A woman who recently moved to Halifax said she’s suing Air Canada partly over an incident in which she had to choose between potentially sitting several rows away from her three-year-old daughter on a plane or missing the flight.
“Nobody seemed interested in helping us at all, and it was really upsetting,” said Nicole Paine.
The incident happened on Dec. 14, 2016 at Vancouver International Airport.
Paine was moving from British Columbia to Nova Scotia and was scheduled for a 1 p.m. flight that connected in Toronto.
She got to the airport with her family at about 11:30 a.m., but Air Canada had no agents there free to help them as they waited in line, according to a notice of claim filed on Feb. 22 in the Small Claims Court of Nova Scotia.
The seats were booked next to each other, said Paine.
“We were guaranteed by at least two staff members that we would indeed make that flight,” she said.
At about 12 p.m., the family was attended to by an agent, but Paine said the agent couldn’t check them in, and eventually told them that the flight had ended the check-in period.
They were subsequently booked on another flight that would depart at 2 p.m. the same day.
READ MORE: Air travel complaints lodged against Canadian airlines on the rise
Paine was accompanied by her twin newborns, daughter, and mother. The newborns would be carried by Paine and her mother on the flight.
She said her family was only able to board last, due to being told they were on standby, and it was then when they realized that they had been booked in seats 24J, 33K, and 38J.
While there was the possibility that passengers may have moved to let the family sit together, Paine said she couldn’t take the risk.
“You never know what’s going to happen on a flight, especially in the winter. If I didn’t have access to my other baby, and he couldn’t feed for five hours, I couldn’t do that,” she said.
Paine also said it wouldn’t be fair to have a three-year-old sit next to a stranger.
The family was put in a hotel for the night, paid for by the airline, then got on a flight the next day.
READ MORE: Air Canada ordered to boost bumping payout
They’re seeking $2,400 – $800 per seat – arguing it’s in line with the airline’s domestic tariff rule, “plus costs,” according to the notice.
A statement to Global News from Air Canada spokesperson Isabelle Arthur read, “As you must surely understand it would be inappropriate for us to comment as the matter is before the courts.”
A notice of defence had not been filed in the court system by the time of publication.
Gabor Lukacs, an air passenger rights advocate who is helping the family with the claim, said the airline “wronged” them.
“There’s nothing wrong with erring, as long as you admit it, and you compensate those affected by it,” he added.
- Gas prices surge in some parts of Canada. What’s causing pain at the pumps?
- ‘She gets to be 10’: Ontario child’s heart donated to girl the same age
- Roll Up To Win? Tim Hortons says $55K boat win email was ‘human error’
- Ontario premier calls cost of gas ‘absolutely disgusting,’ raises price-gouging concerns
Comments