‘Meltdown’: A week later, WestJet continues to feel the effects of mechanical strikes

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A week after it ended, WestJet continues to feel the effects of a mechanical strike that nearly shut down the airline’s network for 29 hours.

The two-day work stoppage that began June 28 forced the airline to cancel more than 1,000 flights ahead of the Canada Day weekend, one of the busiest travel windows of the year.

The decline continued into last week, as WestJet canceled 100 trips on Friday and Saturday as well as at least 31 on Sunday, according to tracking service FlightAware. Figures from the airline show at least 170,000 passengers have been affected.

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The task of continuing to fly fully with a fleet of 180 aircraft in more than 175 destinations is complex, expensive and time-consuming. In an email, WestJet said it is working to resume operations as quickly as possible.

“We sincerely apologize to all guests affected by the attack,” said spokeswoman Madison Kruger. “Our team at WestJet is working diligently to support all affected guests as quickly as possible.”

However, travelers have registered their frustration in messages and social media posts, saying the operator’s customer service was almost unreachable for days.

Many also mentioned the problem of rebooking. If an airline can’t make a new reservation within 48 hours, Canada’s passenger charter requires it to book travel on the “next available flight” from any carrier, including competitors, if it refuses a refund — an option customers say WestJet has failed. give people

Customer Samuel Spencer found himself stuck in San Francisco during a layover last week after his flight was canceled during a trip to Calgary.

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“Even though there are seats available on alternate WestJet flights (within 48 hours) and even for the same premium cabin seats as the currently canceled flight from SFO, WestJet’s automated email just says there is no rebooking option for me and asks me to refund,” he said.

No one was at the ticket counter and a WestJet service agent could not be reached by phone, he said. The second time he got in line, he stayed on hold for more than four hours before deciding to hang up.

“It’s been quite a meltdown,” he said.

Finally rebooking with Delta Air Lines on a flight more than two days later, Spencer said she now has about $2,700 in additional hotel, meal and transportation costs.

“Not only is this a technology failure to have such a massive number of people who can’t rebook themselves – completely unnecessary _ it’s also a total failure in contingency planning,” said Spencer, who owns the Ocean & River Cruises Travel company.

They also called on the federal government and the Canadian Transportation Agency to hold the operators to account.

WestJet said it offers guests refunds if they cannot be rebooked within two days of their scheduled departure time.

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The ripple effect of last weekend’s project action prompted the airline to pull a float from Friday’s Calgary Stampede, a hometown event it has sponsored for decades. The move is “basically a people thing,” because of recent staff tensions, WestJet spokeswoman Morgan Bell said.

At 5:30 pm MDT on June 28, some 680 mechanics walked off the job despite a directive for binding arbitration by Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan. The state’s labor board ruled that the Fraternal Association of Aircraft Mechanics had the right to strike, arresting WestJet and Ottawa and forcing the Calgary-based company to return to the bargaining table with the union.

The two sides reached a deal — the impasse centered mainly on wages and compensation — on the night of June 30, but not before tens of thousands of Canadians found their travel plans for the long weekend.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 7, 2024.

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