Westjet rebooking policies slammed in National Post story
Jan 25, 2024, 10:27 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: YYG
Programs: airlines and hotels and rental cars - oh my!
Posts: 2,999
Westjet rebooking policies slammed in National Post story
Today's National Post includes an article utterly crucifying Westjet customer service after passengers complained about not being rebooked on a cancelled YEG-YYZ flight until a full eight days later. The story says Westjet ignored appeals to be rebooked within 48 hours or on another airline - as required by law - citing complaints from multiple passengers. Grab the popcorn, because this will become interesting if it gathers steam.
'Complete impunity': WestJet rebooks flights eight days after cancellations
On a frigid Saturday earlier this month, Mindy Watson learned that her family’s flight that day from Edmonton to Toronto, en route to Cuba, was cancelled.
WestJet offered to rebook their Varadero vacation on Sunday — not the following day, but eight days later on Jan. 21.
Read more here.
'Complete impunity': WestJet rebooks flights eight days after cancellations
On a frigid Saturday earlier this month, Mindy Watson learned that her family’s flight that day from Edmonton to Toronto, en route to Cuba, was cancelled.
WestJet offered to rebook their Varadero vacation on Sunday — not the following day, but eight days later on Jan. 21.
Read more here.
Jan 25, 2024, 11:00 am
#2
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: YVR
Programs: Erstwhile Accidental AC E35K
Posts: 2,917
The problem is as much with the CTA as it is with the airline. A totally useless bureaucracy.
The agency’s enforcement team tracks complaints to scan for a pattern of violations, and looks to impose fines when it sees a problem as “systemic,” said Tom Oommen, the agency’s director general of analysis and outreach, in an interview.“So far, we haven’t found that yet,” he said of rebooking violations.
… Over the past four years, the regulator has issued a total of $16,700 in fines for breaches around rebooking. All 30 instances involved WestJet and Sunwing — since bought by WestJet.
…. passengers can file a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency, a process can take up to two years due to a backlog of about 64,000.
… Over the past four years, the regulator has issued a total of $16,700 in fines for breaches around rebooking. All 30 instances involved WestJet and Sunwing — since bought by WestJet.
…. passengers can file a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency, a process can take up to two years due to a backlog of about 64,000.
Jan 25, 2024, 11:49 am
#3
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 980
The agent who said “I am not allowed to rebook you….”may actually have either not known how to (not trained, as is the case with most westjet agents not in a hub city), or may not have had the time to do do all the legwork to figure out the options. Which is frankly unacceptable. Or perhaps there simply wasn’t the seat availability on their own airline or even another carrier within the 48 hour time frame, that fit the guest’s itinerary. I’m not making excuses for westjet but the readers may not have the full story.
Jan 25, 2024, 12:07 pm
#4
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: YVR
Programs: Erstwhile Accidental AC E35K
Posts: 2,917
Tom Oommen, the agency’s director general of analysis and outreach, in an interview.“So far, we haven’t found that yet,” he said of rebooking violations.
Jan 25, 2024, 2:49 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: The World
Programs: WS Platinum, Marriott Titanium, DL Gold, UA Silver
Posts: 1,478
The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
The main subjects of the story - the vacationers going from Edmonton to Cuba - would almost certainly not have had decent alternate arrangements available to them at all … whether or not a WS had looked. There are very few open seats available on any flight these days — even when the weather is good and there are no flight disruptions.
But that couple probably would have needed seats on 2 flights, as they probably would have needed a connection. And a workable connection. Their odds of their vacation happening as scheduled? Probably close to zero, no matter what anybody did or didn’t do. Aircraft and bridges and fuelling systems were all frozen and planes stuck on the ground during that weather. There would not have been available seats on those planes that still operated to get everyone where they wanted to go, when they wanted to get there. But, yes, I feel for them. Their vacation was ruined. It’s too bad.
I’m probably going to be the contrarian here. Putting on my helmet now…
But, in my humble opinion, I think too many airline passengers think that a cheap airline ticket gives them:
None of that is the case. But a lot of folks honestly seem to expect that.
I saw many news reports in Calgary when the weather literally froze WestJet’s ground ops in YYC and across Alberta. None of those news reports talked about baggage doors being frozen shut and inoperable for hours, or about refuelling not working in the extreme cold, or about the impact of deicing fluid not being effective at those temps. The news reports were all “Passengers demand compensation!!” and “Passengers furious that WestJet won’t give them free hotel rooms!”
I saw another news report about a cancellation not related to that weather — where a woman was furious because WestJet tried to give her a free hotel room … but at an airport hotel that wasn’t attached to the airport. It required taking a shuttle bus a few minutes away from the terminal, instead of the one in the terminal. So instead, she ranted to the media, refused the room, and overnighted angrily at the terminal. Because she didn’t care for her free hotel room.
And all of those news reports, of course, end up with the same airline bashing conclusion from Gabor Whassisname, the self-proclaimed president of … his own Facebook page.
We’ve already discussed how WS handles IRROPS here. It leaves a lot to be desired, and needs to improve. Drastically.
And do either WS or AC live up to the APPR rules? Maybe not. But also they are bad rules and it’s a stupid system. (Yes, WS still does have an obligation to live up to the rules. And if they’re not, that’s a big problem.)
But people also need to realize that weather is a thing. We all live in a place with horrendously awful weather. There’s no way that airlines can make us immune from that 365 days a year, because there’s no way they can make themselves immune from that. Weather will impact many flights. Period. Weather will ruin some vacations. Period.
And people need to realize that sometimes, yes, you actually should buy your own travel insurance — or be ready to “self insure” and cover some of your own costs.
If you think a flight that costs a few hundred bucks will automatically give you an instant replacement flight or a free room at the closest hotel if the weather turns bad, think again. Or that cheap ticket will give you free cancellation, even though you bought the ultra-basic-ultra-no-refund-fare … but you deserve to cancel because you have a good reason.
And we all need to be realistic when it comes to getting rebooked. Just lower your expectations. Seriously. We all need to. When a flight cancels and 150 people are left needing to be rebooked from that origin to the same destination — remember that there are maybe only a handful of open seats available on any flight on any airline. That’s just the reality of flying.
Whenever I see a news article about an airline, there’s inevitably a “I demand compensation” quote from a passenger with, frankly, unreasonable expectations. Followed of course by an airline-bashing quote from Gabor. I’m tired of it, but they’ll keep coming because airline bashing has become Canada’s favourite sport, and because those stories in the news get clicks and eyeballs, and because Gabor keeps Gaboring. I’m just tired of it.
Should WS do what the APPR rules require them to do? Of course. Absolutely. If they’re really not, they need to.
Are the APPR rules good? No. Are they fair and do they make sense for passengers and airlines? No. They need to be overhauled.
But is it time for travellers to grow up and take some accountability for themselves … I really think so.
The main subjects of the story - the vacationers going from Edmonton to Cuba - would almost certainly not have had decent alternate arrangements available to them at all … whether or not a WS had looked. There are very few open seats available on any flight these days — even when the weather is good and there are no flight disruptions.
But that couple probably would have needed seats on 2 flights, as they probably would have needed a connection. And a workable connection. Their odds of their vacation happening as scheduled? Probably close to zero, no matter what anybody did or didn’t do. Aircraft and bridges and fuelling systems were all frozen and planes stuck on the ground during that weather. There would not have been available seats on those planes that still operated to get everyone where they wanted to go, when they wanted to get there. But, yes, I feel for them. Their vacation was ruined. It’s too bad.
I’m probably going to be the contrarian here. Putting on my helmet now…
But, in my humble opinion, I think too many airline passengers think that a cheap airline ticket gives them:
- full travel insurance for free (over and above APPR requirements), and
- some magical guarantee that if a flight cancels a new, empty plane (and a “weather immune” plane at that) and crew will be instantly made available to them, and
- free and instantly-available airport hotel rooms will be available, even if weather shuts down an entire airport and strands thousands of people, and
- above and beyond all of that, their cheap ticket also means that the airline owes them some sort or Mary-Poppins-esque nanny service for adults.
None of that is the case. But a lot of folks honestly seem to expect that.
I saw many news reports in Calgary when the weather literally froze WestJet’s ground ops in YYC and across Alberta. None of those news reports talked about baggage doors being frozen shut and inoperable for hours, or about refuelling not working in the extreme cold, or about the impact of deicing fluid not being effective at those temps. The news reports were all “Passengers demand compensation!!” and “Passengers furious that WestJet won’t give them free hotel rooms!”
I saw another news report about a cancellation not related to that weather — where a woman was furious because WestJet tried to give her a free hotel room … but at an airport hotel that wasn’t attached to the airport. It required taking a shuttle bus a few minutes away from the terminal, instead of the one in the terminal. So instead, she ranted to the media, refused the room, and overnighted angrily at the terminal. Because she didn’t care for her free hotel room.
And all of those news reports, of course, end up with the same airline bashing conclusion from Gabor Whassisname, the self-proclaimed president of … his own Facebook page.
We’ve already discussed how WS handles IRROPS here. It leaves a lot to be desired, and needs to improve. Drastically.
And do either WS or AC live up to the APPR rules? Maybe not. But also they are bad rules and it’s a stupid system. (Yes, WS still does have an obligation to live up to the rules. And if they’re not, that’s a big problem.)
But people also need to realize that weather is a thing. We all live in a place with horrendously awful weather. There’s no way that airlines can make us immune from that 365 days a year, because there’s no way they can make themselves immune from that. Weather will impact many flights. Period. Weather will ruin some vacations. Period.
And people need to realize that sometimes, yes, you actually should buy your own travel insurance — or be ready to “self insure” and cover some of your own costs.
If you think a flight that costs a few hundred bucks will automatically give you an instant replacement flight or a free room at the closest hotel if the weather turns bad, think again. Or that cheap ticket will give you free cancellation, even though you bought the ultra-basic-ultra-no-refund-fare … but you deserve to cancel because you have a good reason.
And we all need to be realistic when it comes to getting rebooked. Just lower your expectations. Seriously. We all need to. When a flight cancels and 150 people are left needing to be rebooked from that origin to the same destination — remember that there are maybe only a handful of open seats available on any flight on any airline. That’s just the reality of flying.
Whenever I see a news article about an airline, there’s inevitably a “I demand compensation” quote from a passenger with, frankly, unreasonable expectations. Followed of course by an airline-bashing quote from Gabor. I’m tired of it, but they’ll keep coming because airline bashing has become Canada’s favourite sport, and because those stories in the news get clicks and eyeballs, and because Gabor keeps Gaboring. I’m just tired of it.
Should WS do what the APPR rules require them to do? Of course. Absolutely. If they’re really not, they need to.
Are the APPR rules good? No. Are they fair and do they make sense for passengers and airlines? No. They need to be overhauled.
But is it time for travellers to grow up and take some accountability for themselves … I really think so.
Last edited by FlyerJ; Jan 25, 2024 at 2:55 pm
Jan 25, 2024, 5:48 pm
#6
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Copenhagen
Programs: skyteam
Posts: 582
The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
The main subjects of the story - the vacationers going from Edmonton to Cuba - would almost certainly not have had decent alternate arrangements available to them at all … whether or not a WS had looked. There are very few open seats available on any flight these days — even when the weather is good and there are no flight disruptions.
But that couple probably would have needed seats on 2 flights, as they probably would have needed a connection. And a workable connection. Their odds of their vacation happening as scheduled? Probably close to zero, no matter what anybody did or didn’t do. Aircraft and bridges and fuelling systems were all frozen and planes stuck on the ground during that weather. There would not have been available seats on those planes that still operated to get everyone where they wanted to go, when they wanted to get there. But, yes, I feel for them. Their vacation was ruined. It’s too bad.
I’m probably going to be the contrarian here. Putting on my helmet now…
But, in my humble opinion, I think too many airline passengers think that a cheap airline ticket gives them:
None of that is the case. But a lot of folks honestly seem to expect that.
I saw many news reports in Calgary when the weather literally froze WestJet’s ground ops in YYC and across Alberta. None of those news reports talked about baggage doors being frozen shut and inoperable for hours, or about refuelling not working in the extreme cold, or about the impact of deicing fluid not being effective at those temps. The news reports were all “Passengers demand compensation!!” and “Passengers furious that WestJet won’t give them free hotel rooms!”
I saw another news report about a cancellation not related to that weather — where a woman was furious because WestJet tried to give her a free hotel room … but at an airport hotel that wasn’t attached to the airport. It required taking a shuttle bus a few minutes away from the terminal, instead of the one in the terminal. So instead, she ranted to the media, refused the room, and overnighted angrily at the terminal. Because she didn’t care for her free hotel room.
And all of those news reports, of course, end up with the same airline bashing conclusion from Gabor Whassisname, the self-proclaimed president of … his own Facebook page.
We’ve already discussed how WS handles IRROPS here. It leaves a lot to be desired, and needs to improve. Drastically.
And do either WS or AC live up to the APPR rules? Maybe not. But also they are bad rules and it’s a stupid system. (Yes, WS still does have an obligation to live up to the rules. And if they’re not, that’s a big problem.)
But people also need to realize that weather is a thing. We all live in a place with horrendously awful weather. There’s no way that airlines can make us immune from that 365 days a year, because there’s no way they can make themselves immune from that. Weather will impact many flights. Period. Weather will ruin some vacations. Period.
And people need to realize that sometimes, yes, you actually should buy your own travel insurance — or be ready to “self insure” and cover some of your own costs.
If you think a flight that costs a few hundred bucks will automatically give you an instant replacement flight or a free room at the closest hotel if the weather turns bad, think again. Or that cheap ticket will give you free cancellation, even though you bought the ultra-basic-ultra-no-refund-fare … but you deserve to cancel because you have a good reason.
And we all need to be realistic when it comes to getting rebooked. Just lower your expectations. Seriously. We all need to. When a flight cancels and 150 people are left needing to be rebooked from that origin to the same destination — remember that there are maybe only a handful of open seats available on any flight on any airline. That’s just the reality of flying.
Whenever I see a news article about an airline, there’s inevitably a “I demand compensation” quote from a passenger with, frankly, unreasonable expectations. Followed of course by an airline-bashing quote from Gabor. I’m tired of it, but they’ll keep coming because airline bashing has become Canada’s favourite sport, and because those stories in the news get clicks and eyeballs, and because Gabor keeps Gaboring. I’m just tired of it.
Should WS do what the APPR rules require them to do? Of course. Absolutely. If they’re really not, they need to.
Are the APPR rules good? No. Are they fair and do they make sense for passengers and airlines? No. They need to be overhauled.
But is it time for travellers to grow up and take some accountability for themselves … I really think so.
The main subjects of the story - the vacationers going from Edmonton to Cuba - would almost certainly not have had decent alternate arrangements available to them at all … whether or not a WS had looked. There are very few open seats available on any flight these days — even when the weather is good and there are no flight disruptions.
But that couple probably would have needed seats on 2 flights, as they probably would have needed a connection. And a workable connection. Their odds of their vacation happening as scheduled? Probably close to zero, no matter what anybody did or didn’t do. Aircraft and bridges and fuelling systems were all frozen and planes stuck on the ground during that weather. There would not have been available seats on those planes that still operated to get everyone where they wanted to go, when they wanted to get there. But, yes, I feel for them. Their vacation was ruined. It’s too bad.
I’m probably going to be the contrarian here. Putting on my helmet now…
But, in my humble opinion, I think too many airline passengers think that a cheap airline ticket gives them:
- full travel insurance for free (over and above APPR requirements), and
- some magical guarantee that if a flight cancels a new, empty plane (and a “weather immune” plane at that) and crew will be instantly made available to them, and
- free and instantly-available airport hotel rooms will be available, even if weather shuts down an entire airport and strands thousands of people, and
- above and beyond all of that, their cheap ticket also means that the airline owes them some sort or Mary-Poppins-esque nanny service for adults.
None of that is the case. But a lot of folks honestly seem to expect that.
I saw many news reports in Calgary when the weather literally froze WestJet’s ground ops in YYC and across Alberta. None of those news reports talked about baggage doors being frozen shut and inoperable for hours, or about refuelling not working in the extreme cold, or about the impact of deicing fluid not being effective at those temps. The news reports were all “Passengers demand compensation!!” and “Passengers furious that WestJet won’t give them free hotel rooms!”
I saw another news report about a cancellation not related to that weather — where a woman was furious because WestJet tried to give her a free hotel room … but at an airport hotel that wasn’t attached to the airport. It required taking a shuttle bus a few minutes away from the terminal, instead of the one in the terminal. So instead, she ranted to the media, refused the room, and overnighted angrily at the terminal. Because she didn’t care for her free hotel room.
And all of those news reports, of course, end up with the same airline bashing conclusion from Gabor Whassisname, the self-proclaimed president of … his own Facebook page.
We’ve already discussed how WS handles IRROPS here. It leaves a lot to be desired, and needs to improve. Drastically.
And do either WS or AC live up to the APPR rules? Maybe not. But also they are bad rules and it’s a stupid system. (Yes, WS still does have an obligation to live up to the rules. And if they’re not, that’s a big problem.)
But people also need to realize that weather is a thing. We all live in a place with horrendously awful weather. There’s no way that airlines can make us immune from that 365 days a year, because there’s no way they can make themselves immune from that. Weather will impact many flights. Period. Weather will ruin some vacations. Period.
And people need to realize that sometimes, yes, you actually should buy your own travel insurance — or be ready to “self insure” and cover some of your own costs.
If you think a flight that costs a few hundred bucks will automatically give you an instant replacement flight or a free room at the closest hotel if the weather turns bad, think again. Or that cheap ticket will give you free cancellation, even though you bought the ultra-basic-ultra-no-refund-fare … but you deserve to cancel because you have a good reason.
And we all need to be realistic when it comes to getting rebooked. Just lower your expectations. Seriously. We all need to. When a flight cancels and 150 people are left needing to be rebooked from that origin to the same destination — remember that there are maybe only a handful of open seats available on any flight on any airline. That’s just the reality of flying.
Whenever I see a news article about an airline, there’s inevitably a “I demand compensation” quote from a passenger with, frankly, unreasonable expectations. Followed of course by an airline-bashing quote from Gabor. I’m tired of it, but they’ll keep coming because airline bashing has become Canada’s favourite sport, and because those stories in the news get clicks and eyeballs, and because Gabor keeps Gaboring. I’m just tired of it.
Should WS do what the APPR rules require them to do? Of course. Absolutely. If they’re really not, they need to.
Are the APPR rules good? No. Are they fair and do they make sense for passengers and airlines? No. They need to be overhauled.
But is it time for travellers to grow up and take some accountability for themselves … I really think so.
Jan 26, 2024, 5:08 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: YYG
Programs: airlines and hotels and rental cars - oh my!
Posts: 2,999
Jan 26, 2024, 3:40 pm
#8
Join Date: Mar 2023
Location: Under the Big Oak Tree
Programs: Air Bukovina Elite, Circassian Air Gold, Carthaginian Airlines Platinum
Posts: 520
The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
The main subjects of the story - the vacationers going from Edmonton to Cuba - would almost certainly not have had decent alternate arrangements available to them at all … whether or not a WS had looked. There are very few open seats available on any flight these days — even when the weather is good and there are no flight disruptions.
But that couple probably would have needed seats on 2 flights, as they probably would have needed a connection. And a workable connection. Their odds of their vacation happening as scheduled? Probably close to zero, no matter what anybody did or didn’t do. Aircraft and bridges and fuelling systems were all frozen and planes stuck on the ground during that weather. There would not have been available seats on those planes that still operated to get everyone where they wanted to go, when they wanted to get there. But, yes, I feel for them. Their vacation was ruined. It’s too bad.
I’m probably going to be the contrarian here. Putting on my helmet now…
But, in my humble opinion, I think too many airline passengers think that a cheap airline ticket gives them:
None of that is the case. But a lot of folks honestly seem to expect that.
I saw many news reports in Calgary when the weather literally froze WestJet’s ground ops in YYC and across Alberta. None of those news reports talked about baggage doors being frozen shut and inoperable for hours, or about refuelling not working in the extreme cold, or about the impact of deicing fluid not being effective at those temps. The news reports were all “Passengers demand compensation!!” and “Passengers furious that WestJet won’t give them free hotel rooms!”
I saw another news report about a cancellation not related to that weather — where a woman was furious because WestJet tried to give her a free hotel room … but at an airport hotel that wasn’t attached to the airport. It required taking a shuttle bus a few minutes away from the terminal, instead of the one in the terminal. So instead, she ranted to the media, refused the room, and overnighted angrily at the terminal. Because she didn’t care for her free hotel room.
And all of those news reports, of course, end up with the same airline bashing conclusion from Gabor Whassisname, the self-proclaimed president of … his own Facebook page.
We’ve already discussed how WS handles IRROPS here. It leaves a lot to be desired, and needs to improve. Drastically.
And do either WS or AC live up to the APPR rules? Maybe not. But also they are bad rules and it’s a stupid system. (Yes, WS still does have an obligation to live up to the rules. And if they’re not, that’s a big problem.)
But people also need to realize that weather is a thing. We all live in a place with horrendously awful weather. There’s no way that airlines can make us immune from that 365 days a year, because there’s no way they can make themselves immune from that. Weather will impact many flights. Period. Weather will ruin some vacations. Period.
And people need to realize that sometimes, yes, you actually should buy your own travel insurance — or be ready to “self insure” and cover some of your own costs.
If you think a flight that costs a few hundred bucks will automatically give you an instant replacement flight or a free room at the closest hotel if the weather turns bad, think again. Or that cheap ticket will give you free cancellation, even though you bought the ultra-basic-ultra-no-refund-fare … but you deserve to cancel because you have a good reason.
And we all need to be realistic when it comes to getting rebooked. Just lower your expectations. Seriously. We all need to. When a flight cancels and 150 people are left needing to be rebooked from that origin to the same destination — remember that there are maybe only a handful of open seats available on any flight on any airline. That’s just the reality of flying.
Whenever I see a news article about an airline, there’s inevitably a “I demand compensation” quote from a passenger with, frankly, unreasonable expectations. Followed of course by an airline-bashing quote from Gabor. I’m tired of it, but they’ll keep coming because airline bashing has become Canada’s favourite sport, and because those stories in the news get clicks and eyeballs, and because Gabor keeps Gaboring. I’m just tired of it.
Should WS do what the APPR rules require them to do? Of course. Absolutely. If they’re really not, they need to.
Are the APPR rules good? No. Are they fair and do they make sense for passengers and airlines? No. They need to be overhauled.
But is it time for travellers to grow up and take some accountability for themselves … I really think so.
The main subjects of the story - the vacationers going from Edmonton to Cuba - would almost certainly not have had decent alternate arrangements available to them at all … whether or not a WS had looked. There are very few open seats available on any flight these days — even when the weather is good and there are no flight disruptions.
But that couple probably would have needed seats on 2 flights, as they probably would have needed a connection. And a workable connection. Their odds of their vacation happening as scheduled? Probably close to zero, no matter what anybody did or didn’t do. Aircraft and bridges and fuelling systems were all frozen and planes stuck on the ground during that weather. There would not have been available seats on those planes that still operated to get everyone where they wanted to go, when they wanted to get there. But, yes, I feel for them. Their vacation was ruined. It’s too bad.
I’m probably going to be the contrarian here. Putting on my helmet now…
But, in my humble opinion, I think too many airline passengers think that a cheap airline ticket gives them:
- full travel insurance for free (over and above APPR requirements), and
- some magical guarantee that if a flight cancels a new, empty plane (and a “weather immune” plane at that) and crew will be instantly made available to them, and
- free and instantly-available airport hotel rooms will be available, even if weather shuts down an entire airport and strands thousands of people, and
- above and beyond all of that, their cheap ticket also means that the airline owes them some sort or Mary-Poppins-esque nanny service for adults.
None of that is the case. But a lot of folks honestly seem to expect that.
I saw many news reports in Calgary when the weather literally froze WestJet’s ground ops in YYC and across Alberta. None of those news reports talked about baggage doors being frozen shut and inoperable for hours, or about refuelling not working in the extreme cold, or about the impact of deicing fluid not being effective at those temps. The news reports were all “Passengers demand compensation!!” and “Passengers furious that WestJet won’t give them free hotel rooms!”
I saw another news report about a cancellation not related to that weather — where a woman was furious because WestJet tried to give her a free hotel room … but at an airport hotel that wasn’t attached to the airport. It required taking a shuttle bus a few minutes away from the terminal, instead of the one in the terminal. So instead, she ranted to the media, refused the room, and overnighted angrily at the terminal. Because she didn’t care for her free hotel room.
And all of those news reports, of course, end up with the same airline bashing conclusion from Gabor Whassisname, the self-proclaimed president of … his own Facebook page.
We’ve already discussed how WS handles IRROPS here. It leaves a lot to be desired, and needs to improve. Drastically.
And do either WS or AC live up to the APPR rules? Maybe not. But also they are bad rules and it’s a stupid system. (Yes, WS still does have an obligation to live up to the rules. And if they’re not, that’s a big problem.)
But people also need to realize that weather is a thing. We all live in a place with horrendously awful weather. There’s no way that airlines can make us immune from that 365 days a year, because there’s no way they can make themselves immune from that. Weather will impact many flights. Period. Weather will ruin some vacations. Period.
And people need to realize that sometimes, yes, you actually should buy your own travel insurance — or be ready to “self insure” and cover some of your own costs.
If you think a flight that costs a few hundred bucks will automatically give you an instant replacement flight or a free room at the closest hotel if the weather turns bad, think again. Or that cheap ticket will give you free cancellation, even though you bought the ultra-basic-ultra-no-refund-fare … but you deserve to cancel because you have a good reason.
And we all need to be realistic when it comes to getting rebooked. Just lower your expectations. Seriously. We all need to. When a flight cancels and 150 people are left needing to be rebooked from that origin to the same destination — remember that there are maybe only a handful of open seats available on any flight on any airline. That’s just the reality of flying.
Whenever I see a news article about an airline, there’s inevitably a “I demand compensation” quote from a passenger with, frankly, unreasonable expectations. Followed of course by an airline-bashing quote from Gabor. I’m tired of it, but they’ll keep coming because airline bashing has become Canada’s favourite sport, and because those stories in the news get clicks and eyeballs, and because Gabor keeps Gaboring. I’m just tired of it.
Should WS do what the APPR rules require them to do? Of course. Absolutely. If they’re really not, they need to.
Are the APPR rules good? No. Are they fair and do they make sense for passengers and airlines? No. They need to be overhauled.
But is it time for travellers to grow up and take some accountability for themselves … I really think so.
In what other business would the benefit of the doubt (and the laws) lean so heavily in favour of the company? Imagine you rented an apartment, signed a contract and paid your rent/damage deposit for the first couple of months and then were told, "Sorry, the apartment won't be available for the next three months (or six months) due to factors beyond our control" and then the landlord refused to refund you. I'm fairly sure you'd be either filing a complaint with the Landlord & Tenant Board and/or complaining to the media about the landlord. Or if you paid a sizable deposit for a vehicle and then were told that the vehicle was no longer available (again, due to factors beyond the dealer's control) but the dealership refused to refund your deposit but told you that you could apply it towards a completely different vehicle you didn't want. Again I'm pretty sure you'd be filing a formal complaint with the BBB or the consumer affairs department of the provincial government.
We saw during the pandemic that airlines were (due to factors beyond their control) unable to operate certain services for months and even a year, and yet refused to refund passengers' money (instead providing credits) until they received government support to do so. In what other industry would this be considered acceptable? And currently we are seeing airlines fight tooth and nail to avoid paying even a couple of thousand dollars compensation that is federally mandated under the APPR. If this were any other industry, such practices would be viewed as unethical. Yet because it involves airlines, the consumer is told essentially "caveat emptor."
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/inve...-compensation/
Airlines are private businesses. They have opted to operate a travel and transportation service with full knowledge of all the issues this country faces with weather, regulation, seasonality and population distribution. The rules are already heavily in their favour in Canada (as opposed to what, say, the European Union mandates). They don't need additional sympathy or the benefit of the doubt from the paying public.
Last edited by TravellingChris; Jan 26, 2024 at 3:47 pm
Jan 26, 2024, 7:35 pm
#9
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 1,653
This is literally a spectacular piece; and I can not agree more. Both airlines, passenger, and add Government need to all regroup, try again and fix this. Expectations are way out of whack.
‘Gabor Gaboring…’ haha love it!
‘Gabor Gaboring…’ haha love it!
Jan 27, 2024, 7:52 am
#10
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: May 2002
Location: YEG
Programs: HH Silver
Posts: 56,449
Whenever I see a news article about an airline, there’s inevitably a “I demand compensation” quote from a passenger with, frankly, unreasonable expectations. Followed of course by an airline-bashing quote from Gabor. I’m tired of it, but they’ll keep coming because airline bashing has become Canada’s favourite sport, and because those stories in the news get clicks and eyeballs, and because Gabor keeps Gaboring. I’m just tired of it.
It's so Canadian to shrug and accept poor service while counselling others to do the same and this article is to me validation that approach has taught WS that ignoring regulations and legislation is virtually without consequence and can only expect they'll continue doing so.
Jan 27, 2024, 7:34 pm
#11
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: YYC, Canada
Programs: AC 35k
Posts: 1,898
It's so Canadian to shrug andaccept poor service while counselling others to do the same and this article is to me validation that approach has taught WS that ignoring regulations and legislation is virtually without consequence and can only expect they'll continue doing so.
Europe doesn't have these problems because the regulator doesn't put up with crap. Remember, it was Europe that protected Canadian consumers from Transat merging with Air Canada, not the CTA.
Jan 29, 2024, 6:57 pm
#12
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: YEG
Programs: HH Silver
Posts: 56,449
Maybe the public shaming is helping after all.