Travel Advisories

Denied Boarding

Denial of boarding is when a passenger is not permitted to occupy a seat on board a flight because the number of seats that may be occupied on the flight is less than the number of passengers who have checked in by the required time, hold a confirmed reservation and valid documentation and are present at the boarding gate at the required boarding time.

Overbooking is a practice within the airline industry when an airline chooses to sell more tickets than available seats for a flight. Pacific Coastal Airlines has made the decision to never overbook the flights we sell. We believe that it is more important for our customers to have confidence that their reservation will be fulfilled rather than create the opportunity to make additional revenue by overbooking our flights.

What we will do

In the case where Pacific Coastal Airlines must deny boarding, we will first request for volunteers not to travel on the flight. Should no customer(s) volunteer to travel on a different flight the denied boarding process will begin. We will strive to avoid denying boarding to the following customers:

  • Unaccompanied minors
  • Persons with a disability and their support person
  • Service animal
  • Passenger(s) who are traveling with their family
  • Passenger(s) who were previously denied boarding on the same ticket

The passenger(s) denied boarding will be offered the following travel alternatives:

  • Rebook you on the next available Pacific Coastal Airlines flight at no addition cost;
  • Rebook you on an alternate flight or travel date at no addition cost;
  • Cancel the effected segment and/or all of unused flight segments with no penalty and receive a refund issued to the original form of payment; or
  • Re-accommodate you on the next available flight on a carrier Pacific Coastal Airlines has a commercial agreement with.

How we will help

Standard of treatment is the care that Pacific Coastal Airlines will provide to passengers free of charge following a travel disruption. The category of travel disruption will determine if a passenger is entitled to standard of treatment. Passengers denied boarding due to uncontrollable events are not entitled to standard of treatment. Passengers denied boarding due to situations within Pacific Coastal Airlines control or within Pacific Coastal Airlines control, but required for safety may be entitled to standard of treatment.

Uncontrollable
Controllable, but Required for Safety
Controllable
Standards of Treatment
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Passengers entitled to standard of treatment as a result of denied boarding are offered the following:

1. Food and drink*

Pacific Coastal Airlines will issue meal vouchers, valid at pre-established restaurants. Meal vouchers will be issued taking into account the length of travel disruption and time of day.

2. Access to communication

Should a passenger request access to communication, Pacific Coastal Airlines will offer the use of a phone or direct the passenger to join available public WiFi networks.

3. Accommodation

If a passenger is required to wait overnight for their original flight or for a flight reserved as part of an alternate travel arrangement, Pacific Coastal Airlines will offer overnight accommodations. Transportation will also be provided to and from the accommodations.

*Due to the location of some airports, food and drink options may be limited and not available to passengers.

How we will compensate

Pacific Coastal Airlines may provide compensation to passengers following a denied boarding travel disruption. It is important to understand that the category and length of travel disruption will determine if a passenger is entitled to compensation. Pacific Coastal Airlines does not offer compensation or reimbursement for any additional expenses incurred as a result of travel disruptions within control, but required for safety or uncontrollable events. Passengers travel that is disrupted due to controllable events are entitled to compensation based on the length of delayed arrival to the final destination.

*Note: Although we do not overbook our flights there are rare situations when an unforeseen overbooked situation may occur. For example, should we need to change the size of aircraft operating a flight due to a mechanical issue or should there be a mechanical issue with a seat. Furthermore, as we provide service to remote airports we are restricted to operate within payload limitations of our aircraft. Knowing that we cannot always take a full payload from select airports we proactively “curtail” our flights, where we block some seats for sale on the aircraft to help endeavour that we will have ample payload to carry all passengers and their baggage. Despite these curtailments, we sometimes are unable to accommodate all passengers. These examples are considered to be within the carrier’s control but required for safety.

Uncontrollable
Controllable, but Required for Safety
Controllable
Compensation
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Denied Boarding – Controllable, but Required for Safety

Passengers who are denied boarding due to situation within Pacific Coastal Airlines control, but required for safety are not entitled to monetary compensation.

Denied Boarding – Controllable Event

In cases of denied boarding within Pacific Coastal Airlines’ control, a passenger may be entitled to compensation as follows:

Arrival Delay LengthMonetary Compensation
Less than 6 hours$900.00 CAD
Over 6 hours but less than 9$1,800.00 CAD
9 hours or more$2,400.00 CAD

Monetary compensation for denied boarding within Pacific Coastal Airlines control will be paid out within 48 hours of denial.