It is not a good sign when a company receives a lot of complaints and requests for refunds from customers. It is especially concerning when you are facing this problem as an airline company. Unfortunately, this appears to be the case for Air Canada.
According to the U.S Department of Education, Air Canada had the 2nd most complaints of any airline for the month of May.
In May, a total of 10,415 complaints were filed against foreign-based airlines. Air Canada received 1,705 refund complaints. This total surpassed 80 other foreign airlines within its specific category.
The only other airline that received more complaints than Air Canada was United Airlines. United Airlines had a whopping 3,215 refund complaints.
Air Canada had drawn the ire of its customers due to its refusal to give refunds to its customers who had their flights cancelled as a result of COVID-19. Other Canadian airline carriers had also refused to give refunds to customers who had to cancel as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The United States is similar to the European Union in that airlines are required to refund passengers. The Department of Transportation made it clear that they were well aware of COVID-19’s Air Canada customers have a potential way of getting their reimbursement money if they are unable to find success in Canada. They can simply complain to the U.S regulator.
Air Canada’s high number of complaints is particularly alarming considering that it came during a month in which the airline had a reduced number of customers as opposed to other airlines. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Lufthansa, British Airways and four different U.S airline carriers had more passengers than Air Canada. Yet, all of these carriers managed to garner far less complaints than Air Canada.
In spite of the fact that Westjet Airlines was ranked just below Air Canada in terms of passenger count, Air Canada had nearly 5 times as many cases as they did. This makes the second straight month that Air Canada has ranked near the top with regards to customer complaints.
In April, Air Canada refunded 969 refund complaints from customers. This represented 13% of all customer complaints for last month. Air Canada had the third most customer complaints of any carrier that month. The most customer complaints came from two carriers: United Airlines and American Airlines.
Reportedly, Air Canada has attempted to avoid giving back refunds to customers by attempting to give customers vouchers instead. Fortunately, an organization have stepped up to help frustrated customers file complaints to the U.S Department of Transportation. FORMidable Solutions has provided a free online platform in which passengers can file complaints.
So far, the platform has been used more than 2,000 times.
Air Canada does not agree with the findings from the Department of Transportation. They believe that the provisions which contained the enforcement provisions are guidance documents. Air Canada also feels that way with regards to the Department of Transportation’s frequently asked questions regarding refunds. They don’t feel that the provisions have any legality.
Air Canada believes that they have been fully compliant with the Department of Transportation’s findings. They are of the opinion that their refund policy is fair. Additionally, they feel that the enforcement policy does not fall under domestic law due to the fact that a lot of complaints involves airfares that were purchased internationally by customers.
