Air Canada Delay - worth claiming?

balsingh

On a recent Air Canada flight, we were delayed by approx. 3h 15m. This was due to the lock being broken on one of the luggage holds above the seats inside the plane. As they couldn't close it, they deplaned us and we had to wait while it was repaired. Now whilst this wasn't an issue out of Air Canada's control (eg. weather), the issue was with their plane for which they should have taken ownership and accepted that they were liable for the delay. Whilst waiting for the repair, we were given no updates for over an hour and not offered anything in terms of meals or drinks.

They have a tool on their site into which you enter the details and they advise if the flight is eligible for compensation. I got the following response from that site:

Not Eligible

Unfortunately, our self-assessment tool has determined that you may not eligible for compensation.

Please note that situations surrounding flight disruptions can be complex and have multiple causes. The reasons provided for a flight disruption may change as the situation evolves, new issues arise, or new information is received.

You may still submit your claim for review if you wish to continue, and an Air Canada representative will get back to you.

Official Disruption Reason(s):

This flight is delayed due to additional time needed to complete an unforeseen repair in the cabin or on the exterior of the aircraft.

Having then looked at the Air Canada website, it states the following regarding eligibility for delay compensation:

• Arrival delays within Air Canada’s control, which could include additional time needed for catering, or a crew scheduling error. These delays are eligible for compensation (subject to other factors also outlined on this page).
• Arrival delays within Air Canada’s control but required for safety purposes, which could include an unforeseen maintenance issue with the aircraft that affects the safe operation of the flight. These delays are not eligible for compensation.
• Arrival delays outside of Air Canada’s control, which could include meteorological conditions, an illness of a crew member or passenger, or restrictions imposed by the airport or air traffic control. These delays are not eligible for compensation.

Does this pretty much rule us out for compensation? Are there any further options to take on this?

Happy to provide more info if needed.

thx in advance!

la531983

You say you were delayed for 3h15, but you need to look at the time of arrival as that's how it worked out, and not on a late departure. 

Westin

What routing?

silvercar

To or from Canada? From Canada then you have a non EU/UK airline departing a non EU/UK airport, so there is no compensation entitlement. Flying to Canada from the UK or EU there would be entitlement if the flight landed at least 3 hours late.

balsingh

To answer everything in one question, it was 3h15 based on arrival time.

Routing was an indirect (1 stop) flight LHR to YYZ via YUL. The part of journey that was delayed was the YUL to YYZ leg.

Thx

silvercar

balsingh said:

To answer everything in one question, it was 3h15 based on arrival time.

Routing was an indirect (1 stop) flight LHR to YYZ via YUL. The part of journey that was delayed was the YUL to YYZ leg.

Thx

It should be covered if it was booked as one itinerary ie UK to YYZ. If you booked it separately it won’t be covered.

balsingh

silvercar said:

balsingh said:

To answer everything in one question, it was 3h15 based on arrival time.

Routing was an indirect (1 stop) flight LHR to YYZ via YUL. The part of journey that was delayed was the YUL to YYZ leg.

Thx

It should be covered if it was booked as one itinerary ie UK to YYZ. If you booked it separately it won’t be covered.

Yes. All booked as one itinerary so as you say, it should be covered. Being that Air Canada are saying it isn't, is that relevant? I'll contact their customer services and claim based on the EU261 unless you feel I should take a different strategy?