Mexico travellers feel abandoned by WestJet

WINNIPEG — Some Manitobans who are or were stranded in Mexico after a burst of drug-cartel violence were frustrated by WestJet’s lack of communication and efforts to get them home.

Customers told the Winnipeg Free Press they felt abandoned after flights were cancelled, and they called on a federal regulator to ensure airlines comply with their legislated obligations to provide regular updates and get passengers on their way as soon as possible following a disruption.

Winnipeg resident Trent McPhail, who is in Puerto Vallarta with his wife and two children, ages three and five, said WestJet wouldn’t help because the family booked with a third-party website.

“Why does WestJet get to wash their hands of not getting us home in a reasonable time?” he said.

McPhail said they struggled to contact WestJet from Mexico, so relatives in Winnipeg got involved to press for help.

The family has managed to book a March 4 flight — nine days later than their original departure, which was cancelled — after contacting WestJet Thursday.

“They basically left it in our hands,” he said about the airline. “We had to push.”

Additional travellers contacted the Free Press with complaints about communication or the rebooking process.

“It was like radio silence. It was terrible,” fellow Winnipegger Jerry Buckland said of the communication from WestJet after a flight from Puerto Vallarta was cancelled Monday.

“They left us to fend for ourselves.”

“I think it’s only fair they let their customers know what’s happening. The regulator needs to regulate that to ensure airlines are doing what they are supposed to be doing.”

Katharina Stieffenhofer, also from Winnipeg, said the communication was poor and infrequent after her return flight from Puerto Vallarta was cancelled Sunday.

“They left us to fend for ourselves,” she said.

Buckland and Stieffenhofer, who were in separate travel parties, managed to get seats on Winnipeg-bound flights Thursday, after initially being told the next available WestJet flights were next week.

WestJet spokeswoman Julia Kaiser said the airline has added 12 flights and is looking at options to add more, depending on demand, to bring affected Canadians home from Mexico. She said customers were advised of rebooking methods in an email Monday.

The Calgary-based airline operates seasonal direct flights between Winnipeg and Puerto Vallarta, one of several cities in the state of Jalisco, where cartel members retaliated with shootings and fires after Mexico’s army killed a drug lord during a U.S.-backed raid Sunday.

Residents and tourists sheltered in place for at least a day. Some airlines, including WestJet, cancelled flights until Tuesday.

Buckland and Stieffenhofer said that while the violent unrest was out of airlines’ control, Canadian carriers were legally required to provide regular updates to customers.

The Air Passenger Protection Regulations require airlines to ensure passengers can complete their itinerary as soon as possible. McPhail doesn’t have confidence in the rules, which he described as “weak.”

Buckland received WestJet’s email late Monday night, informing him that flights would resume Tuesday, and to contact the airline or use its website to rebook.

He said a WestJet agent told him Tuesday she was unable to help, after he waited on hold for 20 to 30 minutes.

After speaking to a different WestJet agent Thursday morning, he was put on a flight that was scheduled to leave in the afternoon. He was also given the option of a connecting flight with a U.S. airline.

“I might not have called, and I wouldn’t know these options were available,” he said. “I don’t know how long I’d have to wait (to fly home).”

Buckland, a professor who missed work during his prolonged stay in Mexico, wondered why he wasn’t given similar flight options during Tuesday’s phone call.

In situations such as Sunday’s unrest in Mexico, federal regulations require airlines to take certain action if they cannot rebook passengers on a flight within 48 hours of the original departure time.

Airlines must provide a refund or rebook passengers on the next available flight with any carrier, including at another airport, if applicable.

WestJet’s competitors were also forced to cancel flights to and from Puerto Vallarta.

Gabor Lukacs, founder of Halifax-based Air Passenger Rights, said airlines are flouting the law if they refuse to rebook passengers on competitor airlines.

“The (Canadian Transportation Agency) is not holding airlines accountable in this situation, and is failing its mandate to protect passengers,” he said of the federal regulator.

The agency is investigating the flight disruptions in Puerto Vallarta, spokesperson Jadrino Huot said.

McPhail and his wife are trying to work remotely during their extended stay. He said they don’t know if WestJet will reimburse them for the additional hotel costs.

Stieffenhofer was at Puerto Vallarta’s airport Sunday when violence erupted in and around the Pacific coast city. She and other travellers sheltered in a hallway after gunshots echoed through the airport.

“That day and night at the airport was very traumatic,” said Stieffenhofer, who was thankful no one in her group was injured.

» Winnipeg Free Press

Stieffenhofer and her travel party spent the night in the airport. She said she was unable to get information from WestJet staff there.

After contacting the travel agency that booked her trip to Mexico, Stieffenhofer was told the earliest available return flight with WestJet was next Tuesday.

She said the travel agency was persistent and got her on a flight Thursday night.

Stieffenhofer said some Canadian travellers, who aren’t computer savvy or did not book with a travel agent, told her they are not scheduled to fly home until next week.

“They have to be legislated to organize themselves better and to be more responsible to their customers,” she said of Canadian airlines.

A separate email from WestJet last Sunday said the airline will reimburse customers for “reasonable” accommodation expenses during their prolonged stay.

» Winnipeg Free Press