Air Canada
Air Canada held liable for wrong bereavement-fare advice from its website chatbot
In February 2024 a British Columbia tribunal ordered Air Canada to compensate a passenger after its website chatbot gave wrong bereavement-fare advice. The tribunal rejected the airline's argument that the chatbot was responsible for its own statements.
Key figures
Copied exactly from the sources. Copy any figure with its citation.
$650.88
Damages ordered for negligent misrepresentation1
$812.02
Total award reported (damages, interest and tribunal fees)1
$125
Tribunal fees reimbursed to the passenger2
What it took
Cost, team size and timeline were not disclosed in the sources.
The problem
Air Canada put a chatbot on its website to answer customer questions. In November 2022, after a family death, passenger Jake Moffatt asked it about bereavement fares while booking flights.
What they built
A customer-facing website chatbot. The sources do not describe how it worked or which model it used.
How they did it
The chatbot told Mr. Moffatt he could apply for a bereavement fare after travel. The airline's policy did not allow that. The phrase "bereavement fares" in the chat linked to a page stating the policy. The tribunal saw no reason a customer should know that one part of the website was accurate and another was not. He booked flights, then was refused the refund. An Air Canada representative later acknowledged that the chatbot had used misleading wording.
What went wrong
Air Canada argued it was not liable for what its chatbot said, and suggested the chatbot was a separate entity. Tribunal member Christopher Rivers called this a remarkable submission and held that the chatbot is part of the airline's website. He found Air Canada owed a duty of care, did not take reasonable care to make the chatbot accurate, and that Mr. Moffatt reasonably relied on it. The airline also cited its tariff but did not submit the contract.
Results
The decision was released on February 14, 2024. The tribunal ordered damages of $650.88 for negligent misrepresentation, with interest and reimbursement of tribunal fees. Law360 Canada reports the total award as $812.02. The ruling is widely cited as a warning that companies answer for their chatbots.
Lessons for your project
A company is responsible for what its chatbot says. The tribunal held that it makes no difference whether information comes from a static page or a chatbot.
Do not rely on a link to the policy page as a safety net. The tribunal saw no reason a customer should check one part of the site against another.
Keep chat transcripts and the exact policy and contract text. Air Canada did not submit the contract it relied on, so the tribunal could not consider its terms. It also gave no evidence on what the fare would have been, and the tribunal drew an adverse inference on that.
Test answers on high-stakes policies, such as refunds, before launch and after every policy change.
Caveats
- The tribunal decision itself (Moffatt v. Air Canada, 2024 BCCRT 149) could not be opened for this entry. Details come from independent law-news and legal-analysis reports of it, so the primary record was not read directly.
- The chatbot's model, vendor and design are not disclosed. The retrieval pattern tag is the closest fit for a website answer bot, not a confirmed design.
- No source says when the chatbot went live. The date shown is when the passenger used it (November 2022).
- The amount at stake was small. The significance is the liability principle, and a small claims tribunal decision does not bind other courts.
Sources
- Court rejects Air Canada's 'remarkable' denial of liability regarding misinformation by its chatbot
Law360 Canada · 2024-02-16 · News · law360.ca
- A Legal Analysis of the Air Canada A.I. Chatbot Decision
Travel Market Report · 2024-02-22 · News · travelmarketreport.com
Summarized in our own words from the sources above. Spotted an error? See corrections.