Scott Aalgaard and his daughter Yuki at the airport. The two, along with Aalgaard’s wife, were delayed by six hours when travelling from Toronto to Hartford, Conn. (Submitted by Scott Aalgaard – image credit)
For Scott Aalgaard, it doesn’t add up.
On the morning of July 5, Air Canada informed Aalgaard by email his flight that day from Toronto to Hartford, Conn., had been delayed due to “an unforeseen maintenance issue.”
That afternoon, the reason had changed to either “staffing constraints” or “health and safety initiatives.”
Three days later, Air Canada informed Aalgaard he doesn’t qualify for compensation because his flight was cancelled (instead of delayed) due to a “labour dispute” that was outside the airline’s control.
Aalgaard, a Canadian from B.C. currently living in Middletown, Conn., says the new explanation makes no sense.
“There was no indication that there was any sort of labour dispute,” he said. “It feels to me like the company is throwing darts at a big poster on the wall, trying to pick out reasons and see what will stick.”
The recent travel chaos at some Canadian airports has led to a spate of flight delays and cancellations. And that has sparked a spate of complaints from passengers that some airlines are providing suspect reasons why they were denied compensation for flight disruptions.
Under federal regulations, airlines must compensate passengers up to $1,000 for flight delays of three hours or more.
Because Aalgaard’s flight was delayed by six hours, he, his wife and daughter, whom he was travelling with, would each get $700. However, airlines only have to pay up if the reason for the delay was within their control and not for safety reasons, such as unforeseen mechanical problems.
Aalgaard has filed for compensation with Air Canada despite its claim his flight isn’t eligible. If that doesn’t work out, he plans to file a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).
“I don’t want Canada to be a place where big companies can just make up the story as they go along,” he said.
Air Canada
A demand for more details
Aalgaard’s not alone. Shortly after Canada launched its flight delay compensation rules in 2019, thousands of air passengers flooded the Canadian Transportation Agency with complaints they received inadequate reasons for denied compensation.
In November 2021, following a lengthy inquiry that involved all of Canada’s major airlines, the CTA announced it found no evidence the airlines “intentionally misled passengers.” However, the agency said much of the information provided to passengers explaining their flight delays “was inadequate, terse and unclear.”
As a result, the CTA clarified that airlines must explain in “sufficient detail” the reason for a flight delay.
Consumer advocate Tahira Dawood says passengers need that information to assess whether they should dispute their case.
“They cannot challenge [the airlines] if they have limited information, or they do not themselves understand what they’re hearing from the air carriers,” said Dawood, a lawyer with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.
CBC
Connie DeMelo of Brantford, Ont., was upset when WestJet rejected her claim for compensation. DeMelo and her husband’s flight from Honolulu to Toronto on May 28 was delayed for almost six hours.
If the delay was caused by WestJet, DeMelo and her husband would each get $400. However, the airline told her in an email that the flight disruption “was outside WestJet’s control.”
WestJet provided no specific reason for the delay.
“They don’t want to take responsibility,” said DeMelo. “If they did give me a reason, I may pursue it even further. But at this point, I don’t know what I’m pursuing.”
Submitted by Connie DeMelo
Air Canada passenger Joshua Cohen received a more detailed explanation why his May 21 flight from Chicago to Toronto was cancelled, but he’s still dissatisfied.
Cohen was rebooked on a flight the following day. He said an Air Canada employee at the Chicago airport assured him the airline would cover his hotel and food costs for the night.
However, when Cohen submitted his expenses for $533.73 US, Air Canada responded by email that he wasn’t eligible for compensation. The airline said his flight cancellation was due to “unforeseen staffing issues” that arose due to the impact of COVID-19, and were outside the airline’s control.
He was offered instead a $100 flight voucher.
“That’s an absolute slap in the face,” said Cohen, who lives in Toronto. He argues staffing issues are within an airline’s control.
“They’re trying everything not to compensate their passengers and try and save some money. It’s just not acceptable.”
CTA says file a complaint
WestJet and Air Canada declined to comment on the specific cases in this story. Both airlines said they adhere to Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations and that they’re currently operating in a challenging environment as the travel industry recovers.
The Canadian Transportation Agency said dissatisfied passengers can file a complaint, the outcome of which may help add clarity to the compensation regulations.
“An important part of our regime is the CTA making decisions on cases and airlines taking account of those decisions in their future actions,” said CTA spokesperson Tom Oomen.
According to the CTA’s decision, WestJet had previously told the passenger he wasn’t entitled to compensation because his original flight had been cancelled for safety reasons due to a crew shortage.
The CTA concluded that crew shortages are generally within the airline’s control and that WestJet “did not sufficiently establish” that the flight cancellation “was unavoidable despite proper planning.”
Cohen says he plans to file a complaint with the CTA, demanding compensation from Air Canada for both his expenses and $1,000 for a flight delay of more than nine hours.
Passenger DeMelo has already filed a CTA complaint.
They may have to wait a while for results. According to the agency, since Dec. 15, 2019, it has received more than 5,154 complaints on the issue, and 70 per cent (3,606) of them have yet to be resolved.
HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.
Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.
The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.
Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
