WestJet customers growing frustrated as they wait for answers on compensation for flight cancellations

Open this photo in the gallery:

WestJet Airlines customers are growing increasingly concerned about the company’s lack of communication following a strike that left some passengers stranded and costing them thousands of dollars in travel expenses, with no clarity on how much they will be compensated.

From emergency hotel stays to unplanned meals at the airport, customers say the large sums they have spent far exceed the cost of their cancelled flights, and there is no confirmation that they will be reimbursed for anything other than their tickets.

Since June 27, more than 1,700 flights have been cancelled by the airline, disrupting the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers travelling over the Canada Day long weekend.

The disruptions began after the company’s aircraft maintenance engineers unexpectedly walked off the job Friday night. The two sides reached a tentative agreement Sunday that includes improvements to mechanics’ wages and benefits.

Ashley Nunes: WestJet travellers whose flights were cancelled deserve more than refunds and sympathy

In an emailed statement, WestJet spokesperson Madison Kruger said customers have the right to request a refund to their original form of payment for flight cancellations if alternative travel arrangements have not been provided to them within 48 hours, in accordance with the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR).

“Our teams at WestJet are working diligently to support all impacted customers as quickly as possible,” she wrote.

But for WestJet customer Mel Offner, it was extremely difficult to reach someone at the airline to request a refund in the days after her flight was cancelled, she said.

Offner, her partner and their four-year-old daughter were trying to fly from Santa Ana, California, to their home on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, on June 30. Less than 24 hours before they were scheduled to take off, they saw online that their flight had been cancelled.

After three nights in a hotel, two extra days of car rental, three days of meals, a new ferry reservation, two extra days of airport parking and a phone bill swollen by international calls, Offner said she had $1,500 in unexpected expenses and didn’t know if she would be reimbursed.

Despite multiple After attempting to call and tag the airline in her social media posts, she said all she received in return were generic statements and a promise to pay $150 for their first night at a hotel — which has yet to be delivered.

“The cost of living is already very high these days. I don’t have $2,000 or $1,500 on hand to pay for my studies, and on top of that, I haven’t worked, it’s a really frustrating experience,” she said.

WestJet is not required to pay compensation for hotels and meals in situations beyond the airline’s control, according to passenger protection rules, Kruger said.

“The courts have held that the declaration of a strike marks the beginning of a work disruption. Therefore, flights disrupted due to a strike declaration and the strike itself are considered beyond a carrier’s control under the APPR,” she wrote.

WestJet is required to respond to passenger claims received within 30 days, Kruger said, adding that passengers must submit claims for eligible expenses on the airline’s website.

Until recently, WestJet customer Jennifer Litowski said she had no hope of a refund for the US$1,400 she spent on airfare for her niece and her boyfriend or the $800 she spent on hotels and meals for the two teenagers.

She said that since the second flight of the two Regina teenagers’ trip to visit her in Boston was cancelled, she had received only two emails from the airline.

“One of them was for a customer service survey, ironically, and I didn’t fill it out. It’s expired now. And then the second one, which I got on Wednesday, was for the flight from Boston to Regina, their return trip for the trip that never happened and I can’t cancel,” she said.

Eventually, Litowski said she was able to reach a WestJet agent by phone after a three-hour wait Thursday afternoon and submitted her expenses for reimbursement.

Kathleen Carrigan and her 82-year-old father are also waiting for a refund from Avion Rewards, the loyalty program they used to book their WestJet flight.

She said her father recently reconnected with his high school sweetheart by phone and they planned to fly from Vancouver Island to Halifax on July 1 so the two could reconnect.

However, because their original flight with WestJet was cancelled and the loyalty program couldn’t rebook them on another airline without additional fees, she said they were forced to cancel their trip after a year of accumulating points.

Now they’re anxiously waiting to see the refunds Avion promised before they can plan another trip. But with her father’s colon cancer returning and her high school sweetheart on oxygen, Carrigan says she doesn’t know if there will be another chance to make the trip.

“I’m hoping that by September we’ll have the refund and then I can get him on a plane,” she said.