Travelers are expressing frustration with WestJet’s treatment of them after the airline canceled around 1,200 flights last week due to a strike by aircraft mechanics.
Some of the approximately 150,000 passengers affected have taken to social media to express their despair at spending hours on hold for customer service, at the airline’s failure to allow them to rebook on other airlines, and at being told that “fees may apply” when flights were cancelled.
WestJet has repeatedly apologized to its customers and said it offered them a refund under the country’s air passenger rights charter if they could not rebook within 48 hours.
It also states that these rules do not provide compensation for hotel and meal expenses in the event of travel disruptions beyond the control of the airline, such as a strike.
However, federal regulations require airlines to rebook passengers on “the next available flight” on any airline, including competitors, within 48 hours if they decline a refund. Customers say the airline did not give them that choice.
Air passenger rights lawyer Gabor Lukacs says passengers are entitled to reimbursement for flights booked through a competitor, as well as reimbursement of hotel, meal and other costs if the trip was international, citing the Montreal Convention, a multilateral treaty on compensation for air passengers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2024.
The Canadian Press
