Flier frustrated after WestJet flight cancellation results in costly rebooking

One Alberta woman’s costly cancellation last month is renewing calls for Canadian airlines to follow the rules.

Rhonwyn Magyar was set to fly off to sunny Mexico on Jan. 14, the same weekend Calgary was in the grips of a brutal cold spell. Magyar said she received a cancellation notice from Calgary-based airline WestJet just a few hours before her flight informing her it had been cancelled due to the extreme weather.

The notice also said WestJet was “unable to offer an alternative flight, but we will attempt to find another flight that would depart within 48 hours of your original flight.”

Magyar said she tried for hours to get a hold of WestJet to no avail, and she couldn’t wait up to two days, so she took the airline up on its option for a full refund. She then set out to find another flight and said she was shocked to find one on WestJet departing that same day.

“They sold me the same seat back on the next flight out an hour and a half later at almost double the price,” she said.

Magyar said it wasn’t the money she was upset about, but rather the fact she feels she was “deceived,” saying if the weather was bad for the first flight why was the second one able to fly?

“It was the same day, same weather,” she pointed out. “We were sitting at the airport watching other planes come and go while we sat there.

“If you’re offering a service be prepared to back it up. If you can’t offer the service, then don’t make the sale.”

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WestJet told Global News that particular flight was cancelled due to “extreme temperatures in Calgary.” It also said Magyar was given the option to cancel for a full refund or be booked on the next available flight.

The statement provided to Global News went on to state, “Due to the high volume of cancellations at that time, a rebooking option was not immediately available, however in the email provided to Ms. Magyar to communicate the cancellation of her flight, she was informed that further attempts would be made to find an alternative flight option that would depart within 48 hours of her original flight.

“Ms. Magyar ultimately elected to receive a full refund.”

Magyar tried to argue her case with the airline that seats were indeed available to book on a flight taking off less than two hours later but said she didn’t get anywhere.

“I sent in an APPR claim — two of them, actually — and they discarded both of them and said it was cancelled due to bad weather so basically it’s not their problem,” she said.

Air Passenger Rights responds

Air Passenger Rights founder Gabor Lukács said the bottom line is airlines are required by law to book passengers on the next available flight as soon as possible.

“The airline cannot just wait and book the passenger on a flight a day later, or a couple of hours later, if there is a flight earlier,” he pointed out.

“The failure of WestJet to rebook the passenger on a flight which had empty seats (and was) available is egregious.”

Lukacs added Magyar should also have been rebooked at no cost. He suggested anyone who faces this type of situation to just rebook themselves and go after the airline afterwards for any money owed.

He also said to try not to accept the airline’s offer of a refund, at least not at the start.

“I recommend passengers to refuse refunds,” he said. “Because once you accept a refund the airline can try and wash its hands of responsibilities to you.”

Lukacs said while some of the blame can be placed on the airlines, it’s largely a government issue. And he’s calling on Ottawa to take action and take it now.

“The federal government has the necessary tools to crack down on this type of behaviour,” he said. “And those tools are not being used.”