A WestJet plane waits at a gate at Calgary International Airport in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. WestJet customers say they were rebooked on a seven-and-a-half-hour bus trip from Calgary to Regina after their flight was cancelled Sunday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
WestJet customers say they were rebooked on a seven-and-a-half-hour bus trip from Calgary to Regina after their afternoon flight was cancelled Sunday.
Passengers say they were informed less than three hours before boarding that the one-hour flight between the two cities had been cancelled and that they could reach their destination via “ground transportation” that would have them reaching Regina after midnight.
Jeff Mathieson, a farmer who was returning from a vacation in Mexico with his wife and two young children, tried unsuccessfully to rent a car before accepting the bus trip and wound up arriving home in Saskatchewan after 2 a.m.
He says he was “shocked” to be notified they would be bused back from Calgary, but notes they made it home earlier than if they’d opted for a rebooked flight, which he says wasn’t available for days.
Chris Henderson, a musician who managed to rebook on a next-day flight after paying for a Calgary hotel, says airlines should give customers what they paid for.
WestJet, which saw eight per cent of its Sunday flights cancelled and nearly half delayed, did not immediately respond to questions about the 750-kilometre bus trip.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2023.
