How do we Get Refund from Air Canada Flight?

A Complete Guide to understand about Air Canada Refund Policy

Measured by the fleet size and passengers carried, Air Canada is the largest airline and flag carrier of Canada. With its headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, it provides charter and scheduled air transport worldwide to 207 destinations.

A survey that was conducted in 2017 has ranked Air Canada as one of the best North American airlines. Air Canada is one of the best airlines undoubtedly, but what happens when you cancel your Air Canada flight and want to get a refund? If you are wondering, how do I get refund from Air Canada? You would need to know the refund policy of Air Canada. So, without further ado, let’s get to know how to get a refund from Air Canada.

Air Canada Refund Policy

1. Air Canada refund policy when a flight is cancelled within 24 hours of the purchase-

• With Air Canada, passengers get two fare options. One is Refundable and the other is non-refundable. 
• Air Canada provides a 24 hour policy on both the fares. If you are cancelling a ticket within 24 hours of the purchase of the ticket, you will not have to pay any additional charges, and you will get the full refund. 
• The refund will be credited in the same payment mode as was used while purchasing the ticket.

2. Air Canada refund policy when a flight is cancelled after 24 hours of the purchase-

• Yes, you have the right to cancel a flight after 24 hours of the purchase of your ticket. Although, if you cancel a flight after 24 hours of the purchase, you will get no refund. Moreover, it will also cost you some additional  charges. 
• Refund on a cancelled flight after 24 hours depends on the fare of the ticket. If you had purchased a Basic Economy Fare, you will get no refund when you cancel a flight. 
• On cancelling an Economy Flex fare, you will get a partial refund after you have paid a $200 fee charged by Air Canada. Cancelling a First and Business Class fare, you will get a partial refund as well. 
• It is also possible to cancel a non-refundable fare as well. But instead of a refund on cancelling a non-refundable fare, you will be given a travel voucher by Air Canada, which you can use while arranging another flight.

To cancel a flight online after 24 hours of the purchase, you need to make sure of the following points-

• Your flight was originally booked with aircanada.com.
• Your entire booking needs to be cancelled.
• Make sure to cancel your flight at least two hours before the departure time of the flight.

These points explained the refund policy of Air Canada, and you need to go through these before applying for a refund on a cancelled flight with Air Canada.

The new Covid-19 refund policy announced by Air Canada-

Air Canada announced a new refund policy amidst the Covid Pandemic on 22 May 2020. This new policy covers the refund of the flights cancelled due to Covid-19. Air Canada refers to this new policy as “goodwill policy”. Hence, this goodwill policy brings new regulations for customers both for refundable and non-refundable tickets. Customers are allowed to choose one of the two new options covered under goodwill policy-

First Option- For the remaining value of the ticket, customers will get a fully transferable Travel Voucher by Air Canada, which will have no expiry date.

Second Option- The remaining value of the ticket can get converted into Aeroplan Miles, loyalty program of Air Canada, and customers will get a chance to enjoy a point value of 65%.

These two options can be applied on the tickets that were issued up to 30 June 2020, which have an original date of travel between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2021. Moreover, till 30 June 2020, new bookings which have a travel date between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2021 can be changed without any fees.

Customers who have bought refundable Air Canada tickets can continue to receive refunds by Air Canada on the cancelled flights or they can choose either of the above mentioned options for their refund flights cancelled due to Covid pandemic.

When you are allowed to use the refund services of Air Canada?

Plans change and flights get cancelled and in event of cancel of a flight, customers would want to get a refund. Let’s see under what circumstances you are allowed to use the refund services provided by Air Canada.

When a flight gets cancelled-

When Air Canada cancels your flight or your flight gets delayed due to some unexpected issues by a company for more than three hours, then you will get a full refund from Air Canada. You can also be offered to arrange a flight with another airline. This rule is applicable on both refundable and non-refundable tickets.

When an emergency stops you from travelling-

Death comes unexpectedly and so does serious disease. In such emergency cases, Air Canada provides a flexible Air Canada refund policy in which you are allowed to receive a full refund on the flight. Air Canada, unlike most of the airlines, provides its customers a full and prompt refund without asking for legal documents or proof.

When you were not able to use your ticket due to some other reasons-

If due to some reasons you were not able to take your flight, then you will be marked as a “no-show”. Furthermore, according to the refund policy of Air Canada, your ticket will get redeemed in form of a travel voucher by Air Canada, which can be used  by you within a time period of 12 months.

How much time it will take for the refund get credited by Air Canada-

• It would hardly take more than seven working days for the refund to get credited once the refund is processed. 
• Refunds will be made in the form of the original payment method. 
• Sometimes it could take more than the usual time for the money to show in the bank account depending on the card issuer.

So, this was the Air Canada refund policy. For more information on the refund policy of Air Canada or how do we get refund from air canada flight, check out the official website of Air Canada.