you are going to be mildly shocked, but not much to learn that and airline blamed maintenance issues to deny compensation to passengers that were shorted on their flight, because the airline wanted planes for other routes

Air Canada denied Juan Rojas compensation for a cancelled flight after it swapped the aircraft assigned to his flight with one that needed safety-related maintenance.

The Gatineau man challenged the airline through the Canadian Transportation Agency and won — and the evidence raises questions about the information Air Canada provided to justify denying him compensation.

"I felt like they were trying to cheat the system," Rojas told Go Public.

Under Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations, passengers can be entitled to up to $1,000 for delayed flights, but only if the delay is within the airline's control and not required for safety.

Go Public has uncovered three other instances in which Air Canada told passengers their flights were cancelled because of safety-related maintenance while flight records show the aircraft they were scheduled to fly on were subsequently used on other routes. In all three cases, Air Canada maintains it does not owe compensation.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/gopublic/air-canada-maintenance-loophole-deny-compensation-9.7392314