Wj......say It Isn't So !

[Kip Powick]

Daniel Schwartz and his pregnant wife Jill were returning to Toronto from St. Lucia on Christmas Eve. Their WestJet flight couldn’t take off because of a sudden rainstorm on the Caribbean island.

The passengers went back into the airport to spend several nights on benches and floors. The flight did not leave until Dec. 27 because of the flooding.

Desperate to find a hotel room since there were none left in the area, Schwartz paid $1,000 to charter a helicopter with a few other couples to go to the north end of the island.

He had hoped for more sympathy from the airline, which says at its website: “Our entire corporate culture has been built about caring for you, our guests, by providing a great guest experience.”

A senior WestJet official greeted passengers at the airport when they arrived home, giving them a letter of apology and a promise of $500 in coupons and a call from someone shortly. Almost two weeks later, he’s still waiting for the call.

The St. Lucia flooding – which killed a number of residents, wiped out roads across the island and closed the airport for several days – was devastating.

“For our guests trapped at the airport, it was an extremely uncomfortable and difficult experience and we apologize,” said WestJet spokesman Robert Palmer.

Airline staff worked to care for passengers “under extraordinary conditions, the likes of which we have never seen before in the more than six years since we first launched service to St. Lucia.”

Schwartz’s complaint was similar to those of other passengers stuck on the tarmac or in a terminal because of ice storms – lack of communication and contradictory information by the airlines.

Do passengers have a right to information and compensation when their plans are disrupted by a weather crisis?

Gabor Lukacs, an advocate for the flying public, has challenged the Canadian Transportation Agency to make the rules more customer-friendly.

“The man who sends lousy airline policies packing,” said the headline of a Toronto Star article in 2011 about his victories.

I asked him to explain what you’re entitled to claim from an airline when your flight is delayed.

• Delays caused by weather. Airlines are not responsible for delays if weather conditions make it impossible to take off and land, he said. You have to pay for hotels, meals and other expenses on your own.

• At the same time, airlines are responsible to communicate to you about delays and keep you informed. This is required by the Flight Rights Canada reforms passed in 2008.

• If airlines fail to reasonably inform passengers, they may be liable for expenses caused by inadequate information or for inconvenience caused by lack of communication – such as standing in line for hours.

• Aftermath of a flood or storm. Once the weather event is over, airlines are responsible to transport passengers as soon as practical or face possible liability for expenses. It’s reasonable to expect an airline to clear up a backlog within one or two days.

• Those who are not flown home even a week after a storm are entitled to claim out-of-pocket expenses (which may include lost wages), since the airline failed to take “all reasonable steps necessary to prevent the delay.”

• Delayed baggage. You may be separated from your bags in a crisis, even in cases where you never leave the airport. If so, the airline has to pay for “reasonable” expenses incurred while you and your luggage are apart. This can be much more than toothpaste and underwear, depending on the circumstances and purpose of the trip.

Canada does not have an airline passenger bill of rights. In the United States, airlines have to release you if you’re stranded on a runway within three hours and provide food and water within two hours on domestic flights.

A Canadian bill of rights would be great, Lukacs says, as would a systemic enforcement of existing rights, rules and legislation that helps passengers.

When it comes to communication, he heard that airlines did not have adequate staff at their airport counters during the holidays. Nor did they use the public announcement system to inform passengers about their next steps.

“The fact that police officers did a much better job at informing passengers than airlines themselves speaks to how disorganized they were.”

[Mizar]

Sounds like an airline should just have a standard non-specific statement in a situation like this." Due to the weather, the flight has been delayed/cancelled. We will do our best to fly you out when it is safe to do so. Unfortunately, until that time, we cannot provide you with any more than a time estimate which could easily change. Sorry for the weather delay but safety comes first."

When an estimate is made by an airline for a delay time, it should be emphasized that the new time is just an estimate and there could be more delays due to the weather. It can be frustrating for uneducated(about airline operations) pax see a new departure time which keeps on changing.

[boestar]

Nothing will piss off a passenger more than a rolling delay. 20 min, 40, 2 hrs etc. Just get the details from wherever and make one estimate if its earlier then all the better.

[Fido]

I am curious as to who wrote the article.

The leap from St Lucia to Gabor Lukacs is intriguing.

[chockalicious]

Who needs Google alerts when we have vigilant members of our forum ready to scour and post any customer related story.

I am not sure why these people were promised anything as conditions were caused by weather. The internal debate on weather or not the airline should look after weather related IROP expenses has a lot of people falling on the side of "no".

Kip, is your question "say it isn't so" that the airline could not get off the island, that the guests were only promised 500, or that it is being reported that nobody has contacted them?

I am assuming you wrote the article as it is not attributed to anyone.

[Super 80]

Meh,

I have been promised a number of these calls over the years and they never came, not that I really cared. I mean, what were they going to say? "Hey, we are really, really sorry that Swissport hooligan drove over your suitcase."

and a call from someone shortly. Almost two weeks later, he’s still waiting for the call.

[Kip Powick]

..............................

Kip, is your question "say it isn't so" that the airline could not get off the island, that the guests were only promised 500, or that it is being reported that nobody has contacted them?

I am assuming you wrote the article as it is not attributed to anyone.

C'mon Chocky....you know me.. ...It is humorous because WJ actually has someone not impressed with their service and "No" I did not write it...it is in the Toronto Star...today and just for you here it is the link ... http://www.thestar.com/business/2014/01/10/what_you_can_claim_during_flight_delays_roseman.html

Here is your "Truism" for your Saturday enjoyment Have a nice weekend

[chockalicious]

Just wanted to add that Gabor Luckas is an idiot, can't be stated enough.

[Seeker]

Just wanted to add that Gabor Luckas is an idiot, can't be stated enough.

He may be an idiot but the points attributed too him in the article seems reasonable enough.

[chockalicious]

I follow a couple different journalism boards because of friends in the industry. One of their complaints is content thieves who post their work without attribution or a link. With a link at least there may b e clicks which get tracked.

Personally I think attributing to the author something a person copies and pastes is nice manners.

[Kip Powick]

When oxygen masks fell from the ceiling Friday night, aspiring musical theatre performer Jade Repeta admits she wasn't sure if the trouble on her flight was real or make believe.

Repeta was flying aboard Flight 1343 from Phoenix to Winnipeg when the plane lost cabin pressure and pilots had to make an emergency landing in Rapid City, S.D.

The plane, carrying 38 passengers, three flight attendants and two pilots, made a rapid descent but landed safety. There were injuries.

Repeta and the other passengers arrive in Winnipeg later this evening.

"I was like, 'Is this a movie set? This can't be real'" she said, from the Rapid City airport this afternoon.

"I could feel we were going down really fast, and I could tell others could feel it, too. After a few seconds, the plastic masks fell down. I really didn't know how to use it. I got mine on... I looked at other people and they all had the same expression -- shock."

The plane, a Boeing 737-700 series, left Phoenix around 8 p.m. local time. But about 90 minutes to two hours into the flight -- at about 40,000 feet -- the pilots were alerted to a problem.

"Indicator lights came on... the pilots became aware of a malfunction in the cabin pressurization system," said Robert Palmer, a spokesman with WestJet. "They declared an emergency and began a rapid descent that would have taken a couple of minutes to get to 10,000 feet, which is a more comfortable elevation."

Oxygen masks fell from the ceiling and passengers were instructed to wear them.

Repeta said that's when the pilot's voice came over the P.A. system.

"He said something like, 'Crew, please prepare for an emergency landing.' And I was thinking, 'Land on what, a mountain?'" she said.

"It was really loud. It definitely felt like I was facing the ground. We were definitely at an angle and it was like we were speeding up.

"I was freaking out a bit, wondering if these were my last few moments. Once we got to 10,000 feet, it was better."

Palmer said the two WestJet pilots were instructed to head to the nearest airport, which was in Rapid City.

After a safe landing, the crew and passengers were put up for the night in a hotel. A morning flight couldn't be arranged, so they were to leave Rapid City just after 5 p.m. -- without seeing Mount Rushmore.

"We tried to convince our driver to take us, but it was too far," Repeta said, with a laugh.

Repeta, who enjoyed some time off at her family's vacation home in Mesa, Ariz., said the WestJet employees were terrific throughout the entire ordeal.

"They were so helpful and kind," she said. "They stayed so calm through all of it. Their training just kicked in."

Palmer said a maintenance crew from Calgary will head to Rapid City to repair the aircraft, and then fly it back it to the Alberta city.

The National Transportation Safety Board in the United States and Canada's Transportation Safety Board were notified, however, neither is sending out a team to investigate.

"They are satisfied with our actions," Palmer said. "We will do our investigation to determine what happen."

Palmer said the last time a WestJet flight required a rapid descent was "three or four years ago."

"It is relatively uncommon," he said, noting the carrier has about 450 to 500 flights every day.

Repeta was set to board another flight tonight to Toronto, the place she now calls home.

"I'm not a great flyer," she said. "I don't ever want to see those yellow masks

A link for that 'special 'guy http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Winnipeg-bound-flight-makes-emergency-landing-in-South-Dakota-239761601.html?device=mobile

[Mitch Cronin]

Kip? I thought we'd all gone over this long ago? Maybe you were out in your boat at the time?... But yes, Choc is quite right. It's improper to post an article without a link or at the very least, a byline left intact.

For one thing, there should never be anyone left wondering whether you've quoted something, or written it yourself. ... and for another, the author deserves (legally, as well) the credit.

There's another old fart around here quite frequently who screws this up more than you.

[chockalicious]

Thanks Kip! Your courtesy is always appreciated.

[Kip Powick]

Kip? I thought we'd all gone over this long ago? Maybe you were out in your boat at the time?... But yes, Choc is quite right. It's improper to post an article without a link or at the very least, a byline left intact.

For one thing, there should never be anyone left wondering whether you've quoted something, or written it yourself. ... and for another, the author deserves (legally, as well) the credit.

There's another old fart around here quite frequently who screws this up more than you.

C'mon Mitch...relax....and tell me how many posts I have up where it has been a quote...... and I have not linked it??

Seems like you and Chockalicious are overly sensitive today. PS..I wrote this.

And while we are on the subject, how about the posters that just throw up a link with no description of what the link contains...you know that takes at least 3 seconds out of my life to get to that link....and I don't have that time to waste.

[chockalicious]

Not overly sensitive at all, thought given that you have many posts on here bemoaning the lack of manners, increasing slipping of standards of today's generation that you would appreciate that a little courtesy on line is a good thing.

[Kip Powick]

I would like to agree with you Chock but your initial post was bordering on bemoaning the fact that you don't need "Google" because our vigilant forum members, ( a oblique reference to me, in this case) had posted an article, sans link, that did not appear favourable to your alma mater....ergo sensitivity meter has moved off the peg in step one. That I did not post a link caused the meter to move a little bit more.

Mitch piles on and advises me I must have missed the 'briefing' about posting links and both of you heap credit on me as a possible author of the initial post....c'mon now ....you could have solved my link-less post with a post that said .."Link please"...

That to me is courtesy and manners...after all..... maybe I forgot the link,........ maybe I did not proof read my post once it was up...maybe I had a fire in my house.....maybe the Admiral sensed my Cialis was kicking in.............I really don't think a mini rant that infers I have bad posting "manners" was necessary.

Jump in if you like, but I am 'tout fini'.

[Mitch Cronin]

Sorry Kip. I didn't mean to be "piling on" ...we did have a yak here some time ago about just this subject, and I thought you were there for it... I guess not.

The only "sensitivity" I have in this regard is toward the Author who wants/deserves the byline. I couldn't care less about the source publisher, but I understand the law does, so it behooves us to keep things proper, no?

[chockalicious]

@Kip, no piling on at all and no sensitivity to my Alma Mater as you put it.

I do find it funny that you think a "sensitivity meter" on a negative WS story would go off "a peg". I am quite open and honest in my discussions and criticisms of WestJet. I do find it funny that you don't see those on this forum employed by WS posting AC failure stories but it does not surprise me.

Only issue here is lack of attribution and credit. The newspaper industry is in decline and journalists are suffering. As noted I think clicking the link to give the website a hit is courteous and also nice to credit the author of a piece, it is their work after all.

[conehead]

Only issue here is lack of attribution and credit. The newspaper industry is in decline and journalists are suffering. As noted I think clicking the link to give the website a hit is courteous and also nice to credit the author of a piece, it is their work after all.

I concur.

[UpperDeck]

Does anybody EVER say; "Geez, you're right. Sorry."?

It is an unfortunate tendency to insist on being "right" or to engage in an attempt to justify or excuse one's conduct.

There is an inspirational speaker--very good---who was a passenger on the "Hudson Miracle" flight (name forgotten) who speaks of his epiphany during that flight; the recognition that so many of his disagreements with wife, children and others resulted from his desire to be "right" and to establish that fact. He recognized that usually, the issue was trifling and of no consequence but the desire to be "right" escalated the dispute.

Modifying that tendency resulted in a great deal more harmony in his life----and he found that it cost him nothing in terms of his self-respect.