Delays and dick pics: Flair passenger frustrated with airline
A Flair airlines passenger is still waiting for a refund from the company after a “hellish” experience.
“I want customers to know that if you see a deal with Flair that seems too good to be true…trust me, it is,” Jessica MacLean from Vancouver told Daily Hive. “It’ll end up costing you in the long run.”
Canadian friends: you might be tempted to try @FlairAirlines because they can be much cheaper than Air Canada or Westjet. My advice for you: if you would like to get where you're going, do not do this.
— Yoel Inbar (@yorl) December 14, 2022
In the summer, MacLean and her partner spotted a “crazy good flight deal” from Vancouver to Montreal in December. “All in, we paid $271 for the two of us return, direct, no layover at Toronto Pearson. It seemed perfect,” said MacLean.
On December 10, they got to the airport.
“We arrived at the airport insanely early because we had just watched Planes, Trains and Automobiles – it is the holiday season after all, delays and flight changes are inevitable,” said MacLean.
“All I could think of was being reunited with one of my best friends and eating an enormous birthday poutine.”
MacLean said they couldn’t check in online, so they had to wait in line for a printed boarding pass. There was only one person in front of them in line, and it took 25 minutes for their turn.
They had to pay $61 extra to bring carry-on luggage, and they weren’t sitting together because it would have been an extra $60 for seat selection.
Halfway through the flight, MacLean said a “disgruntled flight attendant” announced that a passenger on the plane had been airdropping inappropriate photos to other passengers.
“We know who you are. The captain has been notified. You will be dealt with on the ground,” the flight attendant said.
But even a “pervert” wouldn’t stop MacLean from enjoying her steal of an airfare deal.
After having an amazing trip in Montreal, complete with plenty of poutine, they got a message from Flair on December 14 at around 3 pm, saying that their flight leaving the next day had been cancelled “due to unscheduled maintenance.”
They were rebooked for December 17, which would have stranded them in Montreal for three more days ahead of a snowstorm.
“We have work obligations. We can’t spend another three days in Montreal,” said MacLean. Unable to connect to customer service, MacLean booked flights home via Air Canada for $1,300.
“Book it. We don’t have any other options,” said MacLean. Social media posts and first-hand accounts told to Daily Hive confirm that many travellers were impacted by cancellations by Flair recently.
Spineless dullards at Flair Airlines cancelled my flight home tomorrow all of a sudden. Can't get a flight home with them until 2 days later and no representative will talk to me. Looks like I'm going to have to fly back with someone else. Don't fly with Flair. They really suck.
— Wesley David Scott (@zulu_panda) December 14, 2022
MacLean is still looking for her refund from Flair, and now she wants compensation for the $1324.80 spent on flights home after their customer service failed to respond to her adequately.
“They keep telling us that we are not entitled to compensation because the flight cancellation was due to a safety concern. I’m pretty sure this is the only excuse they can use legally without owing their customers compensation,” said MacLean.
“My question though is this – our flight was cancelled more than 24 hours in advance –unless you’re replacing the entire f***ing engine, what kind of maintenance requires 30 hours? And during that time, Flair couldn’t find an alternate plane?”
“I’m pretty sure they either didn’t have enough crew members in place, or they realized that the flight wasn’t worth flying, so they cancelled it. I would love to hear their side of the story, but I keep being met with the same response.”
Daily Hive has reached out to Flair airlines for comment and will update this story.
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