EDMONTON — They were supposed to be off to “the happiest place on Earth” Friday morning. Instead, Peter Kis and his wife and two kids are among more than a dozen frustrated travellers stuck at the Edmonton International Airport due to a case of overbooking by American Airlines.
At least eight of them are kids, according to Kis.
Hours later, Kis is still waiting for that to happen.
“The options are not looking good at this point,” he admitted.
One of the options presented by the airline is a series of flights on Saturday through Calgary and Chicago. Kis said it appears two of the other families — who have six kids between them — may be taking that option.
But it’s not appealing to Kis and his wife, who booked their three-hour direct flight back in September. Nor do they want to wait until Monday for the next direct flight with space for them.
“We purchased the tickets, the hotel, the car, the tickets for the show,” Kis said. “Some people booked a six-day trip and already lost two of those days.”
Kis says he’s “a relaxed guy,” and even considered driving to L.A. His wife wasn’t a fan of that idea.
On its website, American Airlines does admit to overbooking flights.
“We do this because historical information shows that some people do not cancel their reservations when they change their travel plans,” it says on the site. “Overbooking is done in the best interest of both customers and the airline. Without the revenue produced by filling seats that would otherwise go empty, every airline would have to compensate by raising fares.”
Spokeswoman Andrea Huguely says it “is very uncommon for a situation like what happened to the Kis family occur as to where we can’t rebook on a direct flight or during the same day.”
She also insists that when overbooking does occur, it’s only for “a handful” of passengers . Ten to 15, she says, is “an anomaly.”
“I have worked for American for 15 years and I’ve never seen something like this happen,” Huguely said, adding the airline “apologizes for the inconvenience” and will be reaching out to the family.
By Friday afternoon Kis and his family had accepted an offer to fly out to Calgary Friday evening. On Saturday they will leave for San Diego then over to Los Angeles, with an arrival time 27 hours later than originally scheduled.
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