So I’m sitting on WJ660 waiting for the engines to spool and instead an announcement over the PA says that we have a snag on the aircraft and that we will deplane until mtc can rectify the problem. This may take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours to fix. We were given a $10.00 lunch voucher (thank you) and told to return to the gate in an hour for an update.
Shortly after an announcement is made indicating that Westjet is cancelling the only flight due to the maintenance problem.
Here is my question:
This is the second leg of my purchased round trip ticket that involved two weeks between travel dates. Within those two weeks i traveled to another destination with AC (just spreading my wealth) and in order to make the return connection work, i had to arrive the night before departure day because Westjet only fly’s to "The Blade" once a day. So by Westjet cancelling their only flight to my destination due to a mechanical issue (safety 1st) and forcing me to spend the extra night, shouldn't Westjet spring for a Hotel room?
In my case they didn't, and i was always under the impression that an airline would make arrangements for their pax when dealing with a maintenance issue.
ravensrule,
This was indeed a full fare ticket.
The agent said that i was on my own as i wasn't considered a connecting pax.
I guess i need to re-read the fine print on my ticket as i am not getting any joy from my website inquiry.
Am i way out of line on this?
My guess is that you would not be considered a connecting psgr.
You simply have two independant itineraries.
You would not have a joint fare, I'm guessing, so no, the airline would not be responsible for a hotel.
balfour wrote:Then what the hell is the Care-antee for?
My sentiments exactly balfour.
The following is from the Air Canada Customer Relations department.
Winning on the customer service front! Customer Relations received the following email from a customer who is now an Air Canada frequent flyer based on our service and product. The email speaks for itself:
“Last week I had a flight home from Vancouver to Calgary. When I arrived at the AC counter for my flight I had some questions and XXXX at the desk was able to help me with speed and even a bit of humour. It is great to see people in service positions that are still able to be friendly and helpful, and I wanted to let you know that I appreciate it. I live in Calgary, and the pressure here seems to be to fly with Westjet, but after several bad flights (delays, surly employees) I decided to fly solely with Air Canada, and have even purchased a flight pass for my weekly travel between Alberta and BC. Thank you for delivering a consistent and great product.”
Firstly, every Airline has their good and bad days, however "The Raven" if you would like to see posts to see Air Canada Complaints, do a Google search, their are simply too many to post here.
In response to JJJ:
There are several covenants that regulate and control Airlines and the service they offer and are way to complex to go through here.
Scenario 1:
You bought a ticket from A to C with a stop in B as one ticket, same ticket number and locator. In your mentioned scenario we would provide you a hotel voucher and meal vouchers if you were delayed due to a cancellation of your flight from B to C. WestJet will do this regardless if the delay is weather related or not. This was proven over the last couple of winters, do a search on Google and you will see the Articles detailing this.
Scenario 2:
You bought a ticket from A to B and another from B to C. Some people do this as the price is sometimes lower. In this case you are not traveling on 1 ticket, but two. When a delay or cancellation occurs at your starting point, a hotel is not provided. So if you went from A to B, then checked in for your flight from B to C which was cancelled you would not receive a hotel voucher as this is your starting point.
In both scenarios, you would still be provided with a travel credit for nearly the amount of your flight if not more. This can be verified.
Prior to joining the Airline Industry I worked as a travel agent, and I always advised my customers to buy travel insurance even when flying within Canada, especially when traveling on two separate tickets.
I have flown confirmed on both Air Canada and WestJet. Two years ago I went from Calgary to Miami on one ticket with Air Canada. I arrived in Toronto to connect to hear that my flight was delayed due to crew rest. I was delayed for 12 hours. The gate agent advised all of us, that we would depart at "said time" and watch the monitors for your new gate. That was all the help we got. We asked for hotel vouchers and meal vouchers, we received neither.
On another occasion I was traveling from Punta Cana to Calgary on WestJet on a confirmed ticket. We were delayed in Punta Cana due to crew rest. All guests were bused to a 4 star resort where we stayed for another 12 hours. All of our meals were also included. We finally were on our way to Toronto to find out we had to divert to Ottawa due to weather. We arrived to Ottawa to find out that we could wait for the next flight to depart - of which nobody new when that would be because of the weather, or we could be taken to Toronto by train of which would be paid for by the Airline. Most chose to take the train, and on arrival into Toronto we were met by a shuttle to take us to the Airport. As you can guess, anyone with connections missed them. At the check in counters, agents handed out vouchers for food and hotels as it was late and their were no more flights to Calgary. The next morning at the Airport we were kept well informed as the weather was still causing problems. After more vouchers for food, we were sent on our way to Calgary.
We can rant and rave above an Airline, but reputations stand in their actions. I have traveled on hundreds of flights with countless Airlines prior to my WestJet life, and none have ever treated me better than WestJet in times of weather or cancellations. Yes there are issues with the implementation of our reservation system, and that has generated a lot of discontent. Everyone has growing pains, and if you are from Air Canada, none of you have the right to criticize, otherwise you are being very hypocritical.
Thank you for the scenarios you listed.
In my scenario I purchased my ticket for travel between A and B and then back to A (a return ticket) with around 10 days between departure dates.
In my scenario i was stranded away from my home airport due to a mechanical problem.
Please understand i am not bashing Westjet, just trying to find out if i am correct in my understanding of pax rights or not. My legs with AC to destination C were not flawless by any means. (had to return to the gate to off-load a pax that got on the wrong plane)
jeollanamdo wrote:
I have flown confirmed on both Air Canada and WestJet. Two years ago I went from Calgary to Miami on one ticket with Air Canada. I arrived in Toronto to connect to hear that my flight was delayed due to crew rest. I was delayed for 12 hours. The gate agent advised all of us, that we would depart at "said time" and watch the monitors for your new gate. That was all the help we got. We asked for hotel vouchers and meal vouchers, we received neither.
On another occasion I was traveling from Punta Cana to Calgary on WestJet on a confirmed ticket. We were delayed in Punta Cana due to crew rest. All guests were bused to a 4 star resort where we stayed for another 12 hours. All of our meals were also included. We finally were on our way to Toronto to find out we had to divert to Ottawa due to weather. We arrived to Ottawa to find out that we could wait for the next flight to depart - of which nobody new when that would be because of the weather, or we could be taken to Toronto by train of which would be paid for by the Airline. Most chose to take the train, and on arrival into Toronto we were met by a shuttle to take us to the Airport. As you can guess, anyone with connections missed them. At the check in counters, agents handed out vouchers for food and hotels as it was late and their were no more flights to Calgary. The next morning at the Airport we were kept well informed as the weather was still causing problems. After more vouchers for food, we were sent on our way to Calgary.
We can rant and rave above an Airline, but reputations stand in their actions. I have traveled on hundreds of flights with countless Airlines prior to my WestJet life, and none have ever treated me better than WestJet in times of weather or cancellations. Yes there are issues with the implementation of our reservation system, and that has generated a lot of discontent. Everyone has growing pains, and if you are from Air Canada, none of you have the right to criticize, otherwise you are being very hypocritical.
How about comparing apples to apples. Your comparing AC to WJ on 2 different situations except the 12 hour delay. You had a 12 hour delay in YYZ where there are plenty of restaurants for you to access. What's at the the terminal in PUJ? Why is it when a flight is delayed passengers are all of a sudden hungry? Meals aren't free on the flights anymore, why do you require a free meal when its delayed? Would you rather the crews not get rest and just work the flight?
As for the diversion and train ride, why bring that up without a comparison to AC?
O:k, for the record, I just finally recieved an e-mail response from WestJet and they gave me a $100 flight coupon for my troubles.
It's not much, but it at least makes me a happy customer!
