Woaca

I purchased a main cabin ticket from Vancouver to JFK via Seattle to position for first class Alaska reward ticket on JAL from JFK to Tokyo.
I bought a ticket on a red eye knowing that my departure prior to 8pm would allow me to clear customs in Vancouver, and head directly lounge for a shower and breakfastat JFK.
My flght was to depart at 6pm and I had booked window seats and checked in prior to arrival at airport.
At the Alaska counter I was told flight would be delayed by a couple of hours. I asked what caused the delay and the agent said she did not know. (?)
I pointed out that there was an Air Canada flight departing Yvr for Seattle within 15 minutes of the flight I was meant to be on and asked if I could be put on it. This would allow me to clear customs and proceed to a lounge for a glass of wine and dinner before my flight to Seattle.
I was told "NO"" and given no further explanation as to why I was refused the Air Canada flight.
I was told I was now booked to fly Jetblue direct from Yvr to JFK departing just before midnight.
I asked about the points I should earn from my purchased flight and was told to take it up with customer service. I asked about food voucher for having to wait airside ntil Jetblue coounter opened at 9pm and was told no.
No clearing customs, no lounge time, and more than 6 hours wait landslide before Jetblue check in opened.
Checking in with Jetblue I was assigned a middle seat and told must pay $48 to check my bag, (which would have been free as I have an Alaska affiliatd credit card).
I did arrive as originally scheduled at JFK at 6am, but instead of proceeding to the lounge for a shower and breakfast I stood in line for more than 2 hours to clear customs and immigration.
A very unpleasant start to my trip, but suspect Alaska Airlines met their obligation to get me to my final destination and will have to refund me the cost of my checked bag and credit me some points...
Am I correct on this, or ought they to have put me on the flight that would Ave caused the least disruption to me?

olouie

You are correct that they met their obligations to get you to your destination. Baggage fees will be reimbursed and you can claim original route credit for miles. Everything else while not a good experience is just part of travel.

AC isn’t an Alaska partner or oneworld airline so very unlikely they will put you on them for such a short delay. JetBlue isn’t either but maybe it was easier since they have a tie up with American.

sltlyamusd

I misconnected on AS metal at sfo last year and AS rebooked me on B6 for the sfo-jfk leg. I was surprised but didn’t question it.

Flying for Fun

AS has most certainly not met their obligations arriving at or departing from a Canadian Airport. They are further obligated under the Canadian Transportation Agency.

Canadian Air Passenger Protection Regulations

AS has an interline baggage & ticketing agreement with AC. AS can most certainly put you on an AC flight. I have two awards in July with AC segments.

The delay may be short but does that cause a misconnect downstream?

Regardless, AS has an obligation to get you to your destination in the class of service purchased even if that means purchasing a seat on a competitor for you.

James

Flying for Fun

AS had a mechanical issue in January and put us on DL SEA-JFK. What was surprising about that flthat was how low the load factor was; abot 60 pax total while AS was pretty much sold out on all their flights that day.

James

isaacchambers

The issue here is about the REASON for the delay. If the weather was to blame or ATC...then actually nothing should have been due. (highly recommend expertflyer to get the real reason you are late and do your homework!)

In terms of CA regs for compensation....fat chance....i have clear documentation with AC on mechanicals, etc and they flatly just stated a different reason and said pound sand.....i suspect AS would do the same....this law has real no teeth versus the EU regs......

But it sounds like the OP had actually got a better routing (albeit in middle seat) and arrived the same time. Id say thats OK. get the refund....get the original routing credit.....move on. I agree this is part of travel.....you could have been forced to wait for the AS connection to SEA, miss the red eye, miss the award.....and due to weather....got nothing but having to pay for the hotel in SEATAC too.....trust me....i had to deal with AC meltdown from 23-25 DEC this year which was in the realm of WN issues.....i had to pay for everything myself and Christmas no less in YYZ....i used vouchers....so no CC coverage! my mistake should have covered a portion to trigger insurance....oh well....this is part of travel....

ashill

There was no delay. OP was moved from a one stop routing to a nonstop and arrived at the originally scheduled time. No compensation due except for the checked bag fee.

Not getting a shower or a drink in the lounge is not grounds for compensation. Honestly, I think AS did a great job here, getting the OP on a better routing and to their destination on time.

notquiteaff

How did you end up with those segments? Did a schedule change occur and AS agreed to fix it by booking you on AC? And they can do that on an award ticket (putting a revenue segment into an award)?

olouie

Exactly, sucks but I’m not seeing how getting to destination on time in same class of service on another airline invokes some extra duty under canadian transport regulations.

olouie

AS got OP to destination on time. There is no regulation mandating them to buy a competitor ticket to the connecting airport. OP got to final destination on time in same class of service on JetBlue. How does that not meet their obligations?

Edit: I guess AS should have provided some food / drink voucher since departure delay over 2 hours. In these cases I would just buy the items and write in for compensation later. Airport staff are poorly trained. But CC delay cover may also pick it up.

Flying for Fun

You edit says it all. AS failed to provide the OP what was due.

I suggest you read the regulations again. Even if the pax accepts the reaccommodation, there is still a financial obligation for the inconvenience.

The OP didn't mention weather; that, of course, changes a few things. It was likely they canceled the 6:00 pm departure and the 8:30 departure would have caused a misconnect even if not meeting the MCT. They did put the OP on B6 but with a six hour departure delay. Duty of care doesn't go away if you arrive at the same time. In that regard, AS failed to meet their obligation. .

James

Flying for Fun

SEA-YLW has gone from 25 years of service starting with 4 daily returns to a less than once daily after Canadian Covid restrictions allowed the route to commence and now seasonal DEC-APR. Since AS is no longer flying the route that I had previously booked, they opened up E space on SEA-YVR and then booked us on AC from YVR-YLW. The award is VCE-DUB-SEA(EI)-YVR(AS)-YLW(AC) 60K in J in July.

We also have a return on a revenue ticket, AA marketed, YLW-SEA-DFW-LHR-MXP, that has gone through 4 changes and now missing the YLW-SEA segment. When I called AA, their first offer was J on AC YLW-YYZ-JFK connecting to AA's JFK-MXP. Terrible timing and I don't want to deal with ORC. Still mulling.

Airlines have a lot of flexibility to do a lot of things, AS included. Whether or not they will is a different story. When I called AS they were very much aware of their obligations for the Canadian origins & destinations. Had I not had a stopover in SEA, AS would be responsible for a hotel night too.

James

ashill

OK, so it sounds like AS owes the OP a $15 meal voucher or something like that in addition to the $48 checked bag fee.

That’s the rule and AS needs to follow it. That said, in practice, what’s the difference between waiting a few hours at the YVR origin instead of the SEA connection? Have to get food either way. I think an argument like “I have lounge access at SEA but not YVR” isn’t likely to go far with airlines, regulators, or my personal sense of justice.

It really seems to me like AS did right by the OP, perhaps motivated by Canadian consumer protection laws (the best outcome of regulations!). This is just not something I can get worked up about.

(I am very worked up about the consecutive trips on which WS and AC caused me >24 hour delays which they said at the time, documented by ExpertFlyer screenshots I took, were staffing and maintenance related but then weaseled out of the $1000 cash per passenger they owe. My complaints for both are in the 18 month complaint queue with the CTA. Arriving at destination on time in a non-ideal manner is a completely different deal, which isn’t to say the OP shouldn’t claim the $65 they’re owed.)

AKLifetimeFlyer

All these replies and not one person has asked the obvious question. Why would someone fly from the PNW to the east coast just to turn around, and fly the same distance back on your way to Tokyo? YVR or SEA-NRT direct is 10 hours takeoff touchdown! I’d prefer that routing (even in Y) than a redeye coach seat only to take a long haul J seat after flying all night.

olouie

AS still has time to comply too. I think someone is just making a bigger deal out of the food/drink part of the regulations, which are basically impossible to get the CTA to enforce. If AS reimburses food, drink and baggage that’s enough for complaince. Trying to get a voucher from airport staff is often a battle not worth fighting and you will get better from airline directly afterwards. Vouchers are typically pitiful like $10-15 but customer care will often give you $30+ credit or reimbursement.

I’ve been waiting almost 2 years now for a refund due by AC when they cancelled a flight. CTA pretty much useless. Good luck getting them to care about a snack and drink,