Honeymoon ‘completely tainted’ after baggage fiasco

A Winnipeg man who flew to Mexico for his honeymoon on a WestJet flight says he has spent four days without his luggage — with no response from the airline.

Roger Ward travelled direct from Winnipeg to Puerto Vallarta on Jan. 3 with his wife, Illya Stasica Fogg. Hers was the only luggage to arrive at the baggage carousel.

Ward told the Free Press Wednesday he had yet to receive a response from WestJet despite repeated messages to the airline.

“By my count, about 40 or so additional people on our flight are also without luggage, including a family of five with young children who told us they received none of their bags,” Ward said.

“It was supposed to be a pleasant trip celebrating our marriage and now it’s been completely tainted by this experience.”

Ward said while there are passenger protection laws, which may someday compensate him, “I’m never going to be able to get back the time, stress and worry from dealing with this.”

He said the lack of communication from the airline left him scrambling.

WestJet’s website says it will reimburse for “reasonable expenses incurred as a direct result of your delayed baggage” up to $100 for the first 48 hours or up to $250 after that. The airline says the compensation does not prevent a passenger’s right to claim damages.

Ward said while his wife’s luggage arrived safely, he was forced to go to a Walmart in Mexico to buy essential items for himself, including clothes and toiletries, for their week-long trip.

“I was hoping to buy shirts of my own volition as mementos, but now I’m doing so out of necessity.”

He said he submitted a delayed baggage claim less than two hours after getting off the plane.

“Their internal website, about my report status, states they’re still searching for my luggage. If that’s true, there’s a significant chance I won’t see it at all.”

It wasn’t the only WestJet flight with luggage problems on Jan. 3.

Media reports this week detailed how several WestJet passengers flying from Regina to Puerto Vallarta that day also didn’t get their luggage.

Gabor Lukacs, president of Air Passenger Rights, said he suspects he knows what’s happening.

“I heard a lot about the Regina story and I am not surprised that it happened on a flight from Winnipeg to Mexico, too,” Lukacs said.

“There are geographic reasons for it — it is called the Mexico Game. They used to do refuelling stops… once that blew up, and CBC reported on it more than once, airlines switched to this technique of leaving bags behind en masse. By leaving behind, say, 50 bags of 23 kilograms each, the plane is over 1,150 kg lighter.”

Lukacs recommended those affected should file for compensation through small claims court instead of with the Canadian Transportation Agency.

“(The agency) has an 88,000-plus backlog and they are known for airline-friendly attitudes,” he said. “Passengers will have to wait two-plus years and then have a fair risk of their claim being denied.

“In small claims courts, you get a hearing reasonably quickly and you have impartial decision makers.”

A Transport Canada spokesperson said airlines and pilots have to follow rules requiring the calculation of weight and balance before each flight to ensure they are within the aircraft’s airworthiness certificate.

“Airlines may make their own business and operational decisions, provided that they comply with the applicable provisions established under the Canada Transportation Act and the Aeronautics Act,” the spokesperson said in an email. “For delayed baggage on international flights, air carriers are required to compensate travellers for items they may need until the luggage is returned.

“Travellers are encouraged to engage directly with their airline to discuss their individual needs and to seek clarification regarding baggage handling and carriage policies.”

A WestJet spokeswoman said there were issues with baggage both on Ward’s flight and another.

The spokeswoman said in an emailed statement Wednesday that all of the luggage is now at the Puerto Vallarta airport and it “is in the process of clearing customs prior to being delivered to guests (Wednesday) and (Thursday).”

The spokeswoman said the issue was caused by “the volume of luggage, maximum weight and runway conditions.

“We sincerely apologize to guests for this inconvenience.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca