A Few Travelling Tips

Air Passenger Protection Regulations

If you are denied boarding, your flight is cancelled or delayed for at least three hours, or your baggage is lost or damaged, you may be entitled to certain standards of treatment and compensation under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations. For more information about your passenger rights please contact your air carrier or visit the Canadian Transportation Agency’s website.

We encourage you to complete our online claim form or contact us at customerrelations@canadiannorth.com so that we can address your concern. Please note that claims and refunds are not processed through the Customer Contact Centre.

In order to help us to assist you, please provide the following details:

Your name (as it appeared on your reservation)
Your desired method to be contacted (your email address and/or telephone number)
The date that you travelled with us
The flight number that you travelled on
Details of the issue that you encountered

Alternately, you have the option of contacting the Canadian Transportation Agency with your concern, using their online form. You can also contact the CTA at 1-888-222-2592 or info@otc-cta.gc.ca.

For more information about your passenger rights, please visit the Canadian Transportation Agency website.

Denied Boarding

Denied boarding occurs when the number of passengers present for boarding exceeds the number of seats available on a flight. This does not include situations where a passenger is refused transport for safety, security or health reasons.

Canadian North has clearly defined policies regarding how denied boarding will be handled, which are explained fully within RULE 31 of our Domestic Tariff (located here).

If you are denied boarding against your will for a reason that is within our control and not required for safety – for example, overbooking or a change in aircraft due to scheduled maintenance – you will be entitled to compensation. This compensation is based on the length of delay upon arrival at your final destination.

Length of Delay	Amount (CAD)
0-6 hours	$900
6-9 hours	$1800
9+ hours	$2400

We will issue compensation at the time you are notified that you are denied boarding. The amount of compensation may be supplemented if your delay at arrival is longer than was expected when payment was issued. If payment cannot be made before your new departure time, we will issue the payment to you within 48 hours.

If we have denied boarding to you, we will rebook you free of charge, meeting the same obligations as described for flight delays and cancellations below. While you wait for your new flight, we will provide an appropriate standard of treatment (subject to local availability):

After a delay at departure of 2 hours:

food and drink in reasonable quantities; and
electronic means of communication

If a delay is expected to extend overnight:

hotel or other comparable accommodation free of charge; and
free transportation to the accommodation

Please complete online claim form here

Flight Delays or Cancellations

Communication

We will keep you regularly informed if there is a flight disruption (such as flight and tarmac delays or flight cancellations).

We will tell you why your flight has been disrupted as soon as is feasible. This information will be provided to you through:

An audible announcement;
A visible announcement, upon request; and
Electronically, via the available communication method that you have provided (e.g., email, SMS) and/or via a printed document, subject to availability at the location of the disruption.

We will provide flight status updates every 30 minutes until a new departure time has been confirmed. We will also offer any new status information to passengers as soon as is feasible, which may be sooner than 30 minutes after the last update.

Standards of Treatment

For delays at departure that are within our control, or within our control and required for safety purposes, we will provide the following standards of treatment to you (subject to local availability):

After a delay at departure of 2 hours:

Food and drink in reasonable quantities (taking into account the length of the delay, time of day, and the location of the delay)
Electronic means of communication

If a delay is expected to extend overnight:

Hotel or other comparable accommodation free of charge; and

Free transportation to the accommodation

Tarmac Delays

If your flight is delayed on the tarmac after the doors of the aircraft are closed for take-off or after the flight has landed, we will do our best to ensure your comfort.

We will provide you with:
- Access to working lavatories
- Proper ventilation and heating or cooling
- Food and drink, in reasonable quantities, taking into account the length of the delay, the time of day and the location of the airport
- The ability to communicate with people outside the aircraft free of charge, when feasible
If you require urgent medical assistance during a tarmac delay, we will take all reasonable steps to facilitate access to medical assistance
After a 3-hour tarmac delay at an airport in Canada, the plane will return to the gate so you can disembark if safe to do so. A plane can stay on the tarmac for up to 45 additional minutes, if it is likely that it will take off within that period and we are able to continue providing the same services as above, when feasible.

This short extension is to ensure that the plane can take off if there is a reasonable prospect of this occurring – so that you can reach your final destination without the inconvenience of further delay or a flight cancellation.
If it is not likely that the plane can take off within the additional 45 minute window, the plane will return to the gate, unless it is prevented for reasons related to safety, security, customs control or air traffic control.

Depending on the circumstances, it may not be possible for us to allow you to disembark from the aircraft during a Tarmac Delay, for various reasons, including but not limited to concerns related to safety, security, or due to directions by Air Traffic Control or Customs Control.

If the plane returns to the gate for disembarking because of a tarmac delay, disembarking priority will be available to passengers with disabilities and their support person, service animal or emotional support animal, if any, upon request and when feasible.

Rebooking and Refunds

For all types of flight delays or cancellations encountered for flights operated by us we will ensure that our passengers complete their itinerary (that is, reach their final destination). Once a delay reaches 3 hours, we will rebook you on our next available flight.

If a flight delay or cancellation is within our control, or within our control and required for safety purposes, passengers will be rebooked the same class of service.

If a flight or cancellation is within our control (and not required for safety purposes), and rebooking does not meet a passenger’s travel needs (e.g., there is no longer any purpose to the travel), the passenger will be entitled to a refund of their ticket, as well as compensation for inconvenience in the amount of $125.

Compensation

We will provide compensation for inconvenience or delays and cancellations in situations within our control that are not required for safety. More specifically, where a passenger is informed of a delay or cancellation 14 days or fewer before departure, the regulations set the amount payable by the carrier operating the disrupted flight to the passenger based on the length of the delay upon arrival at the passenger’s final destination on a Canadian North issued ticket. Canadian North is classified as a “small carrier”.

Length of Delay	Amount (CAD)
3-6 hours	$125
6-9 hours	$250
9+ hours	$500

Lost or Damaged Baggage

We will always do our best to transport your baggage to your destination on time and to handle it with the utmost care. Occasionally, baggage may be lost, delayed or damaged due to unexpected circumstances.

Per the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, you may be eligible to be reimbursed up to 1288 Special Drawing Rights (approximately $2350CAD for baggage that is damaged or lost while in our care. You must file a claim in order to be reimbursed for expenses.

For damaged baggage, you must submit a claim within seven days after you receive the baggage.
For potentially lost baggage, you must submit a claim within 21 days after the day it was supposed to arrive.
In addition, you may be reimbursed for any baggage fees paid if your baggage is damaged or lost.

Please click here to download the Canadian North Baggage Declaration Form (PDF)

A completed, signed Baggage Declaration form is the official written notice of a claim and failure to complete a claim within the specified time frames may result in no further action against Canadian North. The claim form should be completed in its entirety with a detailed description of each individual item contained within the bag(s), or the items missing from the baggage, including signatures from all persons impacted. If your claim involves more than one bag, please itemize each bag and its contents separately. The accuracy of the information you provide, enhances our ability to locate your property through our tracing efforts. Please retain copies of all documents you send to us, for your records.

Completed claim forms with baggage claims checks and receipts for any articles valued over $100.00 can be scanned and emailed to Canadian North’s Central Baggage Services team at customerrelations@canadiannorth.com.

For more information, please visit our baggage service page.

Travelling with musical instruments

Canadian North’s policies regarding the transport of musical instruments are included within RULE 25 of our Domestic Tariff (located here).

Small musical instruments

Instruments that fit in an overhead bin or under the seat in front of you and do not exceed weight limits can be brought onboard the aircraft as a carry-on item. You will be able to bring one personal item in addition to your instrument.

Carry-on baggage size/weight limits:

Boeing 737	ATR-42
26CM X 46CM X 56CM (10” X 18” X 22”) 10KG (22LBS)	23CM X 41CM X 46CM (9” X 16” X 18”) 10KG (22LBS)

During the flight, your instrument must remain stowed in the overhead bin, under the seat in front of your or in other approved locations. Additional seats cannot be purchased for instruments.

Carry-on baggage is subject to space limitations, so please be prepared to check your instrument if necessary.

Checking your musical instrument

Instruments that do not fit in the cabin will need to be transported as checked baggage, where checked baggage allowances and fees will apply. We strongly recommend that musical instruments are transported in a hard-sided case.

Aircraft changes

The aircraft type you are booked to travel on may change as a result of delays related to weather, unexpected maintenance or other factors. When this happens and you’re reaccommodated on a smaller plane, we’ll help to determine alternate arrangements if there is not enough available space to stow your instrument in the cabin.

Assignment of seats to children who are under the age of 14 years.

Assigning Seats

In order to ensure the comfort of families travelling with children under the age of 14, we will assign a seat to the child that is in close proximity to their parent, guardian or tutor at no extra charge at the time of making your reservation.

If it is not possible for us to assign seats within close proximity at the time of reservation, we will attempt to change seats at the time of check-in.

If it is not possible for us to assign seats within close proximity at the time of check-in, we will ask for volunteers to change seats at the time of boarding.

If it is not possible to assign seats at the time of check-in and no passenger has volunteered to change seats at the time of boarding, we will ask again for volunteers to change seats on the aircraft before departure.

Proximity to Adult’s Seat

We will adhere to the following guidelines when assigning seats to children under the age of 14 years, at no additional charge:

In the case of a child who is four years of age or younger, we will assign a seat that is adjacent to their parent, guardian or tutor’s seat;
In the case of a child who is 5 to 11 years of age, we will assign a seat that is in the same row as their parent, guardian or tutor’s seat, and that is separated from that parent, guardian or tutor’s seat by no more than one seat; and

In the case of a child who is 12 or 13 years of age, we will assign a seat that is in a row that is separated from the row of their parent, guardian or tutor’s seat by no more than one row.

Related Definitions

Situations within airline control are any situations not covered by the two categories below. For example, they include commercial overbooking; scheduled maintenance of an aircraft that is necessary to comply with legal requirements; or mechanical malfunction of the aircraft identified during scheduled maintenance.

Situations within airline control but required for safety purposes are typically unforeseen events legally required to reduce safety risk to passengers. While this includes mechanical problems, it does not include scheduled maintenance or mechanical problems identified during scheduled maintenance. Safety decisions made by the pilot and those made under an airline’s Safety Management System would also fall into this category.

Situations outside airline control include: war or political instability; illegal acts or sabotage; meteorological conditions or natural disasters that make the safe operation of the aircraft impossible; instructions from air traffic control; a Notice to Airmen (as defined in the Canadian Aviation Regulations); a security threat; airport operation issues; a medical emergency; a collision with wildlife; a labour disruption within the carrier or within an essential service provider such as an airport or an air navigation service provider; a manufacturing defect in an aircraft that reduces the safety of passengers and that was identified by the manufacturer of the aircraft concerned, or by a competent authority; and an order or instruction from an official of a state or a law enforcement agency or from a person responsible for airport security.