Air Canada cancels flight but refuses to refund passenger

The airline has apologised for rejecting the refund and insisting the case was closed

Lonely planet: Toronto airport, the hub for Air Canada, is far quieter than normal (Simon Calder)

Air Canada has apologised after wrongly rejecting a request for a refund from a British passenger whose flight was cancelled.

David Thomas, from North Shields, was on holiday in the US in December when he booked a flight from Boston to Toronto to see a former colleague now living in the Canadian city.

But his outbound departure on Air Canada from Boston’s Logan Airport was cancelled because of heavy snow, and no suitable alternative flight was available.

Mr Thomas then applied for a refund for both legs of the journey, as he was entitled to.

Yet the airline's customer care team refused. They told him: “We are really sorry for disappointing you. We know our customers expect a comfortable and enjoyable trip, while also being provided with exceptional customer service.”

Air Canada would only offer him a 25 per cent discount on another of the airline’s flights within the next year.

He queried the decision, saying: “Your offer is inadequate as I feel that a full fare rebate should be offered to me.”

Yet the airline again rejected his request and told him his case was closed, saying: “We believe this goodwill gesture was fair and our review suggests that the additional damages requested are beyond compensation due by Air Canada in this instance.

“We do value your patronage, but we are unable to consider this matter further. Respectfully, we consider this file closed.”

After Mr Thomas contacted The Independent, Air Canada reopened the case, investigated and apologised to him.

A spokesperson said: “Following the cancellation of the Boston to Toronto flight in question due to adverse weather conditions, we received two emails from the customer in question requesting a refund of their ticket.

“Unfortunately, it seems that the first email received was processed incorrectly and a promo code for a discount off a future flight with AC was consequently sent to the customer as a goodwill gesture.

“The second email sent by the customer was correctly handled and our Customer Relations team in Canada has now submitted a refund request to the Air Canada Refunds Office.

“Our Customer Services team will ensure that this refund is processed as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customer on this occasion.”

Mr Thomas has been told he will have to wait a minimum of six weeks to get his money back. He says that when it arrives, he will make a donation to the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Foundation.