B.C. resident frustrated after Flair flight cancellation ‘mess’ | 24CA News
A Mackenzie, B.C., resident, Susan Crosby, mentioned she and her companion had simply accomplished a three-hour drive to Prince George to catch a Flair flight to Arizona when the flight was cancelled Friday.
“They offered to reschedule, but the rescheduling was having us leave Tuscon on March 17 and have us going from Prince George to Tuscon on the 24th,” Crosby mentioned. “It was just a mess.”
Crosby mentioned they cancelled their tickets, and a Flair worker supplied them “an equitable amount” corresponding to what they paid, nonetheless, shortly afterwards, they obtained an electronic mail for a distinct quantity. They mentioned they haven’t obtained any cash from the corporate but.
“We do have travel issuance, and it appears the airline is having trouble — so we’ll just have to wait and see I guess,” Crosby instructed Global News on Sunday.
“(Flair) told us the flight was cancelled due to the crew not having enough time to rest in between flights.”
Spring break acquired off to a sputtering begin for a lot of Canadians that booked flights with Flair Airlines over the weekend after the ultra-low-cost service cancelled flights resulting from what they are saying they had been instructed had been “maintenance” points.
But these cancellations come amid what Flair has referred to as a “commercial dispute” with a U.S.-based lessor that seized 4 of its planes over latest days. It’s not clear if the cancelled flights had been because of the planes being seized.
On Saturday, Flair Airlines issued statements by Twitter.
“We experienced some service disruptions at YEG, YYZ & YKF. We are very sorry to our passengers who were impacted. We know unforeseen interruptions to travel are stressful, and we are doing everything we can to get our customers to their destinations as soon as possible,” Flair workers mentioned in a tweet.
“Customers affected by today’s events will receive an update that we have enlisted a dedicated team to support them rebook their flights with Flair, or another airline, at no additional cost.
“Alternatively, customers can rebook their own travel and receive a reimbursement from Flair within seven days. We sincerely apologize for this disruption, especially during a busy travel weekend, and we thank our customers for their patience.”
Crosby mentioned on the airport there was nobody on the counter to assist passengers.
“I’m very disappointed in the airline, that they didn’t have better customer service there for us,” she mentioned.
“And I really feel for the families. There were families with children for their spring break holiday and they aren’t going anywhere now and so it’s very disappointing.”
A Canadian journey professional and creator, Claire Newell, mentioned the problems may stem from the airline’s low airfare costs.
“(Their prices) are not sustainable. It’s great for consumers as they want to take advantage of this but be cautioned that if you are going to be buying really low airfare on a newer carrier that doesn’t have a lot of fleet, you need to get travel insurance to protect yourself against trip cancellations and interruptions,” she instructed Global News.
In an emailed assertion to Global News Saturday, a spokesperson for Flair Airlines mentioned 4 of its plane are “not operational” after “extreme and unusual” actions by a New York-based hedge fund and lessor.
“The airline is aggrieved by this unprecedented action,” the assertion learn.
The spokesperson added that the airline was concerned in ongoing communications with the corporate and “payment has been initiated.”
“Flair Airlines will continue to engage in a consensual mediation with the lessor to remedy the situation,” it added.
According to a supply with information of the scenario, the lessor in query is Airborne Capital.
The supply, who isn’t approved to talk publicly in regards to the matter, instructed Global News that Flair wired cash to Airborne on Saturday however was 5 days behind on funds value roughly $1 million.
Airborne Capital declined to remark when contacted by Global News.
— With recordsdata from Amanda Connolly, Whitney Stinson and Saba Aziz
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
