Did you know that many airlines offer bereavement fares for travel necessitated by the death or imminent death of a family member?
A bereavement fare is a discounted type of airfare intended for last-minute travel under two specific circumstances – when an individual’s death is imminent, or immediately after a person has died. Bereavement fares are typically only available to immediate family membersof the affected individual, being that person’s spouse, children, parents, siblings, or legal guardians. While the requirements for bereavement fares vary from airline to airline, typically proof of the individual’s death must be provided, such as a copy of the death certificate, a statement from the funeral director, or a statement from the coroner. In cases of imminent death, the airline may require a letter from the treating physician to confirm that death is, indeed, imminent.
There is some debate as to whether bereavement fares are worth it, as noted in a recent Globe & Mail article entitled “Bereavement fares worth looking into but do your research before booking”. But for anyone looking to take advantage of these discounted airfares, special care ought to be taken by the bereaved customer to ensure that the airline’s procedure for bereavement fares is followed correctly. As demonstrated by Moffatt v. Air Canada, 2024 BCCRT 149, a recent case decided by the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, an airline may be reluctant to extendbereavement fares to customers without a court order if the correct procedure is not followed.
In Moffatt, the tribunal ordered Air Canada to pay the applicant over $800 in damages, being the difference between full price airfare for a roundtrip from Vancouver to Toronto and the bereavement fare quoted by an airline representative. Air Canada’s position during the litigation was that the applicant did not qualify for bereavement fares because he failed to follow the proper procedure. The applicant flew Air Canada on short notice to attend his grandmother’s funeral, but made his travel arrangements before applying for bereavement fares. Air Canada does not permit requests for bereavement fares to be submitted retroactively, as noted on the Air Canada website.
However, before the applicant booked the flights, a chatbot* on the Air Canada website advised him that “if you need to travel immediately or have already travelled and would like to submit your ticket for a reduced bereavement rate, kindly do so within 90 days of the date your ticket was issued by completing our Ticket Refund Application form.” In booking his flights, the applicantclaimed that he relied on the information provided by the chatbot, specifically that he would be able to request the reduced bereavement rate after booking his travel. In reply, Air Canada argued that it could not be found liable for information provided by its chatbot, essentially asserting that the “chatbot is a separate legal entity that is responsible for its own actions.”
Air Canada’s argument did not fly with the tribunal. The presiding tribunal member held that, despite having an interactive component, the chatbot was “still part of Air Canada’s website” and that “it should be obvious to Air Canada that it is responsible for all the information on its website. It makes no difference whether the information comes from a static page or a chatbot.” Since Air Canada did not take reasonable care to ensure that the information provided by its chatbot was accurate, Air Canada was held liable for negligent misrepresentation.
While the applicant in Moffatt was successful, this caseaptly demonstrates that, when travelling for a funeral or in light of an imminent death, it is advisable to contact the airline first when booking travel that could qualify for bereavement fares.
Thank you for reading, and enjoy the rest of your day,
*A chatbot, generally speaking, is an automated system that provides information to a person using a website in response to that person’s prompts and input.