 13 5
Total 286 81 91 160 108

Number of complaints against other foreign carriers

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Air India 15 5 11 3 5
Cathay Pacific 8 0 2 1 3
China Eastern 17 1 7 6 4
Etihad Airways 15 9 8 8 5
Jet Airways 27 12 11 14 9
Royal Air Maroc 24 11 9 8 4
Turkish Airlines 23 0 5 3 5
Other 210 58 44 62 27
Total 339 96 97 105 62

Issues raised in air travel complaints

The Agency is required by the Canada Transportation Act to provide an overview of the all air travel complaints it processes – even if it's not an issue the Agency can help with. These issues are reported separately.

Learn more about the types of complaints the Agency can and cannot handle.

Note: Complaints often involve more than one issue. That's why the total number of issues is greater than the number of complaints.

Issues – all carriers

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Baggage 968 276 308 281 212
Carrier-operated loyalty programs 10 1 3 4 6
Denied boarding 135 55 50 82 55
Fares 49 14 11 105 63
Flight disruptions 1325 595 635 568 281
Refusal to transport 382 114 122 170 64
Reservations 159 71 78 172 116
Ticketing 334 106 111 136 92
Other 14 7 4 69 7
Issues outside the Agency's jurisdiction 508 274 88 402 701
Total 3884 1139 1322 1587 896

Issues within the Agency's jurisdiction – major Canadian carriers (2016-2017)

  Air Canada Air Transat Porter Sunwing WestJet Other
Baggage 465 33 2 19 24 4
Carrier-operated loyalty programs 2 1 1 1 0 0
Denied boarding 85 1 4 0 4 0
Flight disruptions 694 74 22 20 75 17
Refusal to transport 195 15 3 7 12 1
Reservations 69 9 5 5 7 0
Ticketing 228 14 4 1 9 2
Other 0 26 6 5 23 2
Total 1738 173 47 58 154 26
  • Previous statistics on issues raised in complaints – major Canadian air carriers

    Issues within the Agency's jurisdiction – major Canadian carriers (2015-2016)

      Air Canada Air Transat Porter Sunwing WestJet Other
    Baggage 139 7 0 5 14 9
    Carrier-operated loyalty programs 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Denied boarding 37 0 0 0 2 3
    Flight disruptions 396 9 6 18 36 15
    Refusal to transport 68 6 3 6 4 3
    Reservations 25 2 2 1 2 0
    Ticketing 64 7 1 2 2 1
    Other 11 0 0 0 0 0
    Total 740 31 12 32 60 31

    Issues within the Agency's jurisdiction – major Canadian carriers (2014-2015)

      Air Canada Air Transat Porter Sunwing WestJet Other
    Baggage 138 7 4 7 16 8
    Carrier-operated loyalty programs 2 0 0 0 0 0
    Denied boarding 27 0 0 0 2 0
    Flight disruptions 369 18 14 34 33 18
    Refusal to transport 61 12 5 0 4 4
    Reservations 38 6 0 1 0 0
    Ticketing 54 4 3 4 4 2
    OtherNote 4 5 0 0 0 0 0
    Total 694 47 26 46 59 32

    Issues within the Agency's jurisdiction – major Canadian carriers (2013-2014)

      Air Canada Air Transat Porter Sunwing WestJet Other
    Baggage 122 6 1 13 16 2
    Carrier-operated loyalty programs 2 0 0 0 0 0
    Denied boarding 71 0 0 0 0 2
    Flight disruptions 344 8 13 35 19 10
    Refusal to transport 93 10 0 3 5 2
    Reservations 38 2 1 1 3 1
    Ticketing 80 6 0 2 1 3
    Other 8 0 0 0 0 0
    Total 758 32 15 54 44 22

    Issues within the Agency's jurisdiction – major Canadian carriers (2012-2013)

      Air Canada Air Transat Sunwing WestJet Other
    Baggage 72 3 7 3 8
    Carrier-operated loyalty programs 2 0 0 1 0
    Denied boarding 43 0 0 0 0
    Flight disruptions 168 7 20 7 4
    Refusal to transport 31 4 3 3 2
    Reservations 23 4 3 3 2
    Ticketing 54 4 3 3 0
    Other 6 2 1 0 1
    Total 399 24 36 17 15

Other statistics by mode of transportation

Air carriers holding Agency licences

Note: the number of licences is the total on March 31 (the end of the fiscal year).

Total number of air carriers

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Canadian 613 630 648 665 679
U.S. 607 610 624 629 632
Other 220 205 184 177 170
Total 1440 1445 1456 1471 1481

Types of licences held by Canadian air carriers (2016-2017)

  Small aircraft Medium aircraft Large aircraft All cargo Total
Domestic 609 25 13 43 690
Non-scheduled international 256 22 13 29 320
Scheduled international 9 41 152 98 300
Total 874 88 178 170 1310
  • Previous statistics on licences held by Canadian air carriers

    Types of licences held by Canadian air carriers (2015-2016)

      Small aircraft Medium aircraft Large aircraft All cargo Total
    Domestic 635 25 14 44 718
    Non-scheduled international 261 22 14 28 325
    Scheduled international 8 28 156 80 272
    Total 904 75 184 152 1315

    Types of licences held by Canadian air carriers (2014-2015)

      Small aircraft Medium aircraft Large aircraft All cargo Total
    Domestic 644 25 16 46 731
    Non-scheduled international 271 22 16 29 338
    Scheduled international 8 28 153 78 267
    Total 923 75 185 153 1336

    Types of licences held by Canadian air carriers (2013-2014)

      Small aircraft Medium aircraft Large aircraft All cargo Total
    Domestic 655 24 15 46 740
    Non-scheduled international 273 21 15 29 338
    Scheduled international 9 28 148 81 266
    Total 937 73 178 156 1344

    Types of licences held by Canadian air carriers (2012-2013)

      Small aircraft Medium aircraft Large aircraft All cargo Total
    Domestic 666 22 16 46 750
    Non-scheduled international 277 20 16 30 343
    Scheduled international 9 27 147 83 266
    Total 952 69 179 159 1359

Types of licences held by U.S. and other foreign air carriers (2016-2017)

  U.S. Other
Non-scheduled international 598 172
Scheduled international 42 110
Total 640 282
  • Previous statistics on licences held by U.S. and other foreign carriers

    Types of licences held by U.S. and other foreign air carriers (2015-2016)

      U.S. Other
    Non-scheduled international 601 160
    Scheduled international 40 103
    Total 641 263

    Types of licences held by U.S. and other foreign air carriers (2014-2015)

      U.S. Other
    Non-scheduled international 613 144
    Scheduled international 40 96
    Total 653 240

    Types of licences held by U.S. and other foreign air carriers (2013-2014)

      U.S. Other
    Non-scheduled international 618 143
    Scheduled international 42 92
    Total 660 235

    Types of licences held by U.S. and other foreign air carriers (2012-2013)

      U.S. Other
    Non-scheduled international 620 135
    Scheduled international 45 90
    Total 665 225

Air licensing activities

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
New licences 114 111 116 108 138
Amendment of licences initiated by the applicant 89 65 52 141 79
Amendment of licences initiated by the Agency 14 10 7 9 63
Suspensions initiated by the applicant 32 28 60 71 97
Suspensions initiated by the Agency 147 159 127 165 148
Exemptions/rulings 120 151 137 123 119
Reinstatements 88 83 81 81 92
Cancellations 105 93 99 92 109
Code share authorities 73 99 93 65 73
Wet lease authorities 20 29 26 15 12
Total 802 828 798 870 930

Air charter permits

Number of permits issued

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Passenger non-resaleable entity charters 179 178 158 179 150
Cargo non-resaleable entity charters 109 113 125 141 104
Passengers resaleable 63 82 82 161 221
Total 351 373 365 481 475

Other air charter permit activities

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Exemptions granted to the charter regulations 603 594 552 592 548
Amendments to charter permits 13 30 31 27 50

Air charter flight notifications

Air charter flight notifications for Canada – U.S. charters

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Canadian originating (non-resaleable passenger) 443 699 673 706 549
Canadian originating (cargo) 23 31 33 47 56
U.S. originating (passenger) 599 798 675 719 611
U.S. originating (cargo) 235 240 243 206 377
Total 1300 1768 1624 1678 1593

Air charter flight notifications for Canada – Foreign charters

Note: Note: As of April 1, 2014, the Agency has granted certain carriers with an exemption to operate last minute air ambulance and entity cargo charter flights following the Agency's elimination of its after-hours service.

These flights were processed using this new approach and would have ordinarily been captured under air charter permits issued.

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Foreign originating (passenger) 79 113 88 85 70
Foreign originating (cargo) 43 28 95 124 52
Canadian originating passenger non-resaleable entity charters 2 2 5 n/a n/a
Canadian originating cargo non-resaleable entity charters 6 1 4 n/a n/a
Total 130 144 192 209 122

Railway infrastructure and construction

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Railway crossing agreements filedNote 6 127 84 3 157 79
Approvals - railway line locations and construction of railway crossings 1 4 1 1 0
Approvals - railway line locations on federal lands 0 1 0 0 0
Notices of railway discontinuance received 3 2 11 0 0
Net salvage value determinationsNote 7 0 0 0 1 0
New, modified or cancelled certificates of fitness 6 10 5 7 5

Marine coasting trade applications

Applications processed

  2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013
Approved 108 80 89 98 87
Denied 5 0 2 3 3
Withdrawn 2 7 5 10 5
Total 115 87 96 111 95
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