A WestJet passenger who purchased a return ticket from Vancouver to Costa Rica had her flight cancelled, and she took the dispute to court.
and her flight was cancelled.
She claims that WestJet failed to provide alternate travel arrangements and that she had to pay out of pocket for hotel accommodations. Stark sued for $2,798.38, which included expenses, another flight ticket and further compensation.
Mary Stark was scheduled to fly home on
WestJet provided Stark with meal vouchers and a hotel voucher for December 21 and claimed it would offer alternate travel arrangements for her before she asked for a refund.
WestJet claims because of that, she was not entitled to hotel or flight reimbursement.
“WestJet concedes Ms. Stark may be entitled to $400 under the APPR and $229.90 as a refund for the cancelled flight, but says she is not entitled to anything else,” the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision stated.
According to the decision, Stark was able to get to Costa Rica without issue on December 1. The December 21 return trip had a connecting flight to Toronto at 10:25 pm, which was cancelled.
WestJet couldn’t immediately rebook her on a different flight but sent her an email with meal vouchers and a hotel check-in code.
“In a separate email at 11:44 pm, WestJet told Ms. Stark that it had cancelled the flight and could not offer an alternative flight at that time but was attempting to find one.”
Stark tried to call WestJet and had to wait on hold for four hours before she gave up. She then booked her own flight for December 23 through Air Canada for $1,552.76.