Australian couple staying in Victoria as Air Canada continues refusing refund

CHEK
WatchAn Australian couple says they are staying in Victoria because Air Canada continues to refuse them a refund for a flight they booked home in December. They are now urging Ottawa and their own government to take more action. Julian Kolsut has this story.

For Australian couple Jarrah Duckett and Em Jackson, Victoria is home for the next year.

But it’s not really their choice.

The couple, who arrived long before the pandemic hit, have been stuck in Canada since December after Air Canada refused to refund almost $3,500 for a flight they booked in September to return home to Australia.

“We had to make the decision,” said Duckett. “Whether to pack up all of our lives and wait for a last-minute flight to come up and spend the money we didn’t have, or to just wait for the rest of our work visa, which is what we have decided to do now.”

Duckett and Jackson went public with their ordeal, telling CHEK News in December the airline cancelled the flight without telling them and then offered them a transferable voucher for another flight.

At the time, the couple had been cleared by the Australian government to come home, prompting them to give up their Victoria rental and quit their jobs.

The problem with that is Air Canada hasn’t been operating commercial flights to Australia for weeks and likely won’t be any time soon.

READ: Australian couple stranded on Vancouver Island after Air Canada refuses to provide refund

MORE: Caps on international flights leave hundreds of Australians stranded in Canada

Ottawa has been holding out on bailouts for Canadian air carriers until they provide refunds, but that too is at a standstill.

Duckett says they worked for an entire year to save up the nearly $3,500 to return home and just want it back. He’s also calling on the government to hold airlines accountable.

“[I ask] the federal government of Canada to hold Air Canada accountable for their predatory behavior, which is having really harmful consequences on people’s lives,” he said.

Adding salt to the wound, the Australian Open kicks off in less than a month. So far, 47 players have flown into the country on two charter flights — one from Los Angeles and the other Abu Dhabi.

“It goes to show the priorities of the federal Australian government,” he said.

Even though Duckett and Jackson could take a chance to get on a rescue flight home from Los Angeles, they say it’s not worth the risk of finding money to make it down, not making it onboard and losing their savings from Air Canada.

With little hope of a solution from the government or airline, Duckett is in talks with his bank to try to chargeback the money that has been left up in the air.

CHEK has reached out to Air Canada for comment.

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Julian KolsutJulian Kolsut

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