"Pigsty of a journey": Air Canada called out for grandmother's nightmarish travel experience
Air Canada is being put on blast by a woman who says the airline gave her 74-year-old mother a terrible experience with multiple delays, turning what should have been a 12-hour journey into a 36-hour nightmare.
Bex Saunders of Halifax, Nova Scotia, posted about her mother’s experience on X earlier this week.
Her mom, Jenny Hirst, lives in Ripon, England, and visits Saunders and her family annually.
.@AirCanada you are an utter disgrace. The runaround you’ve given my 74 year old mother travelling by herself from Manchester to Halifax (yes I know you know what a pig sty of a journey that’s been) first up you change gates 3 times and delay leaving by almost 5 hours.
Then you…— Bex The BritChick ™ 🇬🇧 (@BexSaunders7) August 13, 2024
On August 12, the 74-year-old grandmother was travelling alone from Manchester to Halifax with a connecting flight in Toronto.
The first delay occurred in Manchester when Saunders says her mother’s gate changed three times, pushing the flight back almost five hours.
Then, the experience turned even more stressful when Saunders said Air Canada gave away Hirst’s pre-booked, pre-paid seat with extra legroom.
74-year-old Jenny Hirst had a long, arduous journey on her recent Air Canada flights. (Supplied)
“The reason… was that [Air Canada said they] had to accommodate a family,” Saunders explained to Daily Hive.
“She made it known that she has a medical condition with her legs, which is the reason why she booked and needed the extra leg room. Her legs cannot tolerate cramped space even on a short flight but especially on a 7.5-hour flight.”
When Hirst finally arrived in Toronto, she hoped to get on her flight to Halifax quickly after hours of delays. But she had more bad luck when her connecting flight was cancelled.
In her X post, Saunders said that the airline told her mother that no hotel rooms were available for an overnight stay and only provided her with a $15 voucher.
She added that there was “no reason given” to her mom for the flight delay.
“She was just rebooked on the flight the next day and stranded at the airport,” Saunders said. “She was given no advice or direction.”
Saunders stepped in to ensure Hirst had a place to stay for the night. She called the Alt Airport Hotel in Toronto and was able to book a room for the senior “immediately.”
To complicate things even further, Saunders said her mother’s phone had run out of battery, and she was unable to contact her to make sure she could make it to the hotel.
Luckily, two other people were also affected by the cancellation and were able to help Hirst safely find her way to the hotel for the night, Saunders noted.
“As you can imagine, a 74-year-old woman by herself at midnight in a huge airport [and] city, trying to get to a hotel safely, was extremely daunting,” said Saunders.
The total cost of the hotel room was $342.55, which Saunders noted shouldn’t have had to be paid if Air Canada had taken responsibility for getting her mom lodging for the night.
Trying to get answers from Air Canada
The issues didn’t end with the flight delays and cancellations. Saunders told Daily Hive that there were also problems with her mom’s luggage.
According to Saunders, Air Canada had changed her mom’s original booking from August 14 to the 13th and then to the 12th. She said the airline offered Hirst complimentary baggage check-in for two suitcases on all her flights.
However, when Hirst checked in 24 hours before her journey, she was told that she had to pay to check her bags and was being charged £145 (C$255) to check in two suitcases, claimed Saunders.
“As a result, she had to repack and settle for just checking one case, which still cost her £60 to check in,” said Saunders. “She shouldn’t have had to pay a penny. This will need to be refunded. We have evidence of all the emails they sent offering her comp bag check-in and details of changes and cancellations, etc.”
Saunders added that she’s been trying to get answers from Air Canada, but she’s only received a message on X from the airline about her mother’s seat change and how to receive a refund.
Bex Saunders/Submitted
Hirst finally got on her flight from Toronto to Halifax at 10 am the following day after a nearly 15-hour overnight delay in the city.
In a comment to Daily Hive, the senior said the ordeal left her distressed and exhausted.
“I was so upset when I got on the plane after a five-hour delay, having been at the airport for 12 hours, only to find out they had given my seat away. This reduced me to tears,” Hirst said.
“And then to have the next flight cancelled and be told I couldn’t have a hotel was just horrendous. I was worried and scared; I thought I would have to sleep in a chair in the airport all night.”
She said she understands that airline travel often involves delays, but her experience with Air Canada “was appalling and by far the worst treatment I’ve ever received from an airline.”
Saunders has also been shaken by the incident, which left her “extremely worried” about her mom’s well-being.
“Just horrible, horrible treatment of any human and especially a senior 74-year-old lady travelling by herself,” she said.
Daily Hive has contacted Air Canada for comment and will update this story when the airline responds.