Latest / Kvetch & Release / Deal reached in WestJet mechanics' strike, but travel disruptions still expected

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Deal reached in WestJet mechanics' strike, but travel disruptions still expected · Kvetch & Release

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  Today, we're back John Lecky here on AM one hundred CIA LW. It
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  was good to speak with CTV National News correspondent Christina Tanalia about the ending of
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  the West Jets strike. Negotiations are ongoing still and while it's technically over,
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  there's still lots of consequences for some one hundred thousand who have been stranded and
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  forced to cancel their vacations and other travel. We wanted to discuss what passengers
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  need to know, what your rights are. There is new federal regulations surrounding
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  it. Joining us right now to discuss is Gobbor Lukatch, the President of
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  Air Passenger Rights Canada. Good afternoon, How you doing, good afternoon,
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  Thanks for joining me here. So obviously lots of people have been impacted by
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  this one hundred thousand, that's a huge number. It's doing a large number.
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  It's unfortunate. We it's an aptitude to manage its own labor relations cost
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  so many Canadians inconvenience and so what a Canadians need to know? I mean,
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  we have air passenger rights. Now things have changed. What are people
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  eligible for? How easy is it going to be for people to sort this
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  out? As I understand it at this point, good luck trying to get
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  through to west Jet on the phone or even on the website right now.
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  Well, unfortunately, the Canadian government's poor men's replacement for passenger rights if you're
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  not working, and this current situation just shows how in fear and broken those
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  rules are compared to the European Union's goal a standard. What you are always
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  intelligled is rebooking. So if Wedget cannot rebook you on its own network within
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  forty eight hours during a strike or partners in forty eight hours, then they
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  do have to buy your ticket and a competitor, And if they cannot be
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  reached, you can just go out and buy ticket yourself with proof that you
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  were not able to reach them, and then send them the bill. And
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  if they don't pay you, you tay them to a judge before Small Claims
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  Court and they have to pay for that. The judge will be ordering West
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  Jet. We have seen those cases ordering the airline to reimburse passengers for out
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  of public expense INCURR because the airline failed to fulfill its legal obligations to rebook
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  the passenger in accordance with the law. So if they haven't contacted passengers within
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  that forty eight hours. Passengers can just go out, as you said,
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  purchase a ticket themselves. And then but do you submit it to West you
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  had said going to small claims court. It seems like there's a little bit
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  of an onerous process here still for the traveler. Well, first of all,
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  you don't have to wait all the forty eight hours. Passengers received off
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  some emails that said we cannot rebook you me in forty eight hours. Wed
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  it just kind of wash its hands or try to wash its hands, Okay,
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  So I would tend a single letter of demand to wedge it high.
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  You cancel me a flights on bracks. You failed to rebook me in forty
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  eight hours as required by section eighteen some one of the APPR. You failed
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  to buy me a ticket on a competitor airline undersection one point one subway of
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  the APPR, therefore incurrent expense in amount. Why that requested to reimbursement that
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  expense within thirty days, failing which I will take legal action against West.
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  Yet and then you send it to WEG just with a copy of the receipt.
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  And if they refuse to pay or just ignore your correspondence on the thirty
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  first day, you serve them with small lams court papers. It's not perfect,
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  it's you know, it's not what anybody would wish for after travel,
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  but this is the only way to actually ensure that this situation don't happen in
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  the future. Canadians need to do what the government is supposed to be doing,
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  which is holding airlines accountable. The government is failing at holding airlines accountable,
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  and therefore week Indians are left with the task and the contribution to any
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  Canadian effect that can make to the common cause of creating some normal senior travel
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  in Canada is making sure that there is a consequence, there is a bill
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  that US has to pay when they do these type of things to passengers.
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  Well, we know that they first started to cancel those twenty five flights on
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  June twenty seventh, and we're looking at tomorrow hopefully everything is back up to
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  full operational control. I wonder, though, what happens Gabor to someone who,
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  so let's say, wasn't able to get a flight and maybe they missed
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  a cruise ship or something, or is there any recourse. That's a very
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  good question. So first of all, let's remember that when you travel internationally,
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  the air Passinger production regulations are not your only source of rights. You're
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  also covered by the Cathedral Carriage by Air Act, which incorporates an international treaty
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  called the Monterreal Convention. Under Montreal Convention, in the airline is on the
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  hook for your meals, accommodation and for any cruise ship or any kind of
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  events activityated destination because they failed to take all reasonable measures to prevent the delay.
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  They it is their labor force, they're responsible for their labor relations.
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  They could have signed the same agreement they send on Sunday afternoon evening two or
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  three days earlier. They didn't so, turning it was within reach, they
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  failed to do so. Therefore they are liable for your expenses. In addition,
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  if you were traveling from Europe to Canada, say from London gatwaycor from
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  Paris, then under a European gold standard, Wedget also had has to pay
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  you six up to six hundred euros in cash compensation for your inconvenience. Because
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  in Europe they know the common sense, the obvious fact that an airline having
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  a problem with its own labor force is the airlines on responsibility. It's just
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  business as usual is their their workers. Their responsibility is not an extraordinary circumstance.
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  So in Europe the top court actually ruled and in such situations thereline has
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  to pay compensation to passengers. The last thing to remember in Canada that even
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  if you were flying only domestically, if Wedge cancels your flight preemptively before the
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  strike occurred, then it is within the carriers control. That's a business decision
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  the airline makes that has nothing to do with the strike, just guessing that,
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  well, a strike may occur, not a cause. There's no cause
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  a linker to cancel the flight. So in that case it is on the
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  hook for your mails, accommodation again and for some compensations one thousand dollars depending
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  on the length of the delayed coused. It sounds like people need to be
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  really meticulously, you know, taking notes of how many times they called west
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  Jet, of how many times they went to the website sent an email.
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  Is it smart for people to be documenting their interactions or attempted? Absolutely?
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  Absolutely, We strongly recommend passengers to take notes and also to record the audio
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  of their coals of the interactions with the airline. Absolutely and take streaches of
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  your phone showing how long it call lasted. Keep every small bit of evidence
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  because that will be used and we turned of a useful in a course when
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  you decide to sue, well, I want to thank you so much for
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  your time and your expertise, and for joining us to break this all down.
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  Much appreciate it. Thank you very much for having me