Airlines / Air Canada
Canada · APPR · large airline
Air Canada delay compensation
Air Canada is a Canadian airline that the Canadian Transportation Agency lists as large, so on any flight to, from or within Canada it owes $400 to $1,000 for a delay within its control. Passengers complained about it to Canada's regulator 4.6 times per 100 flights over the year to September 2025, 12th highest of the 23 airlines this site tracks.
- 1Air Canada AC
- 2APPR cash from 3 h late
- 3CTA complaints 4.6 per 100
- 4Rank (lowest first) 12 of 23
Which rules make Air Canada pay
Coverage depends on where the flight leaves from and on Air Canada's licence, so the same airline can owe different amounts on the outbound and return legs. Using the longest route on this site from a Canadian airport to each region, operated by Air Canada and arriving 4½ hours late for a reason within its control:
| Route | Outbound | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Montréal – Vancouver (3,682 km) | $400 (APPR) | $400 (APPR) |
| Vancouver – Frankfurt (8,063 km) | $400 (APPR) | €600 (EU261), $400 (APPR) |
| Vancouver – London (7,579 km) | $400 (APPR) | £520 (UK261), $400 (APPR) |
| Toronto – Los Angeles (3,494 km) | $400 (APPR), refund only (US) | $400 (APPR), refund only (US) |
| Toronto – Cancún (2,605 km) | $400 (APPR) | $400 (APPR) |
Canada's rules do not depend on distance: the amount rises with the hours late, to $700 at 6 hours and $1,000 at 9. Leaving an EU or UK airport, Air Canada is under EU261 or UK261 as well, as every airline is; flying into Europe from Canada it is not, because it is not a European airline. Cash is owed only for a disruption within the airline's control; for extraordinary circumstances the rules still require meals and, overnight, a hotel.
How often passengers complain about Air Canada
The Canadian Transportation Agency publishes complaints per 100 flights for each airline flying to, from or within Canada. Air Canada averaged 4.6 from October 2024 to September 2025, in the middle of the 23 airlines here — the range runs from 1.1 (Delta Air Lines) to 12.2 (Flair Airlines), with a simple average of 5.4. It was listed in 4 of the 4 quarters. The rate rose from 4.2 in October–December 2024 to 4.3 in July–September 2025. Its worst quarter was Jan–Mar 2025, at 5.7.
Complaints passengers submitted to the CTA after failing to resolve them with the airline, per 100 flights the airline operated to, from or within Canada (flight counts from Cirium). The CTA says complaints may not yet have been reviewed and a listing does not by itself show non-compliance; accessibility complaints are excluded; airlines appear only in quarters where they averaged at least 1 complaint per 100 flights and operated at least 100 flights. A dash means the airline was not listed that quarter. The figures count complaints of every kind, not only about delays, and only on flights touching Canada.
How to claim from Air Canada
Claim directly — it costs nothing. Air Canada's own page: Flight delays, cancellations and disruptions (Air Canada).
File a written compensation request with the airline before the first anniversary of the delay or cancellation (s. 19(3)). The airline has 30 days to pay or explain why nothing is owed (s. 19(4)).
If Air Canada refuses or does not answer: If the airline refuses or does not answer, file a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency. The written request has to reach Air Canada before the first anniversary of the flight (s. 19(3)), and it has 30 days to pay or explain (s. 19(4)). A claim company is not needed; the fee guide compares what they keep.
Other Canadian airlines with pages here: WestJet (5.1), Porter Airlines (1.7), Air Transat (4.1), Flair Airlines (12.2).
Sources: Canadian Transportation Agency: Air travel complaints per 100 flights, by airline, October 2024 to September 2025 (modified 2026-04-10); Flight delays, cancellations and disruptions (Air Canada); Canadian Transportation Agency: large and small airlines; Air Passenger Protection Regulations, SOR/2019-150 (Justice Laws). Checked 2026-10-21. General information, not legal advice.