Montreal Convention Rules

Mary,

I assume you've read this.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Convention

Unfortunately it doesn't provide a clear idea of the amount of compensation for delayed baggage. It states that "It requires airlines to fully compensate travellers the cost of replacement items purchased until the baggage is delivered, to a maximum of 1,131 SDR". That's rather meaningless unless one knows the value of "SDR", which is defined as "a mix of currency values established by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)".

Hopefully one of the others can clarify this.

1,131 SDRs (Special Drawing Rights) is approximately US$1,560.21 at the moment.

Thanks, Ken and Nigel. I did read the Montreal Convention rules and found them confusing. I spoke to Air Canada yesterday and they said it would take 4 to 6 weeks to process my claim. I just want to make sure I receive fair compensation that I am entitled to per the rules.

Interesting question -- depending on how much you get from Air France, will the insurance company ask for repayment?? Because your "loss" may be limited to your unreimbursed expenses.

Hi Laura,

The insurance paid out within days - no questions asked. I submitted copies of receipts with the claim. Those receipts exceeded the $200 amount payable per the policy for the delayed baggage. They did not ask if I would be submitting a claim to the airline nor did they ask me to tell them if I received any compensation at a future date from the airline. Now, I am assuming that Air Canada will adjust the amount that they pay out based on the fact that I had an insurance policy for $200 to cover delayed baggage. The fact that I had travel insurance and the amount payable was disclosed to Air Canada. I just want to be made whole for my losses which is not unreasonable. I had no luggage for nearly 5 days and had to waste precious travel time shopping for clothes to get me through. I only bought clothes - no cosmetics which would have added a considerable amount to the bill. And I had to make do with the inadequate hotel hair dryer (I have thick hair). But I didn't let it spoil my vacation or my husband's.

Update - Air Canada is making full compensation for my expenses although they are not admitting culpability. And they are stating that it is not usually their policy to do this.

Mary,

It's good to hear you're getting some resolution with your claim. It's not surprising that they're not admitting culpability, as that would open them up to other "issues" and may also set a legal precedent (I'll leave that question to the Lawyers on the forum).

Yup. The letter contained the wording "without prejudice". This is a statement set onto a written document such as a letter, which qualifies the signatory as exempt from the content to the extent that it may be interpreted as containing admissions or other interpretations which could later be used against him or her; or as otherwise affecting any legal rights of the principal of, or the person signing. So they are paying up but not admitting guilt and the fact that they paid up is not an admission of their responsibility. But at least they did the right thing.