84-year-old Vancouver Island woman asks Air Canada for ice pack, AHS hands her a bill for $450
An 84-year-old Air Canada passenger was shocked when she got a $450 bill from Alberta Health Services (AHS) after asking an attendant at the check-in desk for an icepack.
In January, Mary Marshall was boarding a flight form Calgary International Airport to return to her home in Sidney, B.C., on Vancouver Island.
“I had a large carry-on bag and I put it on the ramp, and I knew I twisted my back," said Marshall. “Fortunately, I had some over-the-counter relief for pain, which I took, and then I knew that a bag of ice or heat would help. That's normally my remedy.”
Marshall had experienced similar back issues in the past, and asked the Air Canada agent if she could get an ice pack.
To her shock and surprise, the agent’s call for medical assistance resulted in a visit from a paramedic, prompting a $450 bill, equivalent to ambulance service charges.
The bill from Alberta Health Services
“I kept saying, 'No, I don’t need anything but an ice pack, please. That’s all I need. I know how to deal with this; I’ve had it before,'” said Marshall.
Faced with paying the bill for a service she did not request, Marshall contacted Air Canada.
The company’s initial response acknowledged that the incident "did not meet the airline’s service expectations.”
Air Canada offered her a flight credit, but said that the $450 charge was her responsibility.
The airline initially offered a flight credit but said Marshall was responsible for the $450 bill.
At that point Marshall reached out to tell her story.
CTV News contacted Air Canada and shortly thereafter received an email stating: “Air Canada's customer care team is reviewing what happened in this unfortunate case and will be in touch with the customer directly.”
Almost simultaneously, Marshall received an email from the airline offering to settle her claim.
“Your case has been reviewed again," the email from Air Canada said, "and we would be more than happy to provide reimbursement of the bill in the amount of $450 CAD.”
Once they discovered CTV was intending to broadcast a story, Air Canada changed their minds and refunded Marshall $450
'Lawyer on their left and a reporter on their right'
Airline passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs says this case emphasizes the importance of passengers documenting every interaction with an airline, and speaking up when they feel wronged.
“I always recommend passengers to document everything that happens around them, to record their interactions with the airlines to keep photos, audio recordings, video recordings, receipts, letters, emails, everything, as if it was a multi-million-dollar trial, or maybe even as a murder trial, even though it is just a simple passenger dispute,” said Lukacs.
“The reality is that passengers need to have a lawyer on their left, and a reporter on their right to ensure that the airline treats them well,” he added.
Marshall is now satisfied with Air Canada’s response, but says it should never have taken calls to CTV News for the company to act.
“I think a lot of times we (who are) alone, and maybe seniors -- and women particularly -- get left in the cracks, and they're not heard,” said Marshall.
“I just think that other people who run across a situation like this should be able to speak out and tell their story and let it be heard," she added. "And not be discriminated against or they need to be listened to.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
Toronto man falls off his chair after seeing $70M Lotto Max win in his bank account
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account.
Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code
Students at Curé-Antoine-Labelle High School near Montreal are protesting after they say their school's administration started pushing what they call a 'sexist' dress code.
Officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler is being disciplined for not having bodycam activated
The Kentucky police officer who arrested top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler outside the PGA Championship is receiving 'corrective action' for failing to have his body-worn camera activated.
'I won't stop,' Celine Dion says in trailer for upcoming doc about her health woes
Celine Dion's fans are getting a first glimpse of the superstar's struggle with a rare neurological disorder in an emotional trailer for an upcoming documentary about her career and life.
Air travel is expensive. WestJet wants the government to do more to change that
WestJet is asking the federal government to put measures in place to lower ticket costs for travellers, but questions remain on who would foot the bill.
Hundreds have applied for this 'adventurer' job in Banff National Park
Coined as Banff's 'ultimate summer job,' the Moraine Lake Bus Company says hundreds of people from across the world have applied for its adventurer position.
Ottawa police investigating death of a gosling in Kanata
Ottawa police are investigating after someone allegedly stomped on a gosling in Kanata. Police say it appears that Canada geese laid eggs in the area, 'and on May 21, a suspect stomped on one of the hatched babies.'
Treasury Board president urges managers to be flexible on exemptions for new 3-day office mandate
The president of the Treasury Board is standing by the federal government's new hybrid office mandate for federal public servants, but is urging managers to be flexible for staff requiring exemptions.