PAL Airlines delay compensation: what you're owed and how to claim

Updated October 18, 2026 · Checked against the regulations as current to September 30, 2026 · By LandedLate

PAL Airlines is a small airline under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, so on its own flights it owes $125, $250 or $500 per passenger for a delay or cancellation within its control. The amount depends on how late you reach your destination: 3 to 6 hours, 6 to 9 hours, or 9 hours or more. If you were bumped, the full $900 to $2,400 applies, and Air Canada Express flights PAL flies for Air Canada pay more (see below). You claim on PAL's form, 48 hours or more after the flight, and PAL has 30 days to pay or explain.

Whether your own flight qualifies depends on its details: the reason the airline gave, how late you reached your destination and how much notice you had. Check it free at landedlate.ca/check.

How much PAL owes

PAL Airlines, delay or cancellation within its control
You reached your destination	Per passenger
3 to 6 hours late	$125
6 to 9 hours late	$250
9 hours or more	$500
Less than 3 hours late	$0

Per passenger, section 19(1)(b), the small-carrier amounts; these are the cash amounts PAL lists. Data as of October 18, 2026.

Bumped from a flight for a reason within its control? $900 if you arrived less than 6 hours late, $1,800 for 6 to 9 hours, $2,400 for 9 hours or more (section 20). For a delay or cancellation within its control (not for safety) that you were told about 14 days or less ahead, if you took a refund because the new flight didn't meet your needs, you're owed $125 (section 19(2)). Every amount in one chart

When PAL has to pay, and when it doesn't

You're owed

The cause was within its control and not for safety, such as crew or scheduling, you arrived 3+ hours late, and you were told 14 days or less before departure (section 12).

Worth challenging

PAL cites weather or a safety problem without detail, or offers only a voucher. Ask for the specific cause and the evidence.

Not owed

Weather that made flying unsafe, an air traffic control instruction or a security threat. You still get a new flight within 48 hours; if it can't, your choice of a refund or its own or a partner's next flight (section 18).

How to claim from PAL

Wait 48 hours after the flight, then open the “Compensation Claim Form” on PAL's flight disruptions page. The form asks you to confirm you're submitting 48 hours or more after the event.
Enter your name, address, phone, email, 6-character booking reference, flight number and date, then describe what happened in the comments box, which takes up to 4,000 characters. Print a copy after you submit.
Choose money if you want money. PAL pays by e-transfer or cheque within 30 days of approving the claim when you choose financial reimbursement, or offers a voucher at twice the value.
Claim within a year; PAL then has 30 days to pay or explain (section 19). If it hasn't paid

Write my PAL claim

Free. LandedLate takes no share of what PAL pays you.

Air Canada Express flights operated by PAL

PAL operates some Air Canada Express flights in Eastern Canada and Quebec under a commercial agreement with Air Canada, including services from Montréal to destinations in Quebec and New Brunswick. A small airline flying on behalf of a large one has the large airline's obligations (section 1(4)), so the amounts should be $400, $700 or $1,000, not $125 to $500. Legally PAL owes it, as the airline that operated the flight (section 2(1)). In practice, start with Air Canada if your ticket shows an AC flight number; if Air Canada says the claim is PAL's, file on PAL's form, say it was an Air Canada Express flight, and claim well before the one-year deadline. Air Canada delay compensation

If PAL refuses or doesn't answer

Write back once and ask for the specific cause and the evidence; the airline has to prove it in a complaint (Canada Transportation Act, section 85.07(2)). You can file a free complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency 30 days after your claim, or once it's refused. Expect a long wait: the agency says it may take more than 24 months before an officer reviews a complaint. Answering a refusal · How to file with the agency

Questions

Why does PAL pay less than Air Canada or WestJet?

The regulations set lower amounts for small carriers (sections 1 and 19). The Canadian Transportation Agency lists Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing, Air Transat, Flair and Porter as the large Canadian airlines and says all others are small, and PAL says it pays the small-airline amounts: $125, $250 or $500 per passenger.

My Air Canada Express flight was operated by PAL. How much am I owed?

The large-airline amounts: $400, $700 or $1,000. A small carrier has the same obligations as a large carrier toward passengers it carries on behalf of a large carrier under a commercial agreement (section 1(4)), and Air Canada describes PAL's Express flying as a commercial agreement. We haven't found an agency decision on a PAL-operated Express flight yet.

Where do I claim for an Air Canada Express flight operated by PAL?

Legally PAL owes it, because the regulations put the duty on the airline that operated the flight (section 2(1)), at Air Canada's rates (section 1(4)). Neither airline's pages say how these claims are handled in practice. If your ticket shows an Air Canada (AC) flight number, start with Air Canada; if it says the claim is PAL's, file on PAL's form well before the one-year deadline and keep copies.

PAL offered me a voucher worth twice the cash. Should I take it?

That's your choice. PAL lists a voucher at double the cash amount, or payment by e-transfer or cheque if you choose financial reimbursement. The regulations entitle you to money unless you choose the other form in writing (section 21).

Will PAL put me on another airline?

Only an airline it has a commercial agreement with. Small carriers aren't required to buy you a seat on any other airline (sections 17(1)(b) and 18(1.1)(b)).

I was bumped from a PAL flight. How much am I owed?

The full amount: $900 if you arrived less than 6 hours late, $1,800 for 6 to 9 hours, $2,400 for 9 hours or more, when the reason was within the airline's control (section 20). Bumping compensation isn't reduced for small airlines, and PAL lists these amounts itself.

Sources

General information, not legal advice.