2018 Proves Record Year for Flight Delays with Canadian Travellers Being Owed Over 30 million CD in Compensation!

AirHelp data reveals that total liability owed to Canadians sees an 8 million dollar CD increase from 2017

Toronto, ON –    With loads of delays and disruptions at home and abroad, summer 2018 is already off to a chaotic start. New analysis published by the world’s leading flight disruption compensation company AirHelp,  show that the first six months of 2018 have seen severe flight disruptions with financial compensation doubling and tripling in some countries, Canada has seen a 28% increase in compensation owed in 2018  compared to the same period in 2017. In fact, on a global scale, 2018 has already seen a 26% overall dollars increase from 2017.

In the last six months, over four million passengers globally  have been impacted by the summer chaos and of that a total of 30,000 Canadians are already eligible for over 30 million dollars due to experiencing flight delay, cancellation or overbooking. The total number of eligible claims have peaked in 2018, compared to last year, and are expected to continue to grow for the rest of the year. Here’s what Canadians need to know:

Rising Ticket costs:

When it comes to ticket prices, the fact is that brent crude, the global oil benchmark, is up 12% this year to around $75 a barrel, which is a 25% increase compared to 2017. In order to react to this, most airlines will have to raise their base ticket prices, or sell even less cheap tickets then they already did in order to meet the demands of rising fuel costs. Air carriers like American Airlines, Delta and United, are already announcing that passengers should prepare for higher ticket prices and more expensive summer holidays.

Strikes:

Since Thursday July 12, there has been 30 flight cancelled affecting some 5,000 passengers after the Ryanair pilots staged their strike over pay and their condition of employment; a sentiment that is echoed by other airlines, such as Air France who moved to strike due to issues with wage. As labor unions around the world continue to push for more pilot benefits, over the coming weeks Canadian passengers will face a significant increase in delays with major carriers, like Ryanair and Air France. As pilots and airline staff continue to demand changes to their arrangements, Canadians have begun to face the consequences. Despite airlines trying to minimize the impact of the strikes on their customers and families travelling to areas such as Portugal, France, Spain, Italy and Greece passenger frustration and delays continue to rise.

“Ryanair flights will be disrupted on July 20, 25 – 26, 2018 due to flight attendant strikes following failed negotiations with trade unions Sitcpla, SNPVAC, CNE/LBC and UILTASPORTI and pilot strikes in Ireland. Flight attendant strikes are the consequence of staff requests to stop employment under Irish law exclusively. Affected passengers whose flights arrive at the destination due to a possible strike with at least three hours delay may be entitled to compensation of up to €600 per person. This also applies to travelers whose Ryanair flight is canceled if they are informed of the cancellation of their flight less than 14 days before the actual departure date.” Says Henrik Zillmer, CEO and Co-Founder of AirHelp.

The silver lining in the cloud is that earlier this year, the European Court of Justice established that strikes among airlines staff no longer can be considered as an extraordinary circumstance that frees airlines from the responsibility and their legal obligation to compensate passengers. However, with airlines claiming  that they are facing more financial stress and risking their profits to pay higher wages for pilots, here‘s what Canadians need to know to protect themselves in times of strike:

• Until now, airlines were able to deny a compensation claim, citing a strike as an ‘extraordinary circumstance’
• The court ruled that these strikes are within their control of an airline
• The ECJ said staff disputes are a “matter of course” for airlines
• The ruling is retrospective, so applies to any flights eligible under EU rules
• Strikes from airport staff, or air traffic control, remain ineligible
• Should your flight meet the criteria, Canadians may be compensated up to $900.00 CD

Over tourism:

The demand for European vacational travel has always been high during the summer months, however, we are now facing the phenomenon of over tourism. It is estimated that over the next 20 years, the air traffic market will grow at a global rate of 3.1% to 5.8% each year. As it stands, the top 10 largest air passenger markets in the world are currently hosting more than 46% of the worlds international arrivals. With that, these markets should be prepared to accommodate even more passengers as this this number is expected to increase and lead to more insufficient airport capacity, disruptions and more passenger frustrations.

Flight disruptions: What are Canadians passengers’ rights?

As it stands today, Canadians have no rights. Harsh, but true – As a whole, Canada is the last major player in the world that has yet to implement any kind of passenger rights legislation that would protect them in the event of flight issues. However, that does not mean Canadians cannot claim legal aid under their neighbours; and AirHelp can help. Under EC 261, Canadians that face a delay, cancellation or denied boarding pass from a departure airport within the EU, or they are flying with an airline carrier based in the EU and landing in the EU, Canadians may be entitled  to a little over $900.00 CD per person. 

About AirHelp

AirHelp is the world’s leading flight delays compensation company, helping passengers apply for compensation following a delayed, cancelled or denied boarding. Since launching in 2013, AirHelp has helped more than seven million people process airline compensation claims worth almost 800 million euros in total reimbursement. AirHelp has offices across the world, is available in 30 countries, offers support in 16 languages, and employs more than 500 employees globally.

For more information please contact:

Victoria Mattacchione | [email protected] |416.366.7735 x260