tcook052

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...reat-1.3914148

Angry Air Canada passengers are speaking out after a planned flight from Halifax to Sydney, N.S., ended with a threat to be put on a "no-fly" list and then a harrowing overnight drive in jam-packed taxis.

mapleg

There's at least 3 sides to every story.

What I wonder about is how do these people get articles written about them in the press, and particularly CBC? Whenever I have had a delay overnight or due to weather, no one comes to interview me. Then again, I do not go into "Full Panic Mode".

Sean Peever

The article seems pretty one sided - I can't imagine that the employee called the police just because pax nicely asked when the next flight is.....

I also can't believe that an airline employee would just jump straight to threatening a no-fly list because they were politely asked a question by a pax at 12:15am after delays.

While I agree that the chance the airline employee over-reacted is high, the way this article is written it's simply not believable.

CloudsBelow

Great to have balanced, in depth, cutting edge CBC stories to keep us informed.

Said no one.
Ever.

ffsim

The article definitely comes across as overly one-sided. That being said, it would have been nice if AC's spokesperson didn't decline the invitation to a phone interview.

The fact that there are so many different groups of passengers (at least 3) reporting the same experience suggests to me that AC didn't handle this properly.

Cozmo456

I was on the same flight and connection the next day when 1318 was late 3 hours and we missed our connection.

The trouble with 1318 is it runs from YYC to YYT and back (with stops in YYZ and YHZ). With the snow etc in YYT, 1318 and 1319 were all messed up for days.

At the gate in YYZ, we were victim to two plane swaps and all boarding passes had to be reissued. That is bad on AC part. It also lead to the delay.

There were two or three people who were disruptive to the gate agents and preventing them from dealing with the situation.

On arrival some of these disruptive people ran ahead to customer service and started a scene before knowing what the solution actually was. AC had arranged a hotel and bus the next morning.

I believe alcohol was involved.

AC has cut capacity to YQY. That is the start of the problem. At this time of year with the network shocks due to weather, it is hard to keep service.

So as always, the truth is in the middle.

YOWgary

When your entire media policy is "ignore media, issue a meaningless prepared statement", you're going to spend a lot of time looking like the bad guy.

I know a couple of CBC reporters, they do actually try to get the whole story, but it's harder to write a balanced story when one side consistently refuses to participate.

HerpaYvr

It's Christmas so the annual flyers who lack both knowledge and experience are unsure what to do, kettles!

On Dec 24 Mrs HerpaYvr and I drove her boss to YQF as she booked a O/W flight that morning to YYC to avoid the bad roads. Well the incoming flight kept being delayed and all of the previous days flights including all of that days flights have been delayed or cancelled.

Full flight (18 ) were getting angry and missing connections so they got a cab for those who needed to make connections, a van and six passengers and one dog loaded in a soccer mom van and drove 60 KM/H to YYC.

Mrs HerpaYvr boss called AC upon arrival, they provided a refund and she used that to book her return flight! She was happy, no panic.

Busiest time of year with weather issues - Unfortunately this is where Darwinism is usually displayed!

Clipper801

Another one of those who refused to buy insurance or On My Way but complained why she was not entitled to the same protection and benefits as those who have bought.

skybluesea

Thanks for the account.

why does AC have an obligation to respond to media in such a frenzy? - getting the facts on the ground first and dealing with individual circumstances is what the Tariff obliges. this story will quickly die, and AC knows this so deal with reality.

and for those who believe eyewitness accounts during times of stress are completely valid, do your homework as plenty of emerging evidence that recollections can easily be distorted.

Also, strikes me reason for headline that got our attention to read this post relates to unverified account of "no-fly list" - well, if headline read "passengers miss connection and are provided taxi to final destination" - who would be reading

Cozmo456

Being in the middle of this and observing this was caused by:

1. AC cutting service to outstations despite having 100% loads consistently.
2. Alcohol fueled passengers. I have heard these guys complain when everything is fine.
3. Weather.
4. Kettles not aware of the process during IRROPS and being drowned out by 2.
5. Junior gate agent (others had probably left at this point) who probably freaked out.

I was not there on the day of the incident. But it replayed the next day to which I was witness. On my day 5 did not happen. But 1-4 did.

Often1

It is one of the failings of FT that a link is posted to a media report without any suggestion that the underlying facts are true. A complete fail by CBC for failing to verify through independent sources which would have at least led to a slightly different headline, one copes, e.g. "abusive drunk passengers may wind up on 'no fly' list."

Thanks so much to Cozmo456 who is able to provide third-party disinterested facts which explain why an AC employee might have reacted as she did.

It is, of course frustrating when things go sideways, especially when one is already impaired by liquor and the stress of traveling with a child over the holidays. But, it sounds as though AC handled this about as well as could be. Locating new aircraft (although new seating patterns means new boarding passes), finding rooms, locating ground transportation (although a drunk's misinterpretation of limo service may have conjoured up images of a gold-plated vehicle with a well-stocked bar when it was just a plain old minivan with a grumpy driver).

Bashing AC for not pulling its employees off their duties to answer questions for the public relations types so that they could craft better answers for CBC which had, a story in mind in any event, seems a bit over the top.

Jumper Jack

Do SEs and Es here understand the absolute dumpster on fire service offered by AC to economy paxes when things go south?
You guys got your Concierges and MLLs while the rest are often left to bite the dust.

They flat out lie to get you out of their faces.


You dont have to listen to AC's side when these guys got minor to sleep on the airport floor with a $10 food voucher, then again, none of this will change until EU261 like policy is implemented.

montezume

How are we supposed to have a balanced story if AC refuses to answer any questions?

skybluesea

+1

and top of all this is media with little substantive reporting to do at this time of year, when real issues tend to go quiet.

Finding stories, with sensational headlines, easy for CBC to do at the public teat - AND even more reason to turn down this NONSENSE that CBC wants an extra $400 million/year to go advertisement free. Far more useful purposes for such funds - like getting a handle on the fentanyl crisis.