Quebec mom says Air Canada bungled her family vacation because they overbooked the flight
A mother from Terrebonne, Que. is outraged after her vacation plans fell through because Air Canada reportedly overbooked the flight.
Cindy Boulet says she and her two sons, ages 5 and 8, were supposed to fly to Cuba on Tuesday. She booked the trip through Air Canada vacations.
"When we checked in, we got our tickets, and I saw that my first two tickets didn't have our seat numbers assigned," Boulet told CTV News.
She says an Air Canada agent told her they would fix the problem before boarding. But when boarding began, they were told to wait on the side -- and were never let on the plane.
"They were overbooked, and they decided to put the single mom and her two kids out of the loop. So it was just us. Just us," Boulet said.
When the doors closed, her boys started to cry. Boulet says it was an awful experience -- but what hurt the most was that, according to her, not one Air Canada employee tried to help.
"They would glance at my younger one because he was on the floor crying, but they would not pay attention to me and didn't even try to accommodate another flight for me to get my connection with them," she recalled.
Gabor Lukacs, president of the organization Air Passenger Rights, says that when passengers are denied boarding, they should receive compensation on the spot or proof that they were denied so they can get money back later.
"[it's] covered by the air passenger protection regulations. And depending on how much it was delayed as a result of this incident, Air Canada owes her up to $2,400 per passenger," he explained.
After returning home and spending hours on the phone, Boulet managed to re-book the vacation.
Air Canada gave her a refund in the form of a voucher, but she paid the difference out of her own pocket.
"I ended up paying about $1,400 more for a trip because I'm smack in the middle of March break now, and Air Canada said that it was at my expense," she said.
In a statement, Air Canada said its customer service team is reviewing the situation, and that they will be in touch with Boulet.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bird flu, measles top 2025 concerns for Canada's chief public health officer
As we enter 2025, Dr. Theresa Tam has her eye on H5N1 bird flu, an emerging virus that had its first human case in Canada this year.
DEVELOPING Body found in wheel well of plane at Maui airport
A person was found dead in the wheel well of a United Airlines flight to Maui on Tuesday.
Raised in Sask. after his family fled Hungary, this man spent decades spying on communists for the RCMP
As a Communist Party member in Calgary in the early 1940s, Frank Hadesbeck performed clerical work at the party office, printed leaflets and sold books.
Police identify victim of Christmas Day homicide in Hintonburg, charge suspect
The Ottawa Police Service says the victim who has been killed on Christmas Day in Hintonburg has been identified.
Christmas shooting at Phoenix airport leaves 3 people wounded
Police are investigating a Christmas shooting at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix that left three people injured by gunfire.
Ship remains stalled on St-Lawrence River north of Montreal
A ship that lost power on the St. Lawrence River on Christmas Eve, remains stationary north of Montreal.
Your kid is spending too much time on their phone. Here's what to do about it
Wondering what your teen is up to when you're not around? They are likely on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat, according to a new report.
Bird flu kills more than half the big cats at a Washington sanctuary
Bird flu has been on the rise in Washington state and one sanctuary was hit hard: 20 big cats – more than half of the facility’s population – died over the course of weeks.
6,000 inmates stage Christmas Day escape from high-security Mozambique prison
At least 6,000 inmates escaped from a high-security prison in Mozambique's capital on Christmas Day after a rebellion, the country's police chief said, as widespread post-election riots and violence continue to engulf the country.