P.E.I. man frustrated after delays lead to cancelled vacation
An Island man is frustrated after he says he and his girlfriend had to miss out on a Christmas holiday, after their trip with WestJet Vacations went wrong.
Mike Bradley said he and his girlfriend had been looking forward to their trip to Cuba for months, but they never made it out of Canada.
He said they spent nearly 24 hours at the Moncton and Toronto airports trying to find a way to their destination, before they finally decided to cancel the trip and head home.
"I'm frustrated, I'm tired. At this point I'm starting to get sick to my stomach at everything," Bradley said. "We were just both tired and ragged at this point."
Bradley said he booked the trip with WestJet Vacations through a travel agent in New Brunswick. He said their WestJet flight from Moncton to Toronto was delayed eight hours due to mechanical issues, causing them to miss their connecting flight to Cuba.
He said WestJet staff at the Moncton airport tried to help them throughout the delay, but there was little they could do. They advised them to fly to Toronto anyway and call WestJet Vacations from there, Bradley said.
He said they did that, but that call didn't go well. "I felt like they were trying to put the problem on me," he said.
"Especially the first representative I was speaking with. She just was like, 'Well you missed your flight,' and I said, well I didn't miss my flight you guys had a problem with your plane that's why we missed it."
WestJet gave them options
Bradley said after spending three hours on the phone with customer service, WestJet Vacations gave them some options.
One was to go to a different resort two days later, which he said would cut time off their trip. Bradley said it would also require them to spend two nights in a hotel and WestJet Vacations only offered to cover the cost of one of those nights.
Another option was to keep a seven-day booking, but that would cost an extra $1,000, and Bradley said they didn't have that money.
"The third option, which was the one we ultimately had to take ... was to just go home," Bradley said.
WestJet refunded most of vacation package
In a statement to CBC, WestJet said it apologizes to the guests for this situation and understands their disappointment.
"We have reached out directly to this guest to offer an apology and to help bring satisfactory closure to this unfortunate situation," said the statement.
"When a missed connection occurs due to a mechanical issue at point of departure, we work directly with our WestJet Vacation guests, making every effort to accommodate them with alternative options including continuing with travel, refund, change of dates, or change of destination.
"We understand that guests have different flexibility and personal situations that although not ideal, cancellation is sometimes the best option. In this situation a full refund is provided."
Bradley said WestJet has given him a refund for most of the travel package, but not the amount he paid for with Air Miles, which he said is worth about $900.
While he's happy to have some of his money back, Bradley said, he'd still like to see WestJet do more.
"I don't know if I'll be able to get it but I would like to see some compensation for all the bills that I had to pay leading up to the event, including hotels, bridge fare, gas and other expenses ... the time spent and vacation lost, really," Bradley said.
Bradley said WestJet hasn't offered him any compensation for the inconvenience or for the hours he and his girlfriend spent at the airports. He said in the mean time, he's working with his travel agent to try to recoup the cost of his Air Miles through insurance.
"I just feel really wronged in this situation and a company like that should be able to compensate their passengers when they are at fault."
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