Travellers frustrated with WestJet during mechanics strike

WestJet has said regulations do not require it to provide compensation for hotels and meals when travel disruptions are outside of the carrier’s control. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
Travellers expressed frustration this week over how WestJet handled them after the airline cancelled more than 1,200 flights due to a strike by plane mechanics.

Messages and social media posts from some of the 150,000-plus affected passengers conveyed exasperation over hours spent on hold with customer service, the carrier’s failure to rebook them on other airlines and flight cancellation notices that informed them “fees may apply.”

Tina McIntosh was set to fly from Brandon, Man., to Kelowna, B.C., last Sunday after her great-grandmother’s funeral. She learned at 10 p.m. the day before departure that the trip was cancelled.Her partner’s flight was rebooked for three days after the original takeoff time, while the reservations for her and her daughter were “just completely dropped,” leaving them stranded in Brandon.

WestJet cancellations continue after mechanics’ strike ends, frustrating and confusing travellers
After staying on hold for 17 hours over the weekend — she never got through to customer service — the family rented a car, drove two and a half hours to Winnipeg, stayed at a hotel and booked a new flight for Monday, McIntosh said, calling the experience a “fiasco.” She said the extra cost totalled $2,438.

“It’s been hell to go and have a funeral and deal with all this. I’m exhausted.Obligation to rebook
WestJet has repeatedly apologized to customers and said it offered them a refund if they weren’t able to be rebooked within 48 hours, in accordance with the country’s passenger rights charter.

However, the Air Passenger Protection Regulations also require airlines to book travellers on “the next available flight” from any airline, including competitors, after 48 hours if they turn down the refund — a choice customers say the airline did not give them.

“WestJet was unreachable during the cancellations this past weekend, and we had to go $1,400 out of pocket to get back to Calgary from Toronto,” said customer Patrick Socha.