The state of air passenger rights in Canada is at a crucial tipping point, and AirHelp is leading the charge to support stronger airline passenger protection regulations in Canada to offer legal certainty and improve conditions.
The Canadian government has invited the public to speak up and submit their thoughts about what passenger rights should look like in Canada by Tuesday, August 28, 2018, and AirHelp encourages both US and Canadian citizens to participate in this unique opportunity to decide on new airline regulations.
AirHelp would hopes to see measures established in Canada similar to EC 261 – a European regulation stating that passengers who experience lengthy delays, cancellations, and other disruptive air travel scenarios such as denied boarding are entitled to cash for their inconvenience. AirHelp has developed a full proposal of recommendations and best practices for the CTA (Canadian Transportation Agency) that the company has pooled from their years of working within the best and worst global passenger rights policies and legal parameters.
AirHelp in early August launched Passenger Rights Awareness Month (PRAM) to help travelers around the world understand their rights and get compensation for flight disruptions. Throughout PRAM, AirHelp has given passengers access to insight from Christopher Elliott, consumer rights advocate and airline industry expert, and Charles Leocha, founder of consumer advocacy group Travelers United. Now AirHelp is ending PRAM with a strong push on the Canadian government to do their best for air passengers. The US and Canada have fallen behind other countries in terms of air passenger protections, and AirHelp is pushing the envelope further and influencing global leaders to establish strong passenger rights policies.
“The US and Canada are far behind other countries in terms of protecting travelers,” states Christian Nielsen, Chief Legal Officer at AirHelp. “We’re happy to see change is on the horizon in Canada, and we hope the US government will follow suit and give US citizens a chance to choose air passenger regulations that will fully protect them while traveling.”
The US and Canada are lagging behind today’s standards for modern consumer rights. As the CTA updates regulations, AirHelp strongly recommends new standards following the three simple principles below, to fully protect anyone flying within Canada, to or from Canada, or on a Canadian airline:
1. Passengers’ rights to information
2. Traveler protections in the event of disruptions
3. Strict airline liability for disruptions
Passengers encouraged to hold airlines accountable for how they treat and compensate people, especially in moments when airlines fail to deliver, and travelers in the US and Canada can get involved to make an impact today as Canada establishes their consumer protection laws.
1. Speak up and leave a comment on CTA’s air passenger protection page about your thoughts involving flight delays, cancellations, flight compensation, and how airlines communicate rights to passengers
2. Fill out a questionnaire about passenger protection. It only takes ten minutes!
3. Read the CTA’s discussion paper and tell them what you think.
4. Hold the airlines accountable. If you have experienced a flight delay or cancellation, or were denied boarding because of an overbooked flight within the last three years, file a claim.
