An Air Canada passenger who faced a 24-hour baggage delay decided to take legal action against the airline because they were forced to purchase what they claimed were essentials while they waited for the bags.
Raghuraman Kaneson claimed $1,533.11 as compensation for those essentials, which Air Canada classified as “unnecessary and excessive.”
Air Canada did offer him approximately $210 as reimbursement, but Kaneson declined. In turn, the airline said his claim should be dismissed.
The BC Civil Resolution Tribunal saw it a tad differently in its publicly posted decision.
Kaneson was flying from Singapore to Vancouver via San Francisco. Air Canada operated the San Francisco to Vancouver portion of the trip. Kaneson checked two bags that had not arrived with him in Vancouver.
The tribunal decision said that Air Canada eventually located the bags and delivered them to the passenger 24 hours after he arrived. Kaneson was forced to make some purchases, which Air Canada said “went beyond reasonable in the circumstances of a 24-hour delay.”
Here’s an overview of Kaneson’s spending based on the receipts he provided:
- $431.02 at Banana Republic
- $313.60 at lululemon
- $493.50 at Sephora
- $159.04 at Topdrawers
- $136.41 at Zara
Kaneson purchased four pairs of socks, two pairs of underwear, two jockstraps, one pair of shorts, four pairs of pants, four shirts, and $500 worth of toiletries, which also included $184.80 for cologne.
The passenger said the items were “bare essentials.”
The tribunal had to determine what purchases were reasonable and concluded that a pair of pants and a shirt for dinner that evening and some gym clothes constituted reasonable.
“I find spending $493.50 on toiletries excessive given the 24-hour delay,” the tribunal said. The tribunal added that Kaneson was only owed $100 for toiletries.
The tribunal also had some other thoughts on his purchases.
“Mr. Kaneson has not adequately explained why he needed to keep all the items he purchased. I note that several of the receipts indicate return policies that would have allowed Mr. Kaneson to return items he had not yet used. I find it unlikely he had used all the items he purchased in the approximately 20 hours between purchase and when his bags were returned. I find he could have mitigated his losses by returning unused items for a refund. So, I order no further reimbursement.”
In total, Air Canada was ordered to reimburse Kaneson $597.05, which included $500 in damages and the rest in tribunal fees.