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The impacts of the looming Air Canada strike are already starting to be felt at Regina International Airport (YQR).
Regina Airport’s president and CEO, James Bogusz, said two arriving flights had already been cancelled on Friday morning, and that he expected more to follow “imminently” as of Friday morning.
Another flight departing for Vancouver had also been cancelled.
“As it stands right now, we’re expecting very limited Air Canada service during any labour disruption,” Bogusz told 980 CJME.
“(There will be) likely very infrequent service to Vancouver only. I believe there may be one, maybe two, flights operating tomorrow, and with that being the only exception, we expect that all other flights will be cancelled from Air Canada.”
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Over the next few days, Bogusz said he expects to see some very long lines of people speaking to customer service agents at YQR.
“Today, specifically, we’re going to see some probably shorter notice cancellations, and certainly we expect significant disruption in the coming days, starting after this evening,” Bogusz said.
Bogusz said the Air Canada agents are scheduled to work from 3 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.
“It’s going to be a very challenging time over the weekend,” Bogusz said.
“Please remember once again – if you are in the terminal building and your flight’s been cancelled – as much as it’s a very frustrating time for passengers, we’re very sympathetic to that. Please treat those agents with respect.”
He said the disruption will affect tens of thousands of Canadians.
Bogusz advised people to check for updates on their flight status and ensure that Air Canada can contact them directly.
What to do if your flight is cancelled?
Air passenger rights advocate Gábor Lukács offered some advice to travellers on how to deal with flight cancellations on Thursday’s Evan Bray Show.
Lukács said flights cancelled pre-emptively before the strike would fall under the carrier’s control. However, flights cancelled once the strike begins would be considered outside the carrier’s control.
He also urged people not to jump the gun by cancelling or rebooking their flight ahead of time if they are seeking compensation.
“Air Canada is required to do so automatically, (but) will they actually do it? That’s a different question,” he said.
“What I would recommend passengers to do, is to once they receive the cancellation notice – to give Air Canada one chance to rebook them, and that means either by phoning the airline and trying to speak to them if the flights are available and open at all – or give them maybe two, three hours to provide the rebook flight by email.”
Lukács said if Air Canada doesn’t rebook it, people should document their attempts to contact Air Canada to the full extent that they can, including measuring how long it takes to hear from them and recording their phone calls with Air Canada agents.
“Ultimately, if Air Canada is not complying with the law, I would buy a ticket myself on a different airline if needed … then send the bill to Air Canada, but don’t accept the refund,” Lukács said.
“That’s a very important thing to remember, that if you accept a refund for your ticket, it could be relied upon by the airline as evidence that you kind of gave up on your travel (and) they no longer have to find you alternate transportation, which is not where you want to be.”
Travel agents kept busy
Things have been very busy for agents at the Canadian Automobile Association’s (CAA) Travel division.
Many people are seeking clarity and advice ahead of the announced Air Canada flight attendant strike.
“(It’s) a little bit of everything right now. There’s some that are super concerned – the ones, especially, that are leaving this weekend,” said Terry Kaszas, general manager of travel services for CAA Travel.
Kaszas said Air Canada is trying to rebook people’s flights, with priority given to the flights leaving as soon as possible.
He said Air Canada has been very accommodating so far.
“People want to know if they get to go visit their family or friends or go to a different event that they were hoping to go to,” Kaszas said.
“… people just want the safety and security of knowing that they’re still going to get to go.”
