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
McGill says pro-Palestinian protest outside senior administrator's home 'crosses the line'
McGill University has denounced a pro-Palestinian protest held Sunday outside the home of one of its senior administrators.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
The world's best airline is paying staff a bonus of 8 months' salary
Singapore Airlines will reward its employees with a bonus worth nearly eight months of salary, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday.
Katy Perry sings goodbye to 'American Idol'
Katy Perry said her goodbyes on 'American Idol' after seven seasons. On Sunday night’s live 'idol' season finale, a medley of Perry's hit songs were performed, including 'Teenage Dream,' 'Dark Horse' and 'California Gurls.'
Red Lobster probes 'endless shrimp' losses after bankruptcy filing
U.S.-based restaurant chain Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Florida court after securing $100 million in financing commitments from its existing lenders, the company said on Sunday.
Judge cites error, will reopen sentencing hearing for man who attacked Nancy Pelosi's husband
A federal judge will reopen the sentencing hearing for the man who broke into Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco home and bludgeoned her husband with a hammer after the judge failed to allow him to speak during his court appearance last week.
Is that 'Her'? OpenAI pauses a ChatGPT voice after some say it sounds like Scarlett Johansson
OpenAI says it plans to halt the use of one of its ChatGPT voices after some users said it sounded like Scarlett Johansson, who famously voiced a fictional, and at the time futuristic, AI assistant in the 2013 film 'Her.'
U.S. Supreme Court rejects appeal from former Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by a Canadian-born former Guantanamo detainee who was seeking to wipe away his war crimes convictions, including for killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.
Microsoft's AI chatbot will 'recall' everything you do on a PC
Microsoft wants laptop users to get so comfortable with its artificial intelligence chatbot that it will remember everything you're doing on your computer and help figure out what you want to do next.