‘Don’t make us pay double’: Air fares for repatriation flights frustrate some Canadians

VANCOUVER-It cost Deborah Hamann-Trou about $700 for a roundtrip ticket from Vancouver to Lima, Peru and $1,750 one-way to get home. She'd like to know why.

Hamann-Trou is one of the Canadians who say that ticket prices being charged to get back to Canada on repatriation flights arranged by the government are too much and exceed the initial costs.

The costs are being defended by the government and Air Canada, saying flights are being operated at cost, with no money being made.

After taking a flight back from Peru on March 26, Hamann-Trou says she considers herself lucky to be home, but still thinks the costs weren't fair.

"I understand the flight is coming to Peru empty, so they have to make up for that," she said. "But it's just the one way. Don't make us pay double."

She arrived in Peru on March 4, before any travel warnings about the country were issued, and was supposed to leave March 17. But the flight on Air Mexico was cancelled as COVID-19 fears spread around the world and Peru closed its borders.

To get back, she had to pay $1,408 for a flight to Toronto and then another $350 to get from there to Vancouver. Hamann-Trou isn't the only one who's perplexed.

Back in Toronto, Gaurav Dania says his parents were hoping to get out of India and back to Canada on charter flights arranged through the Canadian government. But, Dania said, the $2,900 price is quite steep.

"I could understand if it was $1,500 to $1,600 per passenger considering the planes to India might be coming with no passengers, so essentially we pay for round trip," Dania said. "But they are charging $2,900. Four times the cost of one way. My own parents went for $1,550 round trip."

After the airline ticket fee there are also hotel fees, transport and credit card charges associated with the journey. So his parents have decided to stay in India.

Another Ontario resident, Naila Waheed, told the Star she was originally quoted $3,500 per ticket to fly home from Pakistan on a special flight, but was told later the flights were cancelled.

She said two more special flights at $2,800 per ticket left Pakistan for Canada and she has booked one on a regular airline for April 10. But the flight requires driving the 1,400-kilometre trip from Islamabad to Karachi to catch it.

Meanwhile, Hamann-Trou said her cousin, a Peruvian national, was flown home by the Peruvian government from Miami. The Times of Israel also reports residents of the country were repatriated from Peru at no cost. She said it seems Canadians are being charged too much.

But whether the fees charged for flights to Canadian residents are fair depends on who you ask.

Air passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs says fees being more expensive than usual isn't illegal but, given the situation, could be considered questionable.

Lukacs stressed that if flights were cancelled by airlines subject to Canadian law being used to repatriate Canadians, those who were supposed to be on them should be able to use their credits from flights cancelled due to COVID-19 to get on repatriation flights.

He said that according to Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations, passengers are owed a spot on the next available flight if theirs is cancelled due to circumstances beyond the airline's control.

"I'd very happy if regulators were enforcing the law," Lukacs said. "But they're not."

He said though one-way tickets are usually more expensive than return tickets, in this case no return flights are available.

Air Canada, which organized the flights out of Peru with Ottawa, disagrees flight credits should be applied to repatriation flights and said it is keeping the costs as low as it can.

Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick said because the repatriation flights are specially arranged between the airline and the federal government, the normal regulations do not apply.

"These special flights are not regular Air Canada flights, but rather we provide a service together with the government, offering our aircraft and crews, and facilitate booking (which is primarily done by local embassies, which contact Canadians locally)," Fitzpatrick said in an email. "That's why credits are not valid in these cases."

He said Air Canada is not making money from the flights and is sending empty planes to pick up Canadians.

Krystyna Dodds, spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said the government has worked out a deal with airlines ensuring flights are operated at cost.

"The Government of Canada is working with Canadian airlines to ensure that stranded Canadians are offered a reasonable commercial price for their return ticket home," Dodds told the Star. "Costs may vary depending on the airline and the location from where the flight is departing."

She said those who cannot pay should apply for an emergency loan through the COVID-19 Emergency Loan Program for Canadians Abroad.

Lukacs said he cannot find anything in the legislation indicating that repatriation flights are exempt from the usual regulations.

Jeremy Nuttall is a Vancouver-based investigative reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @Nuttallreports