Travellers with plans to fly with WestJet this coming long weekend are anxiously waiting to find out what will happen after the airline issued a 72-hour strike notice Monday evening.
If a deal is not reached, WestJet and Swoop planes could be grounded as of midnight Friday.
“This window is really, really important, this 72-hour period because it’s such a time of uncertainty for anyone holding an imminent WestJet ticket,” travel expert Claire Newell told Global News.
“So what they’ve sent out is that they will allow a one-time change at no cost or cancel for a full refund for anyone on WestJet booked departing May 16 up to and including at the moment, May 21. And if it were me and I had an imminent flight booked, especially if it was connecting to something that was expensive, like a tour or a cruise or I had to get to a wedding, I might take that refund and book myself on an airline that I knew I was going to be flying on.”
The pilots union has warned that job action could include grounding all WestJet-owned aircraft and “effectively shutting down operations.”
The workers’ issues revolve around job protection, pay and scheduling. The union claims every 18 hours on average, another WestJet pilot leaves the airline for its competitors.
WestJet, however, says there have been three times more pilot hires than resignations at its mainline operation this year.
In a statement this week, the Calgary-based airline said its pilots are among the best paid in Canada, but that a contract on par with those recently secured by some U.S. pilot groups would be financially unworkable and put the company’s future at risk.
Newell said anyone who currently has a WestJet ticket should pay close attention to what happens over the next few days.
“There is absolutely no guarantee whether the strike will take place,” she said. “It could very well end and come to some sort of agreement. But it is very, very uncertain times for passengers.”
Newell added there could be concerns for travellers being able to fly home should a strike actually happen since WestJet flies some routes other airlines do not.
“There’ll be certain routes in certain provinces that will be affected more than others,” she said. “And so that’s why it’s really important. The earlier that you find your Plan B the better, if you are going to be choosing to take that refund and book yourself on another airline because everyone’s going to be in the same boat.”
Thousands of people fly with WestJet every day with hundreds of flights scheduled every single day, Newell explained.
“They just started flights to Asia, to Tokyo. They fly to Europe. They fly to all of the sun destinations domestically. I mean, this is the second-largest airline in the country. And this is going to cause absolute pandemonium.”
Air Passenger Rights president Gabor Lukacs told Global News Tuesday that passengers with WestJet tickets should know their rights under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR).
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“If you voluntarily agree to travel to a different location, that’s not WestJet’s responsibility,” he said. “You’ve made a voluntary choice. Out of the goodness of their heart, they are even willing to waive the change fee and so, if it is not a cancelled flight, they can’t charge you if you want to go to a different destination.”
Lukacs explained that in order to follow the correct sequencing, first WestJet has to cancel the passenger’s flight or it becomes clear the flight is not going ahead. Then, the passenger must give WestJet some time to rebook them on the next available flight in the next 48 hours. In the event of a strike, Lukacs said, and WestJet flights are not available, WestJet must purchase a ticket for the passenger on a competitor’s airline.
“If WestJet is refusing to do so, or they’re not reachable, then, rightfully concluded, they are not fulfilling their end of the bargain, you can go and buy a ticket yourself and then make WestJet pay for the expenses,” Lukacs explained.
Newell said everyone will have to look at their personal situation and decide what is best for them and their travel plans. She said some passengers might want to take WestJet’s offer of a one-time change or a full refund at no cost.
In addition, a passenger might have insurance but Newell said they should read the fine print.
“If (insurance) was purchased before the strike was announced, which was back on April 17,” she said. “So you’ll have to look at your dates. I did drill down into a lot of the credit card policies. None of them look like they’re going to be covering people. But if you bought a separate policy with certain companies, there may be some protection.”
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