2014-01-05|Stranded Passenger

To whom it may concern

• Since I bought the airline tickets, I am making the claim to Air Canada's Customer Relations/Alitalia's Baggage & Customer Relations.

• After spending 2 weeks in Canada, my father-in-law (Mikhail Musikhin) left Ottawa, ON, Canada, to return to Irkutsk, Russia on 2014-01-02 (Thursday) via Air Canada (AC-0465) and Alitalia (AZ-0651/7184/3788) flights.

• Here is the original itinerary booked on 2013-09-10:
  • Ottawa, ON, Canada (YOW)
  • Toronto, ON, Canada (YYZ)
  • Rome, Italy (FCO)
  • Moscow, Russia (SVO)
  • Irkutsk, Russia (IKT)

• Since I lost contact with him after seeing him off in Ottawa, ON, I filed a missing person report at Ottawa Police Service in Ottawa, ON.

• I learned much later that an Air Canada/Alitalia staff gave him an alternative route because of a delay of flight AC-0465 from Ottawa, ON (YOW) to Toronto, ON (YYZ), saying that it was "the only way".

• Here is the revised itinerary by Air Canada's/Alitalia's staff in Toronto, ON, on 2014-01-02:
  • Ottawa, ON, Canada (YOW)
  • Toronto, ON, Canada (YYZ)
  • Hong Kong, China (HKG)
  • Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)

• It turned out that he was stranded in Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)! Eventually, his spouse had to purchase an additional ticket from Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) to Irkutsk, Russia (IKT) on 2014-01-05. She was mis-informed by an airline office in Irkutsk, Russia that her spouse went through an airport in the U.S.A. and then to Tokyo, Japan, before landing on Bangkok, Thailand. His baggage is still missing as of this writing.

• There is a severe penalty for stranding a passenger. Although it would not apply to this particular case, "Airline Passengers Get New Bill of Rights" cites $27 000 USD/passenger.

• I believe that Air Canada's/Alitalia's failure to make an arrangement to the final destination of Irkutsk, Russia (IKT) amounts to "professional wrongdoing" which justifies compensation for "pain and suffering", as shown below.

  Small Claims Court
  "If you believe that professional wrongdoing was the cause of the damage or harm you have suffered there might be a case to be compensated for your losses. This may include payment for pain and suffering, economic losses including past and future income, medical expenses, and more."

• In conversation, Ottawa Police Service's police officer who prepared the police report has used language like "unacceptable screw-up", and strongly advised that I launch a lawsuit. However, I believe that you would like to settle the matter without resorting to the court.

  Ottawa Police Service
  Case Number: 14-2650 Constable Luc Durocher <tel:+1-613-236-1222x5337>

• Although the limit of the Small Claims Court in Ontario is $25 000 CAD, here is what I claim as a fair settlement for this incredibly painful ordeal.
  • original airline tickets: $3 281.56 CAD
  • additional airline ticket: $530.00 CAD = 16 212 RUB
  • police report: $51.00 CAD
  • pain and suffering, inconvenience, etc. due to professional wrongdoing: $3 137.44 CAD
  • total claim: $7 000.00 CAD

• Please note that we do not plan to travel anywhere in the future via Air Canada/Alitalia. If fair settlement is not reached, then I will first escalate the matter to government authorities and/or media scrutiny, before resorting to the court.
  • Canadian Transportation Agency
  • Competition Bureau
  • Ottawa Citizen's Action Line/Public Citizen
  • ...

• I look forward to your prompt reply.

• Thank you very much for your attention.

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"Sunatori, Go Simon" <GS.Sunatori@HyperInfo.CA>

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