Que. woman says she waited 14 months for an Air Canada refund

A Dorval, Que. woman says she spent 14 months fighting with Air Canada over a refund worth about a thousand dollars.

"I was already parting myself with this money, (and telling myself) that I would never see it again," said Toni Monzione, lamenting the fallout of a summer trip planned for Disney World in Orlando, Florida. She was hoping to go with her grandchildren, but says she saw that plan fall apart days before she was set to leave.

"A couple of days before departure, Air Canada notified us that our return flight was cancelled and they were giving us another flight at another time," she said.

Monzione says the new flights didn't work with their carefully planned itinerary. She and her husband, ALDO, pleaded with the airline to be put back on their original flight, she told CTV.

Instead, she says, Air Canada told them they could either take the new flight or cancel the trip.

"Well, I automatically did tell them -- if I cancel, will I get a credit? Because I don't want to lose my tickets, but you haven't really given me a choice,” she recounted. “They said, ‘don't worry, we'll work with you.’”

“Fourteen months later, nothing really happened," she said.

She says the time she spent waiting, along with the recounted hours she spent on hold, were seriously frustrating.

AIR CANADA RESPONDS

"The customer cancelled the flight after the departure time was changed by 90 minutes,” Air Canada wrote in a statement to CTV News.

“Because it was a non-refundable ticket in a case of a voluntary cancellation such as this, normally it would not be refundable,” the statement continued. “However, after reviewing the matter, as a good will gesture, we are going to make an exception."

Less than 24 hours later, Monzione got an email from Air Canada.

“So, she issued my credit,” she told CTV. “The credit is $929.63.”

Monzione says she’s still frustrated with the airline's response.

"When they say, ‘good gesture,’ I disagree,” she said. “A good gesture should have (included) extras, but I don't want extras. I just want what was mine. My intention was never to cancel. My intention was to make memories with my grandchildren."

John Gradek, coordinator of the Aviation Management Program at McGill University, said Monzione was right to challenge the airline.

"When Air Canada offered the passenger an alternative flight, it is up to the passenger either to accept or not accept that flight,” he said, adding that Air Canada would be violating industry rules if it decided not to refund her.

He told CTV Monzione’s experience with air travel is a common one, and that getting refunds from airlines is notoriously difficult.

He suggested that people protect themselves by purchasing comprehensive cancellation insurance before they fly.