Air Canada took couple to court rather than pay $2K compensation. A year later, it gave in

Sophia Harris · CBC News

· Posted: May 02, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

A B.C. couple's more than four-year conflict with Air Canada implicit compensation for a formation hold has yet ended.

Last week, the hose dropped a tribunal lawsuit it had launched against Andrew and Anna Dyczkowski, who live just extracurricular Kelowna, B.C., and connected Wednesday Air Canada paid them $1,000 each for a 24-hour formation hold from Vancouver to Costa Rica successful January 2020.

"It's conscionable my conjecture that they chickened out, due to the fact that they knew that they couldn't actually, perchance win," said Andrew Dyczkowski. 

The quality began successful February 2020 erstwhile the mates filed a ailment with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), aft Air Canada denied their archetypal compensation claim.

The CTA ordered the hose to wage the mates $2,000 in compensation. Instead, successful precocious 2023, Air Canada took the mates to court to effort to overturn the ruling.

More than a twelvemonth later, and conscionable 3 days earlier a scheduled tribunal hearing, Air Canada abandoned the lawsuit without explanation, according to tribunal documents. 

Although he's blessed the case ended in his favour, Dyczkowski still questions however and wherefore helium and his woman had to endure the protracted fight, which included a tribunal dispute. 

"Why each this mess?" helium said. "I don't deliberation this is right."

But that's however the rules work. After CTA officers contented rulings connected aerial rider complaints, passengers oregon airlines wishing to contention them indispensable instrumentality the lawsuit to Federal Court. Only the archetypal parties successful the quality tin beryllium named successful the tribunal case, which means the CTA can't assistance passengers successful court.

The Dyczkowski lawsuit is the 4th CTA ruling airlines person challenged successful tribunal successful 2024, and the 2nd 1 filed by Air Canada. In the different case, which is inactive earlier the courts, the hose is contesting a CTA bid to wage a Toronto rider $2,079 for delayed luggage.

While it's uncommon for airlines to entreaty CTA decisions, there's a increasing telephone for the national bureau to overhaul the complaints process. Advocates accidental this alteration is needed so passengers don't tally the hazard of a ineligible conflict conscionable due to the fact that they filed a ailment against an airline.

"Change the freaking regulation," said John Gradek, an aviation absorption prof astatine McGill University. 

"Get the rider retired of that full equation."

Air Canada says it felt bad for couple

Under national rules, airlines wage up to $1,000 compensation per rider if a formation cancellation oregon hold was wrong their control.

According to CTA documents, Air Canada maintained that atrocious upwind — which was extracurricular its power — was the main crushed for the Dyczkowskis' formation delay. The CTA serviceman disagreed and ordered the hose to wage up. 

In Federal Court documents, Air Canada claims the serviceman "failed to decently measure the evidence."

Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick told CBC News successful an email that the hose contested the CTA determination successful court, due to the fact that it was "the lone mode to get clarity" connected however the agency's officers measure grounds successful ailment cases. 

WATCH | Air Canada takes mates to tribunal to overturn compensaton ruling: 

Fitzpatrick said the hose dropped the tribunal conflict because, implicit time, it has gained immoderate clarity connected the CTA process, which has helped it find which compensation claims are valid. 

He said that the hose besides abandoned the lawsuit due to the fact that it felt atrocious for the Dyczkowskis.

"It is unfortunate that, nether the law, customers are inadvertently drawn into the process, which we admit tin make unease for them and which we privation to avoid."

But the couple's lawyer, Peter Choe, who took connected the lawsuit pro bono, has a antithetic theory. He claims that a mechanical contented that was wrong the airline's power was the main crushed for the couple's formation delay, truthful the hose dropped the lawsuit to debar a nationalist defeat. 

"I judge that arsenic they prepared for the oral hearing, Air Canada's lawyers turned their afloat attraction backmost to this lawsuit and concluded they would lose," Choe, laminitis of Portmanteau Law successful Toronto, wrote successful an email. 

"Why retreat if they were going to win?"

Dyczkowski agrees, and says that at this point, helium wishes Air Canada hadn't dropped the case. 

"We would alternatively person it dealt [with] astatine the hearing," helium said. "That would beryllium who was close and who was wrong."

CTA stands by system

Several manufacture and ineligible experts person questioned the CTA complaints process wherever appeals upwind up successful court. But the CTA has continually defended the system. 

"This is simply a cardinal portion of however the Canadian justness strategy works," said CTA spokesperson Jadrino Huot successful an email earlier this year. 

Gradek argues that if an hose wants to quality a CTA decision, it should instrumentality the bureau to court, not the passenger.

"It is simply a determination made by the CTA, and it should beryllium the CTA versus the hose successful beforehand of a judge," helium said. 

But Jadrino said the CTA can't beryllium named successful cases that upwind up successful Federal Court, due to the fact that the bureau wasn't portion of the archetypal disputes.

"This is emblematic for judicial reviews [involving] authorities decision-making bodies," helium said. 

As for Dyczkowski, helium says if helium ever winds up successful tribunal again with an airline, helium present knows however to navigate the system. 

When asked if helium had a connection for Air Canada, helium replied, "Don't messiness with Dyczkowski."