Air Canada will compensate customers from British Columbia over bereavement fares after the Civil Resolution Tribunal ruled in his favor.
The decision was made on February 14, more than a year after Jake Moffat encountered an issue with the airline’s chatbot that led to a refund-based dispute.
After her grandmother passed away on November 11, 2022, Moffat was researching flights and bereavement fare options from Vancouver to Ontario on Air Canada’s website when the airline’s chatbot backdated the bereavement fare. I suggested that I could apply for it.
According to the screenshot of the conversation, here’s what the chatbot said:
Air Canada offers discounted bereavement fares when travel is necessary due to an impending death or death in the immediate family.
If you need to travel immediately, or if you have already traveled and would like to submit your ticket for discounted bereavement fees, please complete the Ticket Refund Request Form within 90 days of your ticket issue date. Please submit it. (emphasis in original)
Based on this information, Ms. Moffat booked a one-way trip to Toronto for $794.98 and a one-way ticket back to Vancouver about a week later for $845.38.
After all the travel, he learned through an Air Canada employee that he was not allowed to apply retroactively.
Moffat filed suit in small claims court seeking a partial refund of the ticket. He had a difference of $880 between the regular fare and the bereavement fare for his flight.
The airline told the court that Mr Moffat did not take the appropriate steps to claim the bereavement fare. The airline denied his retroactive claim, adding that it “cannot be held responsible for the information provided by chatbots,” and urged the flier’s claim to be dismissed in small claims court.
The court noted in its ruling that Mr. Moffat spoke with an Air Canada representative over the phone about bereavement fees and was told that the discount for each flight would be approximately $380. However, there is “no evidence” that Air Canada employees told Moffat that bereavement fare discounts could be applied retroactively.
Moffat submitted a bereavement fare application on November 17, within 90 days of being notified by the chatbot, but it was rejected. He continued to communicate with Air Canada about a partial refund from December 2022 to February 2023, emails between the two parties show.
The flyer filed a formal dispute on February 8 last year after an Air Canada employee told the company the chatbot had provided “misleading language.”
The court noted that in its correspondence with Mr. Moffat, Air Canada said it would update the chatbot.
The airline told the court it “cannot be held responsible for any information provided by any of its agents, servants or representatives (including chatbots)”.
“Air Canada has not explained why it thinks so. In effect, Air Canada is suggesting that the chatbot is a separate legal entity responsible for its own actions. This is noteworthy. “This is a proposal,” the decision reads.
“Although the chatbot has an interactive component, it is still only part of Air Canada’s website. It is clear that Air Canada is responsible for all information on the website. It doesn’t matter if they came from a static page or a chatbot,” it further states.
Air Canada denied “all” Mr. Moffat’s claims, but did not provide evidence to the contrary about what the bereavement fare would be.
The news agency says it gave Moffat a $200 coupon as a “goodwill gesture,” but claims Moffat did not accept the offer.
The court ruled that the airline must pay Moffat court-ordered interest law damages of $650.88, civil settlement court costs of $125, and prejudgment interest of $36.14 within 14 days of judgment. did.
Daily Hive has reached out to Air Canada for comment and will update this article when we hear back.
