Ahead of possible strike, WestJet pre-emptively offering free flight changes, cancellations — but should you take it?
With a potential WestJet pilots’ strike on the horizon, the airline is pre-emptively providing to rebook passengers without spending a dime.
WestJet says it is providing passengers a $0 one-time charge waiver for flight modifications or cancellations, relevant to all flights booked for May 15 to 21. The airline says modifications or cancellations should be made greater than two hours earlier than departure.
Similarly, low cost provider and WestJet subsidiary Swoop can also be providing free flight modifications and cancellations for flights from May 19 to 21.
But one client advocate is recommending travellers keep on with their itinerary and as an alternative declare any compensation required below federal and worldwide laws from the airways within the occasion of a strike.
“I would not recommend (taking WestJet’s pre-emptive offer) for most passengers because you don’t really know what’s going to happen. Even if they even if they offer you a flight two or three days later … there’s no way to know how long (a strike) is going to last,” Gabor Lukacs, president of the Air Passenger Rights group, advised CTVNews.ca over the cellphone on Wednesday.
In the occasion of a strike, the airline is legally required to rebook passengers on the subsequent out there flight operated by any provider, even when it is with a competing airline. The flight may very well be rebooked to or from one other airport that is inside an affordable distance, however on this case, the airline should pay for transportation to or from that airport.
Passengers also can select to obtain a full refund, which the airline should present inside 30 days.
But travellers who’ve a global itinerary are entitled to much more rights. Lukacs says the airline is required to compensate travellers for meals, floor transportation and even misplaced wages. And for flights departing from the European Union or the U.Ok., the airline should additionally pay as much as €600 in financial compensation, equal to about C$875.
Lukas says passengers who select to take WestJet’s pre-emptive supply might miss out on this compensation, except their rebooked flight additionally will get disrupted.
“You’re essentially giving away some rights to the airline that way. It’s rather sneaky, I would say, what WestJet is trying to do,” he mentioned.
TRAVELLERS SHOULD ‘FASTEN THEIR SEAT BELTS’
With WestJet being the nation’s second-largest airline, passengers could have a troublesome time getting flights with a distinct airline if a strike does occur, particularly over the lengthy weekend.
Flair Airlines on Tuesday introduced that it might be including further flights between Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton beginning this Victoria Day lengthy weekend in anticipation of the heightened demand.
“Flair Airlines stands ready, willing, and able to add additional flights. We hope this measure will help WestJet passengers who otherwise could not travel due to the pilots’ strike,” Stephen Jones, CEO of Flair Airlines mentioned in a news launch.
WestJet additionally has a reprotection settlement with Air Canada, the place Air Canada would tackle a few of the WestJet clients affected within the occasion of a disruption. However, Duncan Dee, former chief working officer at Air Canada, says Canada’s largest airline could not have sufficient spare capability to take care of the inflow of WestJet passengers.
“Air Canada is already operating pretty full. And so, you know, the ability of Air Canada to carry any? disrupted WestJet travellers may be quite limited,” Dee advised CTV National News on Tuesday.
“Travelers are going to have to fasten their seat belts because this is going to be pretty bumpy over the next few days.”
CAN PASSENGERS CLAIM COMPENSATION FOR AIRLINE STRIKES?
Under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, airways are additionally required to supply as much as $1,000 in financial compensation for passengers within the occasion of a flight disruption, relying on how lengthy the delay was and the way huge the airline is.
However, these compensation guidelines solely apply for delays or cancellations are “within the airline’s control and not related to safety.” Unlike European compensation guidelines, the present Canadian laws say labour disruptions should not throughout the airline’s management, letting the airways keep away from making these pay-outs to passengers.
“It’s absolutely appalling and it really shows how airline-friendly the government’s rules have been,” Lukacs mentioned.
The federal authorities has been within the strategy of drafting an overhaul to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, the place the onus could be on the airways to show {that a} flight disruption was on account of security causes or causes outdoors of the airline’s management. Additionally, the Canadian Transportation Agency has additionally been requested to attract up a listing of particular exceptions round compensation.
In Ottawa on Wednesday, previous to a Liberal caucus assembly, Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra confirmed the overhauled Air Passenger Protection Regulations would mandate compensation for passengers affected by labour disruptions.
“So let me just say this. The bill of rights covers responsibility at the airlines that are within their control… That includes a strike,” Alghabra advised reporters.
With recordsdata from The Canadian Press and CTV National News Correspondent Heather Wright
