Statistics 2018-2019

Table of contents

Overview

Total rulings by Members

Appointed by the Governor in Council, the Agency's Members are responsible for rendering decisions and orders related to formal complaints or applications, as well as addressing other issues affecting Canada's national transportation system.

As objective and impartial quasi-judicial decision-makers, the Members abide by a Code of Conduct.

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

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Orders 230 236 212 229 227
Decisions Footnote 1 57 69 353 405 438
Determinations Footnote 1 266 260 14 n/a n/a
Permits 503 387 353 374 355
Final letter decisions 20 13 14 25 32
Interim decisions 114 91 58 68 83
Total 1190 1056 1004 1101 1135

Disputes resolved by the Agency

The Canadian Transportation Agency keeps the national transportation system running efficiently and smoothly in the interests of all Canadians – those who work and invest in it, the producers, shippers, travellers and businesses who rely on it, and the communities where it operates – and the prosperity and social fabric of the country as a whole. One way the Agency implements this mandate is by helping resolve disputes by using a range of approaches from relatively informal facilitation and mediation to more formal arbitration and adjudication.

Disputes resolved by facilitation

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Accessible 72 78 53 40 15
Air 4461 3614 2126 716 706
Marine 0 0 0 0 0
Rail 15 16 14 3 24
Total 4548 3708 2193 759 745

Disputes resolved by mediation

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Accessible 14 7 10 3 5
Air 160 123 55 20 19
Marine 0 0 0 0 0
Rail 7 8 7 6 7
Total 181 138 72 29 31

Disputes resolved by adjudication

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Accessible 12 13 6 3 5
Air 47 54 14 21 116
Marine 8 22 6 2 9
Rail 9 5 8 18 17
Total 76 94 34 44 147

Disputes resolved by arbitration

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Accessible 0 0 0 0 0
Air 0 0 0 0 0
Marine 0 0 0 0 0
Rail 5 1 2 2 3
Total 5 1 2 2 3

Fostering compliance

Inspections and investigations

The CTA is committed to ensuring effective monitoring and enforcement of industry compliance with legislative and regulatory provisions, which is in the interests of travellers, shippers, and the transportation companies that follow the rules and should not face unfair competition from those who don't. Agency enforcement officers conduct periodic inspections and targeted investigations to verify that service providers comply with the Canada Transportation Act, 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.

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Air carriers - periodic inspections 86 80 139 167 141
Passenger terminals - periodic inspections 22 28 22 27 34
Targeted investigations 53 65 34 45 82
Verification of air carriers' advertisements 26 38 16 9 39
Total 187 211 211 248 296

Contraventions

Enforcement officers can issue fines (administrative monetary penalties) for contraventions of certain provisions in the following legislation and regulations:

  • Canada Transportation Act
  • Air Transportation Regulations
  • Personnel Training for the Assistance of Persons with Disabilities Regulations

Enforcement officers consider whether to take action in every case where Members find a contravention of these provisions. Fines can reach $5,000 per offence for individuals and $25,000 for corporations, depending on the type of penalty and contravention. In addition, some specific rail-related violations can reach up to $100,000 per offence.

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Monetary penalties 16 28 14 12 30
Informal warnings 0 0 5 4 21
Formal warnings 63 56 42 48 78
Total 79 84 61 64 129
Total amount of penalties $185,000 $550,750 $116,250 $103,500 $177,750

Providing consumer protection for air passengers

Number and outcome of air travel complaints

The Canadian Transportation Agency can help resolve complaints about air travel within, to and from Canada. The role of the CTA is to make sure that the airline has applied the terms and conditions set out in the passengers contract with the airline – and that both the passenger and the airline have met their end of the bargain. The Agency can also handle more complex cases where a passenger feels that the airline's contract is unclear, unjust, unreasonable or discriminatory. Some common issues the CTA can help with: flight delays, cancellations, missed connections, schedule changes; lost, damaged or delayed baggage; getting bumped due to overbooking.

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

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Carry-over from previous reporting period 1384 884 269 236 283
New complaints 7650 5565 3367 826 824
Total 9034 6449 3636 1062 1107

Complaints closed by process

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Facilitation 4461 3614 2126 716 706
Mediation 160 123 55 20 19
Adjudication 47 54 14 21 116
Air Transat Inquiry - 89 - - -
Determined to be outside of the Agency's mandate 559 494 517 26 57
Other Footnote 2 612 691 40 24 72
Total 5839 5065 2752 807 970

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

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Complaints in progress at year end 3218 1384 884 269 185

Number of complaints resolved (by carrier)

Note:Complaints against more than one 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

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Air Canada 1997 2380 1556 449 428
Air Transat 302 341 141 22 34
WestJet 369 329 166 36 34
Sunwing 252 146 51 25 29
Porter Airlines 114 136 43 14 19
Flair 225 49 1 - -
Other 97 34 27 15 17
Total 3356 3415 1985 561 561

Number of complaints against U.S. carriers

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
United 79 91 76 36 38
American Airlines 46 61 40 17 14
Delta 31 50 19 7 11
Other 6 5 7 2 9
Total 162 207 142 62 72

Number of complaints against European carriers

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Lufthansa 77 43 47 15 20
Air France 54 39 20 5 13
British Airways 34 37 27 10 13
KLM 29 31 19 5 9
Alitalia 13 15 13 14 18
Other 278 101 160 32 18
Total 485 266 286 81 91

Number of complaints against other foreign carriers

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Royal Air Maroc 83 57 24 11 9
Jet Airways 29 48 27 12 11
WOW Airlines 67 43 - - -
Turkish Airlines 44 32 23 0 5
China Eastern 23 28 17 1 7
Etihad Airways 24 17 15 9 8
Air India 8 13 15 5 11
Cathay Pacific 8 11 8 0 2
Other 379 338 210 58 44
Total 665 587 339 96 97

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

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Flight disruptions 4145 2657 1325 495 635
Baggage 2023 1517 968 276 308
Issues outside the Agency's jurisdiction 2720 1036 518 275 91
Ticketing 734 362 334 106 111
Refusal to transport 464 359 382 114 122
Reservations 337 286 159 71 78
Denied boarding 152 159 135 55 50
Fares 86 26 49 14 11
Other 25 22 14 7 4
Total 10686 6424 3884 1406 1406

Issues within the Agency's jurisdiction – major Canadian carriers (2018-2019)

  Air Canada Air Transat Porter Sunwing WestJet Other
Baggage 993 82 16 100 96 123
Denied boarding 97 5 3 1 6 3
Flight disruptions 1907 261 139 266 388 198
Refusal to transport 167 42 8 9 33 30
Reservations 158 24 3 13 21 23
Ticketing 324 30 17 9 55 77
OtherFootnote 3 1202 137 86 127 235 222
Total 4848 581 272 525 834 676
Previous statistics on issues raised in complaints – major Canadian air carriers

Issues within the Agency's jurisdiction – major Canadian carriers (2017-2018)

  Air Canada Air Transat Porter Sunwing WestJet Other
Baggage 903 47 5 50 70 27
Denied boarding 106 4 3 0 5 1
Flight disruptions 1405 283 128 91 212 33
Refusal to transport 165 27 9 8 16 6
Reservations 147 18 3 5 29 5
Ticketing 175 18 8 5 24 9
Other 18 2 1 0 3 1
Total 2919 399 157 159 359 82

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

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 Footnote 4
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
Other 5 0 0 0 0 0
Total 694 47 26 46 59 32

Other statistics by mode of transportation

Air carriers holding Agency licences

The Agency is the aeronautical authority for Canada that issues licences to operate publicly available air services. The Agency issues licences to operate domestic air services to Canadian applicants. It also issues licences to operate scheduled and non-scheduled international services to and from Canada.

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

Total number of air carriers Agency licences

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Canadian 578 600 613 630 648
U.S. 590 597 607 610 624
Other 234 230 220 205 184
Total 1402 1427 1440 1445 1456

Types of licences held by Canadian air carriers (2018-2019)

  Small aircraft Medium aircraft Large aircraft All cargo Total
Domestic 566 23 15 41 645
Non-scheduled international 246 20 15 29 310
Scheduled international 10 41 167 101 319
Total 822 84 197 171 1274
Previous statistics on licences held by Canadian air carriers

Types of licences held by Canadian air carriers (2017-2018)

  Small aircraft Medium aircraft Large aircraft All cargo Total
Domestic 590 24 13 41 668
Non-scheduled international 254 21 13 28 316
Scheduled international 11 40 151 98 300
Total 855 85 177 167 1284

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

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 U.S. and other foreign air carriers (2018-2019)

  U.S. Other
Non-scheduled international 584 183
Scheduled international 42 112
Total 626 295
Previous statistics on licences held by U.S. and other foreign carriers

Types of licences held by U.S. and other foreign air carriers (2017-2018)

  U.S. Other
Non-scheduled international 588 182
Scheduled international 40 109
Total 628 291

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

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

Air licensing activities

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
New licences 90 86 114 111 116
Amendment of licences initiated by the applicant 40 73 89 65 52
Amendment of licences initiated by the Agency 1 31 14 10 7
Suspensions initiated by the applicant 36 29 32 28 60
Suspensions initiated by the Agency 155 162 147 159 127
Exemptions/rulings 123 116 120 151 137
Reinstatements 96 81 88 83 81
Cancellations 84 86 105 93 99
Code share authorities 23 26 73 99 93
Wet lease authorities 23 17 20 29 26
Total 671 707 802 828 798

Air charter permits

An international charter air service is a non-scheduled international service operated under a contractual arrangement between an air carrier and a charterer. Carriers holding a licence for a non-scheduled international service must get an Agency program permit or an authorization to operate Canadian-originating charter flights to any foreign country. The permit and authorization processes ensure that air carriers operating international charter flights comply with the Air Transportation Regulations.

Number of permits issued

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Passenger non-resaleable entity charters 308 226 179 178 158
Cargo non-resaleable entity charters 150 94 109 113 125
Passengers resaleable 51 55 63 82 82
Total 509 375 351 373 365

Other air charter permit activities

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Exemptions granted to the charter regulations 849 643 603 594 552
Amendments to charter permits 8 9 13 30 31

Air charter flight notifications

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

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Canadian originating (non-resaleable passenger) 327 372 443 699 673
Canadian originating (cargo) 29 23 23 31 33
U.S. originating (passenger) 579 532 599 798 675
U.S. originating (cargo) 122 219 235 240 243
Total 1057 1146 1300 1768 1624

Air charter flight notifications for other international charters

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.

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Foreign originating (passenger) 24 44 79 113 88
Foreign originating (cargo) 20 42 43 28 95
Canadian originating passenger non-resaleable entity charters 9 3 2 2 5
Canadian originating cargo non-resaleable entity charters 10 2 6 1 4
Total 63 91 130 144 192

Railway infrastructure and construction

The Agency approves specific railway line construction projects. If a railway company intends to construct a railway line, it must file an application with the Agency under section 98 of the Canada Transportation Act for approval.

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Railway crossing agreements filedFootnote 5 25 25 127 84 3
Approvals - railway line locations and construction of railway crossings 0 0 1 4 1
Approvals - railway line locations on federal lands 0 0 0 1 0
Notices of railway discontinuance received 6 3 3 2 11
Net salvage value determinationsFootnote 6 0 0 0 0 0
New, modified or cancelled certificates of fitness 4 0 6 10 5

Marine coasting trade applications

Coasting trade licences are issued by the Minister of Public Safety to Canadian residents who have applied for permission to bring a foreign flagged vessel into Canadian waters to perform a service or activity over a specified period of time. You must simultaneously apply to the Agency and the Canada Border Services Agency to obtain a licence.

The Agency determines whether there are suitable Canadian ships available to carry out the activity described in the application. If the proposed activity involves the carriage of passengers, the Agency determines if there is an adequate marine service using Canadian vessels.

The Canada Border Services Agency cannot license anyone to use a foreign-registered ship until the Agency issues its determination.

A coasting trade licence is issued when there are no suitable Canadian vessels available to perform the service or activity.

Applications processed

  2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015
Approved 73 102 108 80 89
Denied 8 2 5 0 2
Withdrawn 5 8 2 7 5
Total 86 112 115 87 96

Endnotes

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