Your rights when buying a trip

A travel agency must hold a permit issued by the Office de la protection du consommateur. 

By purchasing your trip from a licensed agency, you automatically benefit from the protection offered by the Fonds d'indemnisation des clients des agents de voyages (FICAV). If you don't receive the services you paid for, you may be reimbursed or compensated, depending on the circumstances.

For example, the following situations could be covered:

• Your flight is cancelled due to a strike, bankruptcy or storm;
• Your cruise is cancelled, or you miss the boat due to the cancellation or delay of the plane that was bringing you to port;
• You've purchased your trip, then the Canadian government recommends that you avoid all non-essential travel to the country you were going to visit.

Many other situations may be covered. To find out more, visit the Office de la protection du consommateur website.

In addition, the travel agency has an obligation to deliver a trip that conforms to the representations made to you. For example, if a travel agency sells you an all-inclusive package at a four-star beachfront hotel, but you stay at a two-star downtown hotel instead, you may have recourse against the agency.

In many cases, airline tickets are purchased through the carrier's website. If the flight is canceled, or if the carrier shuts down due to bankruptcy, you may be able to take advantage of the recourses provided by the Consumer Protection Act, including requesting the cancellation of your contract with the airline and initiating a chargeback.

In some cases, it may be more advantageous to rely on the protection offered by the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, depending on the reason for your flight's cancellation or delay. For more information, we encourage you to visit our web page on this topic and contact our Legal Information Service for further details.

Please note, however, that these remedies do not entitle you to a refund for any accommodation you are unable to use, or for any other activities you have already purchased. However, you may want to check if the hotel or company offering the activity has a cancellation policy that you can take advantage of.

In an attempt to get a better price, you purchased your trip on a website like 'cheap-flight-tickets.com'.

Should anything go wrong, your options for recourse may be more complex. Most of these sites are not licensed as travel agencies, meaning you will not be able to benefit from FICAV protection.

In certain situations, you may be able to cancel your purchase and request a chargeback. For example, this could apply if the website failed to book your flight with the airline.

For delayed or cancelled flights?  

• You may be entitled to protection under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations.
• You could also contact the company that owns the website directly. However, be aware that many of these intermediaries do not have a business presence in Quebec, which makes it very difficult, in practice, to obtain compensation.

The airline must clearly communicate:

• The reason for the cancellation or delay
• The assistance it must provide (if any)
• The compensation to which you may be entitled
• Your recourse to obtain it (including complaints to the Canadian transportation agency)

*Airline tariffs may provide more advantageous conditions.

You are entitled to a re-routing OR a refund AND in some cases compensation

• If you were notified of the delay less than 12 hours before your originally scheduled departure time and the delay is 2 hours or more, the airline must provide you with reasonable food and beverages and access to a means of communication (e.g. free Wi-Fi).
• If you have to wait for your flight until the next day, the company must also provide you with free accommodation (including transportation).

If your trip is no longer necessary due to the delay and you are no longer at your point of departure: you are entitled to a re-routing to the point of departure and a full refund. The details of the re-routing depend on the size of the airline.

About compensation :

• If you were notified 14 days or less before your departure time and the delay is 3 hours or more, the airline must give you compensation, the amount of which varies depending on the size of the airline and the length of the delay.
• The claim must be made to the airline within one year of the delay or cancellation. The airline has 30 days to respond. If you are not satisfied with the response, you have 30 days to file a complaint with the Canadian transportation Agency.

You are entitled to a re-routing or refund

• If you were notified of the delay less than 12 hours before your originally scheduled departure time and the delay is 2 hours or more, the airline must provide you with reasonable food and beverages and access to a means of communication (e.g. free Wi-Fi).
• If you have to wait for your flight until the next day, the company must also provide you with free accommodation (including transportation).

Details regarding re-routing depend on the size of the airline.

You are entitled to a re-routing

• Details regarding re-routing depend on the size of the airline.

*Airline tariffs may have more favourable conditions.

In case of loss or delay, passengers may claim the cost of baggage (standard, excess and/or oversized)

In the event oflostor damaged baggage , passengers may claim the cost of replacing lost or damaged items up to a maximum of $2,350.

If the baggage has been delayedthe airline must reimburse passengers for items they may need until their baggage is returned, up to a maximum of $2,350, except the airline took all reasonable measures to avoid the problem, or was unable to take such measures.

According to the Transportation Agency, the claim must be made:

• within 7 days after receiving the damaged baggage;
• within 21 days of receiving the delayed baggage; or
• as soon as possible if your baggage was delayed for 21 days or more (considered lost).

*Airline tariffs may have more favourable conditions.

You can also contact your insurer to find out what you can claim for your luggage.