Tentative end to Air Canada strike comes too late for many angry, frustrated customers in Winnipeg

Janie Lo was supposed to be back at work in Hong Kong as a teacher for special-needs students by now.

Instead, she was one of dozens of people standing in a line reserved for Air Canada flight-disruption assistance, which snaked through Winnipeg Richardson International Airport Tuesday morning.

“This is very disheartening. It’s a nightmare,” she said.

Confusion and anger were still flying high at the departures gate hours after the union representing Air Canada flight attendants and the airline reached a tentative agreement following a bitter three-day strike.

While some passengers checked in for their flights at kiosks, many stood in line to rebook cancelled flights or ask for refunds.

Lo’s flight to Hong Kong Monday was cancelled, leading to multiple rebooking attempts and an additional payment of $800 for an alternative flight, because she booked through a third-party travel company.

That flight is scheduled to leave next Monday, but nothing is certain at this point, as the airline — which was completely shut down — slowly lumbers back to business, and she’s looking for concrete answers.

“I’m a teacher, I’m a working person,” she said. “I need to go back to work.”

The arrivals board at the airport showed all but one of seven flights originally scheduled to land in Winnipeg Tuesday were listed as “cancelled.”

“This is very disheartening. It’s a nightmare.”– Janie Lo

Magaly Vera was waiting to speak with a customer service agent — either in person or on the phone — after her flight to Barcelona was cancelled and re-booked for next Sunday — a week after she was due to begin her vacation.

She was in line and had also been on hold with the airline for more than an hour.

Vera said she spent about $4,500 on her trip, and much of it can’t be cancelled or refunded.

“I’m so disappointed,” she said. “I have been planning this trip for some months…. I already paid everything.”

She said there’s little point in keeping her seat on the rebooked flight because it would leave her with only five days of remaining holiday time.

“That’s not gonna work for me,” she said.

Air Passenger Rights advocate group president Gabor Lukacs described the way Air Canada and the federal government handled the strike as a “gong show.”

“It has been appalling. Even during the strike (Air Canada) was required to rebook passengers on flights of other airlines… and they were not doing that in many, many cases,” Lukacs said.

The passenger-rights advocate says that, in his opinion, any cancellation made by the airline up to 48 hours should be covered under strike legislation and rebooked or refunded.

“(That’s) a reasonable window,” he said. “It took about 48 hours for Air Canada to wind down its operations before the strike. It should not take more than 48 hours for it to be back to normal.”

“I’m so disappointed. I have been planning this trip for some months…. I already paid everything.”– Magaly Vera

Under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations, Air Canada must rebook passengers on competitor airlines if it cannot rebook them on their own, or provide a refund and fly customers back to their point of origin free of charge.

Lukacs urged customers to deny a refund, re-purchase a ticket elsewhere and make Air Canada pay for it later.

“And if Air Canada refuses to pay, off you go to small claims court,” he said.

Air Canada said it would “gradually restart” its operations Tuesday. Flights have been grounded since Saturday.

“I understand their grievance, but then they also have to understand there are people who really need to go back to work or go back to their country.”– Janie Lo

Lo said while she understands the reasons for strike, time is of the essence in her case.

“I understand their difficulty, but they also have to understand there are people like us. We also have difficulty,” she said. “I understand their grievance, but then they also have to understand there are people who really need to go back to work or go back to their country.”

Gina McKay, president of CUPE Manitoba, said the tentative deal was reached overnight Tuesday and the airline must now scramble to get flights organized and employees back to work.

One of the key parts of the tentative deal is an eight-hour paid workday for flight attendants, McKay said.

Air Canada flight attendants remained on strike after the federal government ordered them back to work Saturday, sending the dispute to binding arbitration. The union decided to defy the order over its demand that the employees be paid for all the work they do pre- and-post flight, including safety inspections and crew meetings, which was not the case previously.

“I believe is it going to be precedent-setting across the country,” she said. “It’s important to recognize the value of health and safety and getting paid for our work in fair ways. So I think it really has been a monumental time in Canada, and I think it will change the course of the the airline sector.”

CUPE also represents cabin crews employed by WestJet, and their contract is due to expire Dec. 31.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca