Kristin Radtke was stunned when Air Canada rejected her compensation request for a six-hour flight delay when travelling from Edmonton to Montreal on Christmas Day.
She thought her case was a slam-dunk because her fiancéand travel partner had already filed a claim on Jan. 1 for the same flight — and received $700. But when Radtke filed her claim almost two weeks later, Air Canada replied that her trip delay was due to a safety-related “technical fault” and didn’t warrant compensation.
“I’m just baffled,” said Radtke, who lives in Edmonton. “We’re two identical passengers.”
She’s one of a half-dozen Air Canada passengers CBC News interviewed who question why they were denied compensation for delayed flights which took off after Dec. 15.
The federal government introduced new regulations on Dec. 15, mandating that large airlines — such as Air Canada and WestJet — must pay up to $1,000 in compensation for a flight delay or cancellation that is within the airline’s control and not safety-related.
New regulations introduced on Dec. 15 require that large airlines must pay up to $1,000 in compensation for a flight delay or cancellation that is within the airline’s control and not safety-related. (CBC)
Before the new rules took effect, some industry experts expressed concern that airlines might try to fudge the reason for a flight delay to avoid paying compensation.
Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick told CBC News the airline’s policy is to abide by the new regulations. He said he couldn’t comment on the three customer cases detailed in this story because they’re “under appeal.”
Which reason is it?
Radtke believes she deserves compensation not only because her fiancégot cash, but also because when the couple’s original flight was cancelled and had to be rebooked, Air Canada sent a text alert stating the culprit was “crew constraints.”
According to the new regulations, flight delays caused by staffing issues are generally considered within an airline’s control and eligible for compensation. But when Radtke filed her claim, she was told her trip delay was caused instead by a safety-related technical issue.
“It’s either crew constraints or it isn’t,” she said. “How can the reason for a flight cancellation change?”
Radtke filed a complaint with Air Canada on Jan. 22. Despite repeated calls and emails to the airline, she’s still waiting for a response, she said.
“We kind of feel like we’re being stonewalled. It’s just immensely frustrating.”
Hey <a href=”https://twitter.com/AirCanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@AirCanada</a> you’ve denied our compensation request saying the delay was weather related, but we have your original flight notification texts saying delay was due to technical difficulties. Now your customer service has stopped replying to emails. What do you suggest now??
<a href=”https://twitter.com/AirCanada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@AirCanada</a> how are scheduling issues out of your control for your flights? Where does your accountability start?
Air Canada passenger Melissa Nickerson is also unhappy with the airline’s decision in her case. She and her husband were travelling from Chicago home to Calgary on Dec. 30 when their flight was cancelled and rebooked, resulting in a delay of more than 13 hours.
According to the new rules, large airlines must pay passengers $1,000 for applicable flight delays longer than nine hours.
When their flight was cancelled, Nickerson and her husband got meal vouchers which stated the cancellation was “controllable.” Air Canada also sent a text alert blaming the mishap on “crew constraints.”
But when Nickerson filed for compensation, the airline rejected her claim, stating that her trip delay was instead due to a safety-related “technical fault.”
Melissa Nickerson received this message from Air Canada when her flight was cancelled. (Supplied by Melissa Nickerson)
“I was disappointed,” said Nickerson. “They were quoting a delay reason that had nothing to do with our flight.”
She filed a complaint with Air Canada on Jan. 22 and is still waiting for a response.
“I was expecting this should be an easy process and it’s cut and dried that I’d be getting compensation,” she said.
‘It’s vague’
Jennifer Janssen was so upset with the explanation Air Canada gave her for a delayed flight, she filed a suit against the airline last month in small claims court.
“I was like, ‘This doesn’t seem right,'” said Janssen, who lives in Hamilton.
On Jan. 1, her flight from Gander, N.L., to Toronto was delayed by more than nine hours due to “crew availability,” according to Air Canada.
But when she filed for compensation for herself and her travel partner, the airline turned Janssen down, stating the delay was due to safety-related “scheduling issues.”
“It’s vague and it leaves a lot open to interpretation,” she said. “They’re leaving information out somewhere.”
Jennifer Janssen and her boyfriend, Tyson Collins, believe they deserve compensation for a recent delayed Air Canada flight from Gander, N.L., to Toronto. (Submitted by Jennifer Janssen)
Canadian Automobile Association spokesperson Ian Jack said it’s hard to know if an airline’s explanation is valid when it’s lacking in detail.
“People do deserve a cogent, logical response — if there is one. Otherwise the carriers are just going to see a lot of complaints going to the [Canadian Transportation Agency],” said Jack, whose organization took part in the consultation process for the new regulations.
WestJet passenger Paul Walker has already filed a complaint with the CTA following a three-hour delay on a Jan. 16 flight from Winnipeg to Edmonton.
Walker had expected $400 for the delay, as laid out in the new rules. However, WestJet denied his compensation request, stating the culprit was “flight crew member delays from previous day events and outside of WestJet’s control.”
Similar to other passengers, Walker finds the explanation unsatisfactory.
“It seems suspicious,” said Walker who lives in Winnipeg. “The reason they’re still giving is that it’s a flight crew delay, which is actually within their control.”
Paul Walker, right, and colleague Ryan Murray flew from Winnipeg to Edmonton to attend a conference. Their WestJet flight was delayed by three hours but the airline said the delay doesn’t warrant compensation. (Submitted by Paul Walker)
WestJet told CBC News it follows the new regulations and declined to comment on Walker’s case.
The CTA said in an email that when passengers file a complaint about a flight delay, the airline involved will have to demonstrate why the delay doesn’t warrant compensation.
“If it were discovered that an airline had misrepresented the cause of a delay to the CTA, this would be taken very seriously.”
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
NEW YORK (AP) — Fenway Park has the Ted Williams seat. And now Citi Field has the Grimace seat.
The kid-friendly McDonald’s character made another appearance at the ballpark Monday, when the New York Mets unveiled a commemorative purple seat in section 302 to honor “his special connection to Mets fans.”
Wearing his pear-shaped purple costume and a baseball glove on backwards, Grimace threw out a funny-looking first pitch — as best he could with those furry fingers and short arms — before New York beat the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on June 12.
That victory began a seven-game winning streak, and Grimace the Mets’ good-luck charm soon went viral, taking on a life of its own online.
New York is 53-31 since June 12, the best record in the majors during that span. The Mets were tied with rival Atlanta for the last National League playoff spot as they opened their final homestand of the season Monday night against Washington.
The new Grimace seat in the second deck in right field — located in row 6, seat 12 to signify 6/12 on the calendar — was brought into the Shannon Forde press conference room Monday afternoon. The character posed next to the chair and with fans who strolled into the room.
The seat is available for purchase for each of the Mets’ remaining home games.
“It’s been great to see how our fanbase created the Grimace phenomenon following his first pitch in June and in the months since,” Mets senior vice president of partnerships Brenden Mallette said in a news release. “As we explored how to further capture the magic of this moment and celebrate our new celebrity fan, installing a commemorative seat ahead of fan appreciation weekend felt like the perfect way to give something back to the fans in a fun and unique way.”
Up in Boston, the famous Ted Williams seat is painted bright red among rows of green chairs deep in the right-field stands at Fenway Park to mark where a reported 502-foot homer hit by the Hall of Fame slugger landed in June 1946.
So, does this catapult Grimace into Splendid Splinter territory?
“I don’t know if we put him on the same level,” Mets executive vice president and chief marketing officer Andy Goldberg said with a grin.
“It’s just been a fun year, and at the same time, we’ve been playing great ball. Ever since the end of May, we have been crushing it,” he explained. “So I think that added to the mystique.”
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
