WestJet customers offered 7.5-hour bus ride to destination after flight cancelled
WestJet customers were rebooked on a seven-and-a-half-hour bus trip from Calgary to Regina after their afternoon flight was cancelled Sunday.
Passengers said they were informed less than three hours before boarding that the one-hour flight between the two cities had been cancelled and that they could reach their destination via “ground transportation” that would have them arrive in Regina after midnight.
Jeff Mathieson, a farmer who was returning from a vacation in Mexico with his wife and two young children, tried unsuccessfully to rent a car before accepting the 750-kilometre bus trip.
“We were quite shocked to hear that we were going to be returning to Regina on a bus and not a plane,” he said in a social media message, adding that the next available flight was late Wednesday night.
Told to gather near the WestJet check-in counter at 4 p.m., the family did not board the bus until an hour later and wound up arriving home in Saskatchewan after 2 a.m.
“I do understand that we made it to our destination, but with the prices we are having to pay for travel these days we should be able to expect a certain level of service.”
WestJet said in an email it sincerely apologizes to guests affected by the cancellation, which it attributed to “unscheduled aircraft maintenance.”
“Unfortunately, reaccommodation options were limited due to the high demand for travel over the weekend and significant weather events across Vancouver and Vancouver Island which caused compounding operational impacts and limited aircraft availability,” Denise Kenny, a spokeswoman for the airline, said in an email.
“In order to best support impacted guests in reaching their destination as quickly as possible, ground transportation was arranged to provide an immediate travel option for those who were unable to wait for an alternative flight option.”
WestJet saw eight per cent of its Sunday flights cancelled and nearly half delayed, according to tracking service FlightAware.
Chris Henderson, a musician returning from a gig, wound up paying for a Calgary hotel after managing to rebook on a next-day flight.
“The last four times in a row that I had to connect in Calgary I've missed my connection and had to stay overnight. But they've never offered me a bus ride before,” he said, qualifying that some cancellations were with other airlines.
“If I pay for a steak, don't give me a hot dog.”
After all the travel chaos this past summer and winter holidays, Henderson said he now always travels the day before a show for fear of delays or cancellations. He also missed a substitute teaching opportunity in Regina on Monday due to the rebooking, he said.
As for the hotel, he said a guest services agent told him to submit the receipt rather than wait in line to request a hospitality voucher “'because it's such a gong show right now.”'
The lack of available seats comes after Air Canada cut service between Calgary and Regina and Calgary and Saskatoon, leaving Prairie travellers reliant on WestJet.
However, WestJet said last month it would ramp up service between Alberta's largest city and Saskatchewan starting Feb. 16, with one more daily flight between Calgary and Regina, amounting to as many as seven flights each day.
It also said it would tack on three more daily flights between Calgary and Saskatoon, totalling up to nine direct flights a day.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Feb. 27, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Donald Trump picks former U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra as ambassador to Canada
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has nominated former diplomat and U.S. congressman Pete Hoekstra to be the American ambassador to Canada.
Genetic evidence backs up COVID-19 origin theory that pandemic started in seafood market
A group of researchers say they have more evidence to suggest the COVID-19 pandemic started in a Chinese seafood market where it spread from infected animals to humans. The evidence is laid out in a recent study published in Cell, a scientific journal, nearly five years after the first known COVID-19 outbreak.
This is how much money you need to make to buy a house in Canada's largest cities
The average salary needed to buy a home keeps inching down in cities across Canada, according to the latest data.
'My two daughters were sleeping': London Ont. family in shock after their home riddled with gunfire
A London father and son they’re shocked and confused after their home was riddled with bullets while young children were sleeping inside.
Smuggler arrested with 300 tarantulas strapped to his body
Police in Peru have arrested a man caught trying to leave the country with 320 tarantulas, 110 centipedes and nine bullet ants strapped to his body.
Boissonnault out of cabinet to 'focus on clearing the allegations,' Trudeau announces
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced embattled minister Randy Boissonnault is out of cabinet.
Baby dies after being reported missing in midtown Toronto: police
A four-month-old baby is dead after what Toronto police are calling a “suspicious incident” at a Toronto Community Housing building in the city’s midtown area on Wednesday afternoon.
Sask. woman who refused to provide breath sample did not break the law, court finds
A Saskatchewan woman who refused to provide a breath sample after being stopped by police in Regina did not break the law – as the officer's request was deemed not lawful given the circumstances.
Parole board reverses decision and will allow families of Paul Bernardo's victims to attend upcoming parole hearing in person
The families of the victims of Paul Bernardo will be allowed to attend the serial killer’s upcoming parole hearing in person, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) says.