Tickets must be refunded in the channel they have been issued. As such, GDS Edifact tickets must be refunded in your GDS, provided you still have access to them.
Air Canada audits fare, tax, and commission compliance for all refunds processed in GDS. With refunds outside of the fare rule, the audit team relies on Refund Waiver codes to determine why the refund was processed. Example for a schedule change: SKCH1234 (SKCH + 3 or 4 digit of affected flight number)
Debit Memo are issued when the applicable refund waiver code is not entered in the GDS Refund Waiver code field.
Refund via the Ticket Refund Application
You may only request refunds from Refund Services, if you are unable to process them in your GDS, or via the Customer Contact Centre.
Refunds are processed to the original form of payment. With CASH form of payment, credit memos are issued. It is your responsibility to refund your customers once credit memos are issued.
Before submitting a refund request, ensure your tickets are eligible:
- You are unable to display your ticket (purged, expired)
- To rectify a refund processed incorrectly in your GDS
- For partially used ticket exchanged multiple times
- Other airlines took control of the ticket
If eligible, request a refund via Let Us Know and select ‘Travel Agent requesting assistance’.
It is your responsibility to refund tickets issued by your agency. Refund requests for tickets that can be refunded in your GDS will incur an undisputable processing fee of $50 CA/US plus applicable taxes, per ticket. This fee also applies to correct an over-refunded ticket by the travel agency.
Good to know
BSP Rejections
Failed BSP transactions, sales or refunds, are listed in BSP ‘DQAIVALID – Data Airline Validation’ report.
When BSP rejects a transaction, it means Air Canada did not receive payment, or the refund was not processed. You must contact Air Canada to rectify the transaction:
- Sales rejections: email salesaudit.verificationventes@aircanada.ca
- Refund rejections: request refund via Let Us Know. Select Travel Agent requesting assistance and Unable to display my eTicket. Add to the Additional Information section, BSP Rejection and necessary information
Commission Recall
The commission at time of ticketing is recalled for voluntary and involuntary refunds.
In exchange transactions, the commission may also be recalled, if the commission on the original ticket was higher than the one applicable on the reissued ticket.
Fraudulent Tickets
- Within the VOID window, the 24-Hour Refund rule applies.
- Process the refund for refundable fares and refundable taxes.
- For non-refundable tickets, enter OSI Suspected Fraud. Close the PNR, re-open and cancel the space.
- The agency is liable for their tickets. If a chargeback was received, a debit memo will be issued.
Travel Visa Rejected by Embassy
A refund is permitted only if allowed in the fare rule, and if the customer submits an official letter from the Embassy which states the reason for the visa application being rejected.
For all other types of visa issues or rejections which prevent the customer from travelling, you must process the refund according to the fare rules.
GDS bookings
Consult the fare rule for the refund process, the applicable waiver code, and the instructions to forward the Embassy documentation to Air Canada.
Failure to supply Air Canada with the valid Embassy documentation will result in a debit memo.
NDC bookings
If a Customer Contact Centre agent could not refund the ticket, you may submit a refund request only for eligible tickets via the Ticket Refund application; select ‘Travel Agent requesting assistance’, and if:
- You are unable to display your ticket (purged, expired)
- The partially used ticket was exchanged multiple times
- Another airline took control of the ticket
Reminder
- Refunds are processed to the original form of payment.
- Refund of cash payment is via credit memo. Upon receipt of the memo, please refund your customer.
- A $50 CA/US + tax fee per ticket applies if TRA is used for tickets refundable in GDS or to correct over-refunds.
Consult Refund Assistance for correct refund channel.
September 12, 2025