Mom, daughter kicked off Air Canada plane, not told they're banned from airline until it was too late

A Quebec woman wound up spendingnearly $8,000in airline tickets to flyherself and her daughter home after Air Canada kicked them off a planeand didn'timmediately informthemthat they were banned from future Air Canada flights.

AirCanada saysthe two wereorderedto leave their flight, departing Bucharest for Montreal on July 31,because ofdisruptive behaviour.

Ana Constantin and her daughter, Lisa Maria Paun, deny the allegation, and say that being ousted from the plane was only the beginning of their ordeal.

Because they didn't know at the time about their ban,theybooked the next available flight home the second leg of which was again with Air Canada.

When theyarrived at their stopover in Frankfurt, much to their surprise, Air Canada wouldn't let the two board their connecting flight back to Canada, leaving them stranded at the airport.

"Imagine the frustration,"said a still-distraught Constantin from her home in Gatineau, Que."It's beyond understanding."

Following a CBC News inquiry, Air Canada emailed a letter to Constantin and Paun two weeks after their initialflightlayingout why they were ordered offthat flight and details of theirban.

I am mentally and financially devastated. I cannot eat. I cannot sleep.- Ana Constantin

But the information came too late; Constantin had already paid a total of $7,758for a flight that only got them as far as Frankfurt, and then another flight on Austrian Airlines to return to Montreal.

"I am mentally and financially devastated," said Constantin. "I cannot eat.I cannot sleep."

Air Canada said it's "dealing directly" with the passengers regarding reimbursement forthe Frankfurt flight. So far, Constantin has received a $262.26 refundtoward the$3,916flight.

What are the reasons?

Theirtroubles began when Constantin, a 45-year old financial officer, and Paun, a 22-year-old university student, boarded an Air Canada flight at the Henri Coand Airport in Bucharest after visiting family in Romania.

They said the flight's departure was delayed because some passengers had to be reassigned seats so families could sit together.

Paun said someone was assigned to her seat, so she sat elsewhere.

There are contradictory accounts of why the two women were ordered off the plane. Paunsaid it occurred after shegot into a dispute with a flight attendant who asked herto return to her assignedseat, and she repliedthat she couldn't.

"I said that I can't move back because you just put a man in my seat. And that's when she just got angry with me and said that I'm not co-operating."

Constantin said she was in the washroom at the time and when she learnedthe news, she refused to disembark, so a police officer was called to escort them off the plane.

"We felt very embarrassed and humiliated," said Paun.

Air Canada spokesperson Angela Mah said that Paun and Constantinwere removed because they "became verbally abusive to the crew" and refused to take their assigned seats or safely stow their carry-on bags.

She also said,in an email to CBC News, that efforts made by the crew to defusethe situation were unsuccessful.

"Air Canada has a zero tolerance policy for disruption and outright refusal to follow safety directions," said Mah.

• READ| Air Canada's full statement

What are the rules?

According to Transport Canada, airlines have the right to refuse to boardpassengers if it's deemed theirbehaviour may jeopardize the safety of a flight.

But the federal department also says that passengers should be informed about why they're denied boarding and the conditions of their ban.

Constantin and Paun said they received no such information at the time; instead, Paun said a flight attendant told her they'd be rebooked on another Air Canada flight.

The two women spent the next two days in Bucharest, calling Air Canada, but said they were told there was nothing in the airline's computer system about their case.

Desperate to get home, Constantin rebooked them on a flight for Aug. 4, issued by Air Canada for $3,916.

They had no problem boarding partner airlineLufthansa on the first leg to Frankfurt. But then the two women weren't allowed to board their Air Canada flight back to Canada.

"We felt like dirt," said Constantin. "I couldn't take it anymore. I started to cry."

Feeling she had no choice, Constantinshelled out another $3,842 for two seats on an Austrian Airlines flight to Montreal.

In all, she racked up more than $8,000 in airfare, hotels and added expenses, trying to get herself and Paun home.

Entitled to refunds

CBC News asked Air Canada why it allowed Constantin and Paunto book themselves on another Air Canada flight afterit had banned them from flying.

The airline responded that anybody can book a ticket and thatit's only when passengers checkin and showID that Air Canadacan verify if they're prohibited from boarding.

The airline also said that it sent Constantin and Paun information about their ban shortly after they were ordered offthe Bucharest flight. However, that information in the form of a letter was sent by regular mailand, according to Constantin, hasn't arrived yet. The two women did receive an emailed version of the letter one day afterCBC Newsinquired about the casewith Air Canada.

CBC News also asked Air Canada about compensation. The airline'stariff or rule book states that passengers refused boarding are entitled to refunds for the unused portion of their trip.

The airline saidthat because Lufthansa issued the tickets for the initial Air Canada flightthe two womenwere removed from, it's up to that airline tohandle a refund request for that flight.

Air Canada didn't indicate if Constantin will get a full refund forthe Frankfurt flight.

Constantin and Paun can try to get their flying ban lifted by writing Air Canada and promising they won't behave badly again. Constantin saidshe won't be doing thatbecause they have no future plans to fly with the airline.