(Prince George) WestJet has refused to compensate a Taylor Swift fan whose canceled flight resulted in a 10-hour overnight drive from Prince George, British Columbia, to attend the singer’s shows in Vancouver last month.
Published at 11:45 a.m.
Chuck Chiang
The Canadian Press
Carol Hansson claims she and other “Swifties” on the flight incurred hundreds of dollars in fees after the cancellation, less than 24 hours before the singer took the stage for the first of three concerts at the BC Place.
She says the Calgary-based airline told her the cancellation was due to “unscheduled aircraft maintenance” and was necessary for safety reasons.
WestJet confirms this in a written response and states that Mme Hansson is therefore not eligible for compensation under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations.
The regulation states that in situations “within the airlines’ control, but necessary for safety reasons”, airlines have an obligation to process a passenger and complete their itinerary, but not to give compensation.
Mme Hansson says WestJet delayed the evening flight from Prince George by about five hours, before canceling the Dec. 5 service.
Airlines are also required under regulations to offer alternative travel in the same class of service in the event of a service interruption of more than three hours, but Mme Hansson says she was offered a flight on December 8, which would have meant she would have missed all three Taylor Swift shows.
PHOTO DARRYL DYCK, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Taylor Swift on stage in Vancouver, December 6, 2024, as part of her tour Eras.
Instead, she joined a group of other passengers to rent a car for the 750-kilometer journey, leaving at midnight and finally arriving in Vancouver on December 6 before the first show of the evening.
Mme Hansson attended all three concerts at BC Place.
She said the cost of her unused accommodation for December 5 was $900 and the cost of the car rental was $770.
Although she was able to share the costs of both, Mme Hansson said he requested $400 in compensation from WestJet.
“It’s ridiculous that a company won’t even try to work with you for some sort of compensation,” she said.
In its written statement, WestJet said it offered to relocate Mme Hansson on another flight to Vancouver, but that it didn’t suit the concert schedule.
“At the customer’s request, a refund was made for the outbound flight and baggage fees,” WestJet said in its statement.
Mme Hansson explained that accepting the December 8 flight, which would have meant missing the final shows of the tour Eras by Taylor Swift, was “definitely not an option.”
She said she “would have been furious” if the cancellation had meant missing one of the shows. Other passengers wearing Swift outfits were also at the gate, she said.
“It’s a service that you pay for, and they should try to do everything they can to continue to provide that service,” she said.
“And rather than even offering to take an earlier flight in the morning or add a flight during the day so we can all get there in time for our concert, it’s like they don’t care. »
