Stranded Sunwing passengers now home, but frustrations continue

Melissa Cummings spent five nights longer in Mexico than she'd planned — the first of which she spent on a park bench, after the Sunwing airport transfer she'd expected to bring her to the airport, never arrived at her hotel. 

Cummings said that airport pickup kept getting pushed back until it became clear there would be no flight for her family that night. 

It was the start of a multi-day struggle to get a straight answer from the travel company on when her family would get home and how they would be compensated — an experience faced by many Sunwing passengers who slept in hotel lobbies and on airport floors in the final week of the year. 

Sunwing told CBC Tuesday that all flights returning customers home after those holiday disruptions are now complete.

But, while passengers are safely home, some of their frustrations with the company continue. They're seeking compensation and answers for how it is they find themselves needing to recuperate from what was meant to be a holiday. 

"We were stranded. The hotel we stayed at didn't have any room for us to stay," Cummings told CBC. 

At 4 a.m., after hours on a bench, Cummings said she ordered a taxi to the airport to see if they could get more information there. She said she paid $250 USD for that ride. 

Once at the airport, she said, there were no Sunwing agents. Meanwhile, the Sunwing app showed her family had already arrived home in Ottawa. It was Tuesday, and it would take until Saturday for that to be true. 

"It was scary," Cummings said. "Each day it was nerve-racking. It was like, where am I sleeping? Am I going home? ... At least tell me what my choices are ... Provide a little bit of civility."

Cummings said she spent hours calling Sunwing. She was hung up on or told to talk to local representatives. Local agents, she said, told her they didn't know what was going on. 

She said that lack of information continued even after they returned home. 

"I did call them to try to voice my concern and see what kind of compensation was available to me. And it's always the runaround. It's like, 'Oh, we can't guarantee anything. We don't know anything.'"

'Biggest problem' was 'not knowing'

Chantale Dumoulin expects the trip she took to Cuba with her family of four will be their last time flying with Sunwing. 

Three hours before their scheduled departure on Christmas Eve, Sunwing sent a notification to Dumoulin saying their flight had been rescheduled to the next morning, and would have to be back at the airport for 3 a.m. So she found herself paying out-of-pocket for a hotel.

The next morning, they were told in three-hour increments that their flight was again delayed, until it took off nearly a full day after they'd initially planned. Their flight home was similarly delayed. In that case, they received more frequent notifications, with shorter delay times. 

"The biggest problem is that because they were [providing updates in] such small increments — like two hours, three hours, one hour, 30 minutes — we were stuck in the hotel lobby for two days not knowing [when we would leave]," Dumoulin said. 

She said her family couldn't leave the lobby and risk missing the airport bus.

Dumoulin was most upset by the way Sunwing communicated, or didn't, during those delays. She has since joined a Facebook group with others who'd stayed at the same hotel. Travellers there shared observations and allegations, she said, which they believed conflicted with Sunwing's claim that all delays were due to the weather. 

Dumoulin continues to struggle for information and to file a claim online. 

Smaller airlines struggle

John Gradek is a professor of aviation management at McGill University and was an Air Canada executive for 20 years.

He told CBC's Ontario Today that risk goes up when travelling with a smaller airline like Sunwing. 

They have less resources, he said, to get back on track. 

Gradek says Sunwing was facing a combination of challenges once bad weather hit. With the holidays, flights were full so there was less space on flights to pivot, and that the airline was also likely dealing with less experienced staff. 

"Over the last two years the airline industry has slimmed down significantly," he said. 

He advised passengers to reach out to airlines with their concerns. 

Sunwing's website suggests travellers should submit claims for compensation, including receipts for related expenses, through its website. 

Advocate says Airlines are responsible for baggage delay costs

2 years ago

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Air passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs said passengers are entitled to up to $2,300 for expenses incurred due to delayed baggage.

Seeking compensation, answers 

Tom Oommen, the director general of the analysis and outreach branch of the Canadian Transportation Agency, also said passengers need to start with the airline to get compensation. 

The agency is a quasi-judicial body that aims to step in to manage complaints if airlines haven't responded to a passenger's satisfaction after 30 days. However, Oommen said its backlog is now 32,000-complaints long. 

According to Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations, Oommen said, in cases of weather delays, airlines are required to keep passengers informed and rebook them. If they can't be rebooked within 48 hours, he said, the airline is required to offer a refund. 

For delays within the airline's control, they must provide updates, as well as food, accommodation and compensation for the inconvenience, he said. For smaller airlines like Sunwing, he said, that's up to $500 for a delay of more than nine hours. 

Gabor Lukacs, a passenger rights advocate, believes there are other routes to hold airlines to account. 

He'd like to see the federal government use a treaty known as the Montreal Convention, which would allow the government to fine airlines for non-compliance. 

Until then, he said passengers have two choices, either a class action lawsuit or individually through small claims court.

Both Cummings and Demoulin are considering legal action. 

Federal Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra said on Twitter that Canadians need answers and that he supports fellow MP Peter Schiefke, who said he'll call Sunwing and VIA Rail to a meeting of the Transportation Committee.