WestJet chief executive officer Alexis von Hoensbroech apologized Thursday for incidents where the airline failed to accommodate people living with disabilities, saying he hopes to improve travel accessibility.
“To our guests who didn’t have a good travel experience with us, we are sincerely sorry, and we are committed in doing better,” von Hoensbroech said during a House of Commons transport committee hearing on accessible transportation.
More than 99.9 per cent of the carrier’s 260,000-plus customers who required support last year — roughly 700 each day, the vast majority of whom used wheelchairs or mobility aids — had a good experience, he said.
“Every case that goes wrong is one too many,” the CEO said.
Several incidents have surfaced at Canadian airlines over the past year.
In August, a B.C. man with spastic cerebral palsy was forced to drag himself off of an Air Canada plane in Las Vegas. Last fall, former Paralympian Sarah Morris-Probert hauled herself up WestJet aircraft stairs rather than being able to board using her wheelchair.
“Everyone’s always very sorry and very committed to doing better whenever these things happen, but these high-profile incidents continue to plague Canadian airlines,” Conservative MP Mark Strahl told von Hoensbroech.
“Thoughts and prayers are no longer acceptable.”
Von Hoensbroech highlighted steps WestJet is taking to boost accessibility. These include a process to confirm to customers that mobility aids were loaded into the cargo hold and procedures to properly store those devices on board across its whole network. Both measures are set for rollout “very soon,” he said.
Advocates insist tougher rules and enforcement are needed to reduce accessibility barriers.