Proposed class-action lawsuit alleges Air Canada fails to refund fees to no-shows

A Montreal lawyer is seeking the court's permission to launch a class-action lawsuit against Air Canada over non-refundable ticket fees.

The lawsuit is on behalf of a passenger who didn't show up for a flight between Miami and Montreal on April 28, 2023. The person was told by the airline that because he bought a basic economy ticket, he wouldn't be refunded.

"This is wrong, this is misleading, it's false because, by law, they absolutely have to refund you a portion of those taxes that were collected," said the plaintiff's lawyer, Joey Zukran, in an interview with CTV News on Tuesday.

Zukran claims that the taxes and some other fees should be given back to the purchaser. About 3 to 6 per cent of tickets sold are so-called no-shows, according to Zukran, who estimates the lawsuit could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

"Instead of refunding the consumer remitting them to the authorities, which was the purpose for collecting them in the first place, what Air Canada does is keeps them in their coffers. So we're talking about millions, maybe tens of millions [of dollars], and maybe more over the years," he said.

The lawyer said his client was billed $91.31 USD in taxes and fees that were eligible to be refunded. 

"Air Canada collects portions of taxes," he said, such as the September 11 Security Fee (SSF) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) User Fee, "and don't remit them to the authorities when the passenger is a no-show."

The proposed class-action alleges Canada's flag carrier "misleadingly and unlawfully states" that passengers' tickets are non-refundable when, in fact, "a portion of these tickets is refundable according to Air Canada’s Policy."

The legal challenge, filed last December by the Montreal law firm LPC Avocats, is open to anyone worldwide who bought an Air Canada economy basic or standard ticket on an international flight who didn't show up for their flight and were not refunded taxes, fees, and additional charges that weren't collected by the authorities. It seeks to obtain punitive damages that will be determined by the court.

A judge has not yet authorized the class-action lawsuit to allow it to proceed.

According to a court filing, Air Canada has challenged the court's jurisdiction over the case since the plaintiff does not reside in Quebec.

"This is an exceptional situation in which the Court should exercise its discretion to decline jurisdiction over an application for authorization to institute a class action by a person who not only does not reside in Quebec, but does not reside in Canada," the court document states.