Vancouver travellers express outage with Canadian airlines

Numerous people have shared horror stories about experiences they’ve had flying or attempting to fly with Canadian airlines in recent weeks. 

And while some of these airline passengers were issued refunds or booked onto other flights, numerous people say they are still waiting for refunds from the country’s largest airlines. Further, many of them say they couldn’t even get airline representatives on the phone due to outstanding hold times. 

On Jan. 18, WestJet Airlines Inc. said it will cancel 20 per cent of its February flights, less than three weeks after announcing flight reductions of 15 per cent for January.

While Air Canada has not announced major flight consolidations, it cancelled 15 per cent of its flights in March and 11 per cent in February — 6,805 flights in total — within the last two weeks alone, according to figures from airline data company Cirium.

But it isn’t only the airlines who are cancelling flights and issuing changes due to the spread of the highly-transmissible coronavirus strain. 

Numerous British Columbians have elected to cancel or change their travel plans in the wake of the federal government’s reinstated nonessential travel advisory. And for many of them, the experience has involved long waits on the phone. 

Locals have taken to social media to share experiences on hold with Air Canada and WestJet for three and over four hours, respectively. Other individuals reported that they simply can’t get anyone to speak with them. One individual said the only way to get through is to lie and say their flight was departing within the next 48 hours in order to get someone to give them immediate assistance. 

A popular B.C. TikTok star, Abbotsford’s Kris Collins, also shared a nightmarish flight experience where the airline lost her bags after a long flight delay.

Frustrated @AirCanada you confirm my booking but did not provide a confirmation# for my resort. Now I’m stuck here desperately looking for your help but your agent keeps hanging up on me..

— thisgirltalks (@thisgirltalks1) January 20, 2022

Hey @AirCanada 3 hour wait on the phone and cannot reschedule flight through website or app. Need help here

— Luiz Persechini ???? (@LuizPersechini) January 16, 2022

@WestJet can someone from Westjet please call me…. My daughter is sick and can’t fly tommorrow … need to change flight to the next day… but can’t online and there is absolutely no one to talk to…. Most frustrating thing I have experienced… NEED HELP

— angry earl (@AngryEarl) January 20, 2022

Have been on hold with Westjet for 4 hours and 15 minutes, insanity

— Sue Snyder (@Unreal57) January 18, 2022

@WestJet hey you guys keep changing my flight by an entire day and now you’ve added a layover, it’s very hard to constantly rebook hotels.

— Andreas (@MeowjinBoo) January 17, 2022

When it asks you the question “is your flight within 24/48 hours” answer YES – even if it isn’t. If not, they put you on endless hold forever. When I called back and said my flight was within 24 hours (it wasn’t) I got in touch with a representative immediately.

— campaign colin (@ColinBambury) January 4, 2022

Booking through third-party suppliers 

Travellers who booked with travel agents are also frustrated about the cancellation policies and what they feel is a lack of clarification. 

Vancouver resident Carolyn Beavington says she feels she was misled by a third-party travel agency’s cancellation advertising. She told Vancouver Is Awesome that she booked an all-inclusive couple’s vacation package from Vancouver to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico with hotel and flights through Expedia.ca and thought it included free cancellation. 

“On [Nov.26, 2021] I booked a couple’s vacation package with Expedia.ca which offered:  ‘Free cancellation until January 5,” she explained.

While she was excited to go on a holiday, Beavington made the decision to cancel her trip on Dec. 22 following Canada’s announcement of the travel advisory. Much to her dismay, the travel provider only refunded the hotel and withheld $175 per person for the WestJet flights. She was told that Expedia.ca had no control over the WestJet cancellation penalty. 

“Expedia’s ‘Vacation Package’ website stated ‘free cancellation’ when I made my decision to book the trip.  The fine print added the Westjet cancellation fee,” she said. “False advertising.”

Mary Zajac, a spokesperson for Expedia.ca, told V.I.A. in an emailed statement that the travel agency “adheres to the policies set by our partners and we communicate these through the booking process.”

In Beavington’s booking, Zajac noted that WestJet had its own $175 cancellation fee per ticket, which was separate from the accommodation component of the package.

“This was shared in advance of…