Frederik van der Veen was confident he’d be compensated for his cancelled WestJet flight, which caused a 12-hour delay when flying home to Montreal from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in July.
After all, his wife and travel partner, Irma De La Luz Perez, had already applied for and received $1,000 compensation for the same flight. But, much to his surprise, WestJet rejected van der Veen’s claim, stating the flight disruption was “due to an operational issue” outside the airline’s control.
“[I’m] disappointed and kind of bewildered,” he said. “Why would they pay one and not the other if we’re on the same flight?”
CBC News interviewed three WestJet and two Air Canada passengers who, when they applied for compensation, were flatly denied — even though their travel partner received $1,000 for the same flight disruption.
“The rules aren’t working,” said Air Canada passenger Dave Marrone.
Following a flight cancellation in August, Marrone’s wife and travel partner, Kielyn, got $1,000 compensation for what resulted in a 19-hour delay in their return trip from London to Sudbury, Ont.
But Air Canada rejected Marrone’s claim for the same flight, telling him the cancellation was either outside the airline’s control or safety-related.
“It does seem like it’s a real grab bag of sort of how it’s applied, how it works and who gets compensated,” said Marrone, who lives just outside Espanola, Ont.
Kielyn and Dave Marrone were delayed by 19 hours when flying home from a trip to the U.K. in August. When they applied to Air Canada for compensation, only Kielyn received $1,000. (Dave Marrone)
Under federal rules, airlines only have to pay compensation — up to $1,000 — if a flight delay or cancellation is within an airline’s control and not required for safety reasons.
Following this spring and summer’s travel chaos which sparked numerous flight delays and cancellations, many passengers complained to CBC News that they were unjustly denied compensation. Since April, more than 19,000 air passengers have filed complaints with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) related to flight disruptions, according to the agency.
The flood of complaints prompted Transport Minister Omar Alghabra to repeatedly warn carriers to play by the rules.
“Airlines must respect travellers’ rights and compensate travellers who are eligible,” he said during a transport committee hearing in August.
Airlines respond
Both Air Canada and WestJet have repeatedly told CBC News they do abide by the air passenger regulations.
About two hours after CBC News inquired about Marrone’s case, Air Canada informed him it had re-evaluated his claim and that he would receive $1,000 compensation.
In another case, Air Canada compensated passenger Bob Hays last week — four months after he complained about being denied compensation even though his fiance got $1,000 for the same 24-hour flight delay in June.
“It was frustrating,” said Hays, who lives in Prince Rupert, B.C. “It’s almost comical, but it’s not comical that two people can be on the same flight and get different decisions.”
In an email, Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick blamed both mismatches on “a processing error.”
WATCH | Airlines launch legal battle over customer compensation decisions:
Air Canada, WestJet fighting customer compensation decisions
15 days ago
Duration 2:12
Both WestJet and Air Canada launch legal battles to appeal recent decisions ordering them to compensate passengers. Experts say if the airlines are successful, it could impact other claims.
WestJet said it had erred in the cases of all three passengers CBC News interviewed, but that in two cases, including van der Veen’s, the airline had paid out $1,000 to the passengers’ travel partners by mistake.
“We apologize for the confusion and understand the frustration any discrepancies may have caused,” said spokesperson Madison Kruger in an email.
That means van der Veen won’t be getting any cash. However, he still believes he’s owed compensation, because WestJet never provided details about the “operational issue” beyond its control that caused his flight cancellation.
“What are they talking about?” said van der Veen. “It’s a bit of a gong show.”
Paul Stephenson and Lisa head were both delayed 18 hours when flying home from London. When they applied to Air Canada for compensation, only Head received $1,000. (Paul Stephenson)
Following CBC News’ inquiry this week, one WestJet passenger did get $1,000 compensation: Paul Stephenson of Salt Spring Island, B.C. Previously, only his travel partner, Lisa Head, was compensatedfor the 19-hour delay they endured when flying from London to Victoria in January.
In March, WestJet told Stephenson he didn’t qualify for compensation because his flight disruption had been impacted by weather. Then in April, after he pointed out that his partner got compensation for the same flight, WestJet rejected Stephenson’s claim again and said the case was closed.
“It’s pretty poor customer service,” he said. “The Canadian Transportation Agency needs to come down a lot harder on airlines and enforce the regulations regarding compensation.”
WestJet hit with fines
In September, the CTA — Canada’s transport regulator — doled out its first fines to an airline for violating the compensation regulations. The recipient, WestJet, was fined for 55 violations in January for failing to provide compensation or an explanation why compensation was denied within 30 days of a passengers’ claim.
The 55 fines ($200 each) totalled $11,000. Former Air Canada executive John Gradek argues that’s not enough of a deterrent for a major airline.
“It’s really just a token slap on the wrist to basically say, ‘You naughty boys — or girls,'” said Gradek, a lecturer and program co-ordinator for the aviation management program at McGill University.
“You’ve got to get the airlines’ attention,” said Gradek. “The U.S. Department of Transportation now is saying, ‘OK, we’re playing hardball.'”
WestJet did not comment on the fines.
The CTA said that if the airline commits the same violation again within the next four years, it will face steeper penalties. The agency added that, when it comes to consumer protection, its main focus is resolving passenger complaints to help them get what they’re entitled to.
Van der Veen has filed a complaint with the CTA and is hoping he’ll finally get the compensation he feels he’s owed.
According to the new air passenger regulations, the amount of compensation for a flight disruption will be based on the amount of time that a traveller is delayed before reaching their final destination. (CBC)
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
