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[Charlsie] The #1 complaint in our inbox?
Cancelled flights and the fight for refunds.
I would love it if someone could help me.
[Charlsie] The people vs. the airline giants.
Why isn't Air Transat offering full refunds for flights
cancelled due to COVID-19 right now?
Well, simply because we can't.
[Charlsie] An airline bailout is coming.
But will they really make it easy for you to get your
money back?
The fight continues on Your Marketplace.
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The pandemic ruined travel plans for thousands of people.
The airlines are taking a big financial hit,
but so are many of you.
We've got hundreds of emails with the same message.
I want my money back.
Now nearly nine months into the pandemic, the government says
an airline industry bailout is in the works, with a catch.
Industry minister Navdeep Bains...
We want refunds for customers if the airline industry
wants meaningful support.
[Charlsie] Sounds like a win for passengers but there's
no guarantee.
That's why the fight is still on.
The airfare was just about $4,000.
The airfare was $1,122.
Our final price, I believe was $9,300 for air fare and hotel.
-Bill, are we rolling? -Yeah.
[Charlsie] We're taking your fight for refunds
straight to the top.
Why can't you give people their money back?
There's simply no way that money can be paid back in just
one instalment.
[Charlsie] And we've got our own expert standing by.
It's really hard to get their money back, or money
from the airline.
[Charlsie] With so much up in the air...
Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy ride.
We wanted someplace special.
[Charlsie] First up, meet Lisa and Michael Marks.
It still looks so nice, doesn't it?
[Charlsie] They planned a family trip to Antigua with their two
adult children for late March to this resort.
Our trip was mostly for rest and relaxation.
[Charlsie] But just a few weeks ahead of their departure
they get some bad news.
Please be advised that Sunwing flights scheduled to operate to
Toronto, Antigua, Toronto between the dates of March 17
and April 9, 2020 have been cancelled.
[Charlsie] At first, Sunwing offers a cash refund
or travel credit.
But then, the company changes its tune.
No more refund for their $9,300 trip.
We were very upset.
We were really counting on the money coming back to us
based on their initial offer.
I was laid off from work, my daughter was laid off, my son
wasn't working, so, Lisa was the only one that was still
being employed,.
[Charlsie] Lisa Ross knows what it's like to be left
high and dry.
She had a European river cruise booked for April.
This was for my 60th birthday.
Actually took money out of my investments to accommodate
this and I was all set.
I thought, yeah, that would be nice to see the spring bulbs
and, you know, Amsterdam and Holland are famous for those.
[Charlsie] When the cruise company cancels, she receives
a full refund, more than $3,300.
But when Air Canada cancels, they offer a credit for her
$1,100 round trip.
There's other businesses are going under because of COVID
and they don't have the luxury of keeping people's money to
work through COVID and that.
There are lots of loopholes that you have to go through.
[Charlsie] Sheetal Shenoy's family was supposed to be on
a flight to the city of lights on March 13th.
We planned probably about four or five days at Disney Land area
in Paris.
And we were going to be in Paris, in the city
for a few nights as well.
[Charlsie] Just two days before, the World Health Organization
declares COVID-19 a pandemic.
The Shenoys make a tough call and cancel.
They're out $3,700 in airfare.
I still get choked up thinking about it because we were,
I mean, we were looking forward to this trip for, you know,
since at least Christmas time.
The airline companies are getting help from
the government.
They're going to get bailed out again, probably.
I feel like it's the Canadians that have spent their
hard-earned money that are not going to get bailed out
from this.
[Charlsie] Different travel plans with different airlines,
but they've all got something in common.
They're all offered vouchers they don't want.
They want their money back.
If we could get our funds back and work with someone who could,
you know, try and guide us or give us some assistance.
It would be great to have an expert.
[Charlsie] Like thousands of Canadians they've been up
against the airlines on their own for months.
With no luck.
Meet Jacob Charbonneau.
Co-founder and CEO of Flight Claim.
First of all, we're a law firm, so we're based on the regulation
and laws.
[Charlsie] The fight to get refunds from the big guys
has gotten so tough.
People are paying companies to fight for them.
There are a lot of holes in the actual regulation that we're
putting in place in Canada, so we're not as well protected as
what we can see in other countries in Europe,
for example.
[Charlsie] His company charges customers a percentage
of the refund, if successful.
They've agreed to waive the fee for our passengers.
[Charlsie] Say hello to Jacob.
-Hello, Jacob. -Hi.
Well it's quite an interesting situation here, because they
promised you a refund, and they came back on their
words and they say they won't refund you, they kind of make
you a promise that they broke right after it.
So, Jacob, in this instance
you think you can try for the accommodation
money as well.
Well, obviously in this case we will ask for the full money
and we will see the answer from the airline.
So, it's exciting though, to know that there's an option now.
[Charlsie] That's good.
-A little bit of recourse. -Yeah, exactly.
Little bit of hope, maybe.
Exactly, for sure. For sure.
[Charlsie] Let's check in with Lisa Ross.
She wants her $1,100 back from Air Canada.
Lisa had a lovely trip to Europe planned.
And it's my understanding certainly that if you are
an EU destination, and your flight's cancelled, you do
have a right to get your money back.
From Ontario to Europe,
that segment of the flight, that will depend if it's a Canadian
airline or a European airline.
If you actually take a Canadian airline from Canada to Europe,
it's only the other way, so from Europe to Canada,
that the regulation could apply.
How does it feel knowing that it's not
you versus the giant, it's you and a whole team?
Makes me feel wonderful, and very much appreciative.
[Charlsie] Next up, Sheetal.
Unlike the other two case, she cancelled her trip just as
the pandemic was taking off.
Sheetal, in your case, the government literally put out the
travel advisories on the very day you were supposed to travel.
Once that travel advisory hit, that kind of solidified our
decision, that we should not be travelling outside of the
country, as it's going to be difficult to come back home.
What's your advice to people who are in the
same boat as Sheetal?
What should they do?
There was nothing that was put in place to protect those
passengers that decided to follow the guideline and say,
I won't travel because there's an official notice that says
I shouldn't travel.
[Charlsie] Jacob is sympathetic.
But there's nothing he can do for Sheetal.
While he gets to work on the other two cases, we're taking
all three cases straight to the airlines.
Our request for an interview doesn't fly with Air Canada
and Sunwing but Air Transat steps up.
They're on board when it comes to answering your questions.
Why isn't Air Transat offering full refunds for flights
cancelled due to COVID-19 right now?
Well, simply because we can't.
[Charlsie] Christophe Hennebelle is the Vice President
of Public Affairs.
Marc Garneau announcing there is a package in the works for
airlines, what did you think when you saw that?
Well, we certainly welcome that announcement, as you know many
countries have helped their airlines for many months now, so
we've been asking for something to come up so we are certainly
eager to speak with the government on that.
So just to be clear, if the government stipulates
that refunds must be part of the bail out, ie.,
if they give you money, you must pay customers back,
would you agree to that?
We've got a certain number of vouchers out there.
So, if the package allows us to do that, we would certainly be
happy to reimburse all those customers who want it.
[Charlsie] So, refunds for passengers might
be coming, even Sheetal?
Now I do wanna ask you about one of the people we've spoken to,
she was supposed to fly to Paris with her family on March 13th
but she cancelled, so she says not getting on that plane with
her husband and kids was the right thing to do.
What do you think?
Well I think that was certainly a wise decision from her part.
[Charlsie] Sheetal has a message for Air Transat.
I think that it would be fair to return money that you're holding
back from people.
We want to see what's inside of the package, but if the package
allows us to refund all of our vouchers that would include
Ms. Shenoy's family for sure.
[Charlsie] But remember...
In the US and Europe where airlines got their bailouts
months ago, some passengers are still
fighting for refunds.
We reach out to the other passengers' airlines.
Sunwing says it isn't budging when it comes to giving the
Marks family a refund, adding its policy remains unchanged.
The company does say though it welcomes the support from
the government, but it's waiting for more details.
Air Canada says it won't refund Lisa Ross either.
Adding that offering credits is an acceptable
alternative to refunds.
The company does say it acknowledges with interest
the government's plans for a package.
So, for now it's up to Jacob at Flight Claim.
Even with a bailout, in the works, being discussed,
is your job over yet?
No, it's not.
We still have to fight for many customers that are, have
specific cases that are trying to get the money back and still
get refused by the airline.
Not over yet.
It is not over until it's over.
The details of the package will be worked out over the next
couple of weeks.
So until then, looks like everyone's refunds
are on standby.