Air Canada issues pay out for bumped passengers

Air Canada passengers who get bumped from their flights will now receive up to 800 dollars in compensation depending on the length of the delay.

According to CBC News, the new rules passed by the Canadian Transportation Agency coming into effect on September 18th mean financial compensation for those who get bumped from a flight without volunteering for it.

Delays less than two hours will result in compensation of $200, $400 for anywhere between 2 and 6 hours, and $800 for delays over six hours.

In addition to the new rules, passengers can now request cash for getting bumped instead of travel vouchers. Although, now, one dollar cash will equal three dollars in travel vouchers.

These changes to the rules come after passenger rights advocate and mathematician Gabor Lukacs said that compensating passengers $100 dollars for being bumped was unreasonably low.

According to Lukacs, the changes are an important step to bring Canada in line with the rest of the Western world, since both Europe and the United States have substantial compensation plans.

Flickr Photo by: Noel Jones

STORY WRITTEN BY: CATLIN SPENCER