tcook052

He asked for help and didn't receive it. It would take 2 seconds to look at either his I.D. or his file noting his age and the fact that he was rebooked for the next day and was therefore stranded, a circumstance he likely made quite clear to them. No, sorry but don't believe miscommunication can be cited as a mitigating factor in the airline doing nothing to assist this passenger.

The smallest state

He specifically asked employeeS (plural) for help and was repeatedly denied. Mom was on the phone for 10 hours calling AC and they said "we can't do anything".

This is outrageous.

I really wish mom had called CBC and they could have gotten down there and filmed this 15 year old kid asking for assistance and being repeatedly rejected by AC staff.

Absolutely awful treatment. Even by Air Canada's standards of dramatic incompetence, this story is extraordinary. What sort of adult person turns away a 15 year old child in an airport for 22 hours?

I will understand that some of them probably said "you have to go to the customer service desk", that is the correct answer. Someone needs to be fired over this.

imverge

^

imverge

Will NEVER happen! The employees know their union will back them up regardless of their actions. This is the reason most airline employees have no regard for their behaviour!

CZAMFlyer

I believe the airline needs to improve its unaccompanied minor practices. There's my up-front disclaimer. He should have been top-of-list for staff ensuring he received shelter for the duration of the delay. But then again, the guy is 15, not 5. He's a few months away from being able to drive and get married and have sex and in some countries, vote and order a beer. The legal definition of child should not automatically imply helplessness. One wonders how much of the "I was scared and hungry and alone" has been reimagined for compensatory purposes.

I don't wish to sound unsympathetic, but if the basics of finding food within a 24/7 airport terminal elude a teenager, one questions whether traveling unchaperoned is wise.

CanRulez

I agree with you. He's 15, and he's in an airport...probably one of the safest places to be "stranded."

I'm not trying to defend AC here but it's not like the kid was left to sleep on a park bench in the middle of winter.

The smallest state

No, he was left on an airline bench in the middle of the night. He is 15 years old. Whether or not he can (legally) drink beer, drive, have sex in some places in a few months doesn't mitigate the fact.

If AC has a stated policy about minors travelling and they will be helped, some people would look at this as a case of child abandonment by a corporation.

yyznomad

+1

I don't think anyone is disputing that AC didn't mess up here... it's just that the story sounded like the teenager was stranded in the middle of the Amazon, naked and afraid.

KenHamer

That's only because of poor planning on AC's part.
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tcook052

No, just seemingly downplaying the seriousness of the customer service failure by saying a 15-year-old spending a airport overnight isn't so bad.

jc94

There are many different types of 15 year olds. When I was 15 I could quite easily cope with travelling alone and did all around the UK - though I didn't fly solo until I was probably 18.

That said, I know people are struggle even in their 20s for a variety of reasons. If you grow up in a town with 500 people and never really leave the area getting stranded in an airport is a big deal. Note: This isn't true for everyone I'm using a real case but I'm sure there are people who do just fine in this situation.

And in addition to that, I've been screwed at YYZ before. I deal a lot better with it in my 30's than when I was early 20s and got stuck on a 17h delay. The airline did provide a $15 voucher and hotel in that case, albeit it was not poorly planned but then it was Canada 3000 I believe.

Sure Airports are safe, but to people that don't travel regularly they tend to be extremely confusing. Confusion causes stress, stress causes panic, etc...

AC failed here. Another example of failing to provide a hotel while in transit - not that the kid could have checked in a hotel in all likelihood anyway without assistance. Blaming this on runway construction and the weather in Thunder Bay is just absurd.

MSPeconomist

Do we know whether the kid normally lives with the mother in some little village three hours from Thunder Bay or perhaps lives with a father or other relative/guardian in or near Denver? It's early in the year for a kid to be returning from his home and school for the academic year to a summer vacation location, so earlier in this thread I expressed curiosity regarding the purpose of the trip. It's possible that the kid has been very sheltered and never before experienced an airport or a big city, but there's no conclusive evidence.

yyznomad

No, trying to strike a middle line. The article makes it sound like the kid was left in Compton, or in the asteroid belt.

Looking back when I was 15, I was a bit of a bubble boy and I probably would be scared being stuck at YYZ and unfamiliar surroundings. But I still think the article made it sound like he was stuck in Klingon Territory.

tcook052

Sorry but don't feel the family situation is germane to the matter at hand as that really doesn't have a bearing on why he was travelling solo.

kwflyer

How many 15 year olds would get your recherché metaphors?

That (un)relatability sure sounds like a basic qualification for being an AC agent.