“Absolutely atrocious”: Dad says wife and baby were stranded due to WestJet flight cancellation
A dad from Alberta is furious after he says WestJet cancelled and didn’t rebook his wife’s flight, leaving her and their baby stranded.
Spencer, whose username is @Spencer__W__ on X, detailed the incident in a thread last Thursday.
“Big shout out to [WestJet] who cancelled my wife’s flight, leaving her and our 9-month-old baby stranded, and didn’t rebook her, so she had to find her own flight home (and pay for it),” read his post. “You just denied her claim to refund her for the cancelled flight. Absolutely atrocious.🖕”
Big shout out to @WestJet who cancelled my wife’s flight, leaving her and our 9 month old baby stranded, and didn’t rebook her so she had to find her own flight home (and pay for it).
You just denied her claim to refund her for the canceled flight.
Absolutely atrocious.
🖕
— Spencer (@Spencer__W__) July 18, 2024
In the thread, Spencer shared screenshots of his correspondence with WestJet customer service.
In an initial direct message from the airline on X, the customer service agent named Kevin apologizes but denies Spencer’s request for reimbursement.
“We do apologize, but we wouldn’t reimburse a guest if they decide to find their way home,” the message reads. “We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Here’s how it’s going with Westjet…
They don’t care at ALL…even for their own policy. pic.twitter.com/hllMWbdqsV
— Spencer (@Spencer__W__) July 18, 2024
The frustrated husband then quotes the carrier’s delays and cancellations policy.
“I guess [WestJet’s] policy is to plug their ears and go “LA LA LA LA WE CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!” reads his X post.
I’ve now quoted Westjet’s policy at them and it’s been over 20 minutes of silence.
I guess @WestJet‘s policy is to plug their ears and go “LA LA LA LA WE CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!” pic.twitter.com/SVU4kzYYwh
— Spencer (@Spencer__W__) July 18, 2024
According to the airline’s site, its delays and cancellation policy is consistent whether the situation is outside of WestJet’s control, within it but required for safety, or fully within its control.
To sum it up, it states that when a flight is cancelled, WestJet will rebook a passenger on its next available flight or on a flight operated by another airline for no additional charge.
This aligns with the Air Passenger Protection Regulation’s rebooking and refund policy, which states that “the airline operating the flight has to ensure passengers complete their itinerary (that is, reach their final destination).”
WestJet
After waiting over an hour and 45 minutes to talk to a customer service representative over the phone, Spencer says that they were able to get a refund for the cancelled portion of the round trip that WestJet said it initially wasn’t going to reimburse.
Now, the dad is working to get their self-booked return flight reimbursed.
UPDATE:
It took over an 1 hr 45 mins to talk to a person.
That person at WestJet refunded the canceled portion of the round trip that their claims department said they weren’t going to.
Now the bigger battle – getting our self booked return flight reimbursed. pic.twitter.com/MAN5eSDosL
— Spencer (@Spencer__W__) July 19, 2024
“Now they’re telling me that even if their policy says they’ll rebook you on the next available flight (with them or another airline), they don’t care. They didn’t do that — so we did,” Spencer wrote on X. “And now they won’t reimburse us for the flight we had to book her to get home.”
According to the airline’s compensation policy, if you’re informed 14 days or less before your departure that your flight will be delayed, reimbursement will be provided as follows if you file a request within one year from the day the flight delay occurred:
WestJet
It’s unclear if Spencer’s wife’s situation was within or out of the airline’s control. He has yet to respond to Daily Hive’s request for an interview.
We have also reached out to WestJet for comment.
In the meantime, Spencer replied to a comment in his thread saying he’s considering taking legal action against the major Canadian airline.
He wouldn’t be the only person to do it in the past few weeks.
Earlier this month, BC passengers flying from the West Coast to Rome, Italy, initiated a legal fight against WestJet for a late arrival.
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