The Canadian Transportation Agency received 10,561 complaints from travelers from April 1 to June 30, nearly 2.5 times more than in the same period last year.
According to the agency, the vast majority of these complaints relate to flight disruptions (65.2%), followed by communication or assistance (13.3%) and baggage or goods (6.5%).
The most affected departure airports are: Toronto (21.7%), Calgary (9.7%), Vancouver (8.7%), Montreal (8.6%) and Edmonton (3%).
Canadian Freight Forwarder Complaints
| vans | Percentage of Complaints (April 1 – June 30, 2023) | Complaints per 100 flights (April 2022 – March 2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada | 37% | 4.3 |
| WestJet | 15.3% | 6.6 |
| flair | 9% | 15.3 |
| sun wings | 5.9% | 13.8 |
| dive | 5.3% | 13.2 |
Source: Canadian Transportation Agency
The Transportation Authority currently has a backlog of over 52,000 air travel complaints.
The organization attributes the significant increase in complaints to the disruptions identified in the summer of 2022 and during the holiday season last winter.
Not surprising
John Gradek, an aviation expert and lecturer at McGill University, is not surprised by the increase in complaints.
He says airlines often refuse to compensate travelers for safety reasons. According to him, “the appeal process is not working”.
It’s long, it’s bureaucratic, it’s not easy.
He estimates that only 10 to 15% of affected passengers continue the complaints process to the end.
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John Gradek, a former Air Canada executive, is the Aviation Management Program Coordinator at McGill University in Montreal. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio Canada / Frédéric Deschênes
18 months to process a complaint
The traffic office warns that the waiting time for the processing of a complaint is currently more than 18 months.
The organization launched consultations on Air Passenger Charter reform this week.
Professor Gradek welcomes the agency’s proposal to speed up the appeals process, but worries airlines still have loopholes to deny passengers compensation.
He also wonders why small transport companies do not have to pay as much compensation as others. For him, there should be “one rule for all shipments in Canada,” with the exception of northern Canada, where operating conditions can be particularly difficult.
reactions
Flair says in a statement that the “vast majority” of its customers have had a “great experience.” The airline still acknowledges that it has struggled in the past, but says it has made significant investments that have resulted in immediate and tangible improvements, such as our new dedicated customer service team in Montreal.
We’ve also reached out to Air Canada, WestJet, and Sunwing for comment, but haven’t received a response yet.