Air Canada denies seat to N.S. man with peanut allergy
 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...ir-canada.html

A Nova Scotia woman wants an explanation and a refund from Air Canada, after her son was denied a seat on a plane leaving Halifax last weekend because he's allergic to peanuts.

Matthew Burns, 19, of Louisdale, Cape Breton, who has a severe peanut allergy, was headed to Fiji for a two-week stint of volunteering. April Burns said her son is no stranger to travelling and has never been refused by an airline before.

So to summarize, this individual did not take responsibility to ensure that he complied with airline policy (designed specifically to protect his health), and this is now AC's fault.

I have no issue with how AC handled this. The policy is well-known and publicized, the travel agent did not ensure the airline was made aware of the allergy, the family did not double check, so they were denied boarding. Where's the issue?

Their complaint is with the travel arranger. But they haul it in to the media to try and shame AC into compensation.

I'm not exactly sure how 4 segments over a year ago makes them frequent flyers, or even somewhat regular flyers. Unfortunately, a lot of people just buy the ticket and show up at the airport not really knowing what's going on. The woman (or actually, her son... he's an adult) should have went on AC's website and looked at what they needed to do before they got on the plane. AC can't be liable for an allergic reaction in-flight.

The situation could have probably have been handled better from AC's end if the CSM/Lead really told the husband "You're on your own." Whoever arranges travel for RBC should have done better.

this all came about from a person with a complaint who had a peanut allergy and the CTA ruled they had to establish peanut free zones. So it's a case of screwed if you do and screwed if your don't.

Slanted news truth as usual.

true the gate agent might have handled it a bit more diplomatically (remember basing the judgment on crappy news reporting), but ultimately it is up to RBC and the traveler to know the rules.

Granted there is some inconsistently since they did travel the few times (LOL at "frequent flyers") and didn't have any issues.

I have to wonder what makes airplanes so special to those with peanut allergies. Wouldn't they be exposed to peanut particles on other modes of public transport, like the bus or the train? What about in a shopping mall or a food court?

Besides being in a confined space for possibly hours at a time, the air is probably cleaner inside an airplane and Air Canada, AFAIK, no longer serves peanuts on its flights.

How will Air Canada even enforce a peanut-free zone if passengers bring their own peanuts on board? Are they going to have the authorities detain those passengers who eat peanuts in peanut-free zones on arrival for not following a FA's instructions?

Not sure about "enforce" but I was on a flight earlier this week where they came on the PA and specifically requested people not to eat any <something more than just peanuts> on the aircraft during that flight due to the presence of a passenger with severe allergy.

So why do they need 48 hours to create a 'peanut-free zone' then? Looks like they can do it on the spot just as easily.

Because they probably can't enforce it otherwise.

I'm not sure if it's common knowledge, my brother informed me a few weeks ago. By US law, airlines cannot enforce a peanut free zone.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/20...ex.html?hpt=T2

Looks like AC did something right for a change. :D

What's up with the 48 hour notice requirement to create a peanut free zone?.. his peanut allergy is only if he ingests it..

Not quite. The law says the US DOT can't mandate peanut free zones. There is nothing in the law that stop an airline from enforcing any 'food free' zone it wants.

Discussed previously in these two threads:

Nut-free zone ordered on Air Canada
Air Canada told to create nut-free buffer zones

The Air Canada website states that if you want to have a peanut-free zone established around your seat, you need to contact Air Canada at least 48 hours ahead of time. It does not state that all passengers with peanut allergies need to contact Air Canada 48 hours ahead of time or be denied boarding. If this man was denied boarding but did not demand a peanut exclusion zone, then Air Canada is violating their own policy.