Flight delayed or cancelled? It pays to know your rights under EU and U.S. rules

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Imagine you’re booking a trip to Europe and weighing two options: flying with a Canadian carrier or with a European one. Which one do you choose?

My guess is few people take into consideration where the airline is based when choosing flights. But that could make a difference if you experience travel disruptions.

Hi, I’m Erica Alini. I’m a personal finance reporter at the Globe, and this week I’m filling in for Rob while he is on holidays. The reason why an airline’s nationality matters if you’re flying to Europe is that the European Union has stronger air passenger protection rules than Canada.

If you were flying with an EU carrier, EU air passenger rights would apply to both your departure flight from Canada and your return flight. If you picked a non-EU carrier, only the return leg of the journey would qualify. (That’s assuming round-trip flights with no connections, more details here. Keep in mind also that EU rules also apply to flights to and from Iceland, Norway and Switzerland but no longer apply to the U.K. when flying on a non-EU carrier.)

The EU is much stricter than Canada about what constitutes “extraordinary circumstances” that would exempt airlines from having to provide compensation for issues such as flight delays or cancellations, says Canadian air passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs. A volcanic eruption, for example, fits the bill. A technical issue with the aircraft? Not so much.

By contrast, Canada’s air passenger rights regime has been much criticized for allowing airlines to abuse clauses around exceptional circumstances. A comprehensive rejigging of the rules to address that and several other issues is underway, but most of the changes aren’t expected to take effect until sometime this winter.

It is also unclear whether Ottawa will manage to fix the main flaws that plagued the old rules. The regulations have yet to be written, but Mr. Lukacs and others have already flagged concerns about the legislative amendments.

My point is, with air travel woes still common, being able to avail yourself of the EU rules could come in handy.

Unfortunately, the U.S. doesn’t have a similar bill of rights for air passengers. But U.S. law does establish that consumers are entitled to refunds when flights are cancelled for any reason, if they decide not to travel. Canada’s rules, by comparison, allow airlines to get away with a simple rebooking in some circumstances, although the new amendments might somewhat strengthen Canadians’ right to refunds.

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More Rob Carrick and money coverage

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