Air Canada ordered to pay customer after airline's chatbot misguided him about fares
Air Canada will compensate a customer from BC over bereavement fares after the Civil Resolution Tribunal ruled in his favour.
The decision came on February 14, over a year after Jake Moffatt encountered a problem with the airline’s chatbot, leading to a refund-based dispute.
Following the passing of his grandmother on November 11, 2022, Moffat was looking up flights from Vancouver to Ontario, along with bereavement fare options on Air Canada’s website, when the airline’s chatbot suggested he could apply for bereavement fares retroactively.
According to a screenshot of the conversation, here’s what the chatbot said:
Air Canada offers reduced bereavement fares if you need to travel because of an imminent death or a death in your immediate family.
If you need to travel immediately or have already travelled and would like to submit your ticket for a reduced bereavement rate, kindly do so within 90 days of the date your ticket was issued by completing our Ticket Refund Application form. (emphasis in original)
Based on this info, Moffatt booked a one-way trip to Toronto for $794.98 and another one-way flight back to Vancouver for $845.38 about a week later.
After all the travel, he discovered through Air Canada employees that retroactive applications were not permitted.
Moffatt filed a case in small claims court, asking for a partial refund on his ticket. There was a difference of $880 between the regular and bereavement fare for his flight.
The airline told the Tribunal that Moffatt didn’t follow the proper procedure to request bereavement fares. The airline didn’t allow him to make a retroactive claim, adding that it “cannot be held liable for the information provided by the chatbot” and urging small claims to dismiss the flyer’s claim.
In its decision statement, the Tribunal noted that Moffatt talked to an Air Canada representative on the phone about bereavement rates and was told that the discount for each flight would be around $380. However, there’s “no evidence” that the Air Canada worker told Moffatt bereavement fare discounts could apply retroactively.
Despite submitting a bereavement fare application on November 17 — within the 90 days the chatbot told him about — Moffatt was unsuccessful. He kept corresponding with Air Canada about the partial refund throughout December 2022 and February 2023, as emails between the two parties showed.
The flyer only filed a formal dispute after an Air Canada worker told him on February 8 last year that the chatbot had provided “misleading words.”
The Tribunal noted that in the correspondence with Moffatt, Air Canada said it would update the chatbot.
The airline told the Tribunal it “cannot be held liable for information provided by one of its agents, servants, or representatives – including a chatbot.”
“Air Canada does not explain why it believes that is the case. In effect, Air Canada suggests the chatbot is a separate legal entity that is responsible for its own actions. This is a remarkable submission,” reads the decision document.
“While a chatbot has an interactive component, it is still just a part of Air Canada’s website. It should be obvious to Air Canada that it is responsible for all the information on its website. It makes no difference whether the information comes from a static page or a chatbot,” it states further.
While Air Canada denied “each and every” allegation Moffatt made, it didn’t submit counter-evidence about what the bereavement fare would’ve been.
The carrier says it gave Moffatt a $200 coupon as a “gesture of goodwill,” but Moffatt maintains that he didn’t accept the offer.
The Tribunal ruled that the airline must pay Moffatt $650.88 in damages, $125 in Civil Resolution Tribunal fees, and $36.14 in pre-judgment interest under the Court Order Interest Act within 14 days of the judgment.
Daily Hive contacted Air Canada for comment and clarification on why it did not present the counter-evidence.
“We are in receipt of the ruling and will comply with it. We consider this matter closed and, therefore, have no additional information for you,” a spokesperson told us over email.
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