Air (or Error?) Canada. Our National Carrier…
- Thread starter Ron in Regina
- Start date
…& from Canada’s Second Largest Air Carrier:
Contract talks between WestJet and its 1,800 pilots seem set to go down to the wire, but the airline has already started grounding some of its planes.
With a 5 a.m. Friday strike deadline looming ahead of the Victoria Day long weekend, the country’s second-biggest airline — and its discount carrier Swoop — is still at the table with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) at a hotel near Pearson International Airport.
The talks are being overseen by Peter Simpson, head of the federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Federal labour minister Seamus O’Regan is also on site, and has been assisting in negotiations since arriving in Toronto Tuesday night.
Sources say the two sides were negotiating until 4 a.m. Thursday, then resumed talks at 8 a.m.
Late Thursday afternoon, both sides confirmed they’re still at the negotiating table, despite a morning statement from WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech saying the talks are at a “critical impasse.”
The union issued a strike notice Monday night, and the airline responded by saying it might lock pilots out instead.
apple.news
Contract talks between WestJet and its 1,800 pilots seem set to go down to the wire, but the airline has already started grounding some of its planes.
With a 5 a.m. Friday strike deadline looming ahead of the Victoria Day long weekend, the country’s second-biggest airline — and its discount carrier Swoop — is still at the table with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) at a hotel near Pearson International Airport.
The talks are being overseen by Peter Simpson, head of the federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Federal labour minister Seamus O’Regan is also on site, and has been assisting in negotiations since arriving in Toronto Tuesday night.
Sources say the two sides were negotiating until 4 a.m. Thursday, then resumed talks at 8 a.m.
Late Thursday afternoon, both sides confirmed they’re still at the negotiating table, despite a morning statement from WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech saying the talks are at a “critical impasse.”
The union issued a strike notice Monday night, and the airline responded by saying it might lock pilots out instead.
‘Incredibly stressful’: WestJet passengers in limbo as carrier starts grounding planes, with pilot talks down to the wire — Toronto Star
Passengers at Pearson International Airport Terminal 3. Contract talks between WestJet and its 1,800 pilots seem set to go down to the wire, but the airline has already started grounding some of its planes.
Airline WestJet and its pilots have reached a last-minute deal, averting a strike ahead of the May long weekend, according to the union.…& from Canada’s Second Largest Air Carrier:
Contract talks between WestJet and its 1,800 pilots seem set to go down to the wire, but the airline has already started grounding some of its planes.
With a 5 a.m. Friday strike deadline looming ahead of the Victoria Day long weekend, the country’s second-biggest airline — and its discount carrier Swoop — is still at the table with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) at a hotel near Pearson International Airport.
The talks are being overseen by Peter Simpson, head of the federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Federal labour minister Seamus O’Regan is also on site, and has been assisting in negotiations since arriving in Toronto Tuesday night.
Sources say the two sides were negotiating until 4 a.m. Thursday, then resumed talks at 8 a.m.
Late Thursday afternoon, both sides confirmed they’re still at the negotiating table, despite a morning statement from WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech saying the talks are at a “critical impasse.”
The union issued a strike notice Monday night, and the airline responded by saying it might lock pilots out instead.
‘Incredibly stressful’: WestJet passengers in limbo as carrier starts grounding planes, with pilot talks down to the wire — Toronto Star
Passengers at Pearson International Airport Terminal 3. Contract talks between WestJet and its 1,800 pilots seem set to go down to the wire, but the airline has already started grounding some of its planes.
WestJet and its pilots reach 11th-hour deal to avoid strike — Global News
WestJet said Friday morning it was re-starting operations as quickly and efficiently as possible, however the full resumption of flights will take time.
Good. Now both sides can claim victory and raise airfares.
Air Canada has apologized to two women who were kicked off their flight after they objected to having to sit in vomit-covered seats.
“They clearly did not receive the standard of care to which they were entitled,” the airline said in a statement sent to National Post. Air Canada said it is “reviewing this serious matter internally and have followed up with the customers directly as our operating procedures were not followed correctly in this instance.”
The airline did not respond to the Post’s questions about what procedures should have been followed.
Susan Benson, who was a passenger on an Air Canada flight from Las Vegas to Montreal, said on Facebook last week that she was a witness to the incident on Aug. 26.
Benson wrote in the post that her understanding was that someone had vomited on a previous flight, and Air Canada staff had attempted to clean it up by sprinkling coffee grounds and spraying perfume. But when the next flight went to board, the seats were still wet with “vomit residue,” and the two women assigned to the seats were upset.
“The flight attendant was very apologetic but explained that the flight was full and there was nothing they could do. The passengers said they couldn’t possibly be expected to sit in vomit for five hours,” Benson wrote.
A supervisor later reiterated that there was nothing they could do, Benson said, and the women then asked for blankets and wipes so that they could continue to try to clean the area themselves.
“They got themselves settled with blankets and wipes and next thing we knew the pilot came down the aisle and very calmly knelt down and told the two ladies that they had two choices: They could leave the plane on their own accord and organize flights on their own dime, or they would be escorted off the plane by security and placed on a no fly list!” Benson wrote.
apple.news
The pilot, Benson wrote, told them that they had been rude to a flight attendant.
“They were upset and firm, but not rude,” she wrote.
The pilot then walked away, Benson wrote, and security came and escorted the two women off the plane.
“For what? Refusing to sit in vomit for five hours! Air Canada literally expects passengers to sit in vomit or be escorted off the plane and placed on a no-fly list!” wrote Benson.
“They clearly did not receive the standard of care to which they were entitled,” the airline said in a statement sent to National Post. Air Canada said it is “reviewing this serious matter internally and have followed up with the customers directly as our operating procedures were not followed correctly in this instance.”
The airline did not respond to the Post’s questions about what procedures should have been followed.
Susan Benson, who was a passenger on an Air Canada flight from Las Vegas to Montreal, said on Facebook last week that she was a witness to the incident on Aug. 26.
Benson wrote in the post that her understanding was that someone had vomited on a previous flight, and Air Canada staff had attempted to clean it up by sprinkling coffee grounds and spraying perfume. But when the next flight went to board, the seats were still wet with “vomit residue,” and the two women assigned to the seats were upset.
“The flight attendant was very apologetic but explained that the flight was full and there was nothing they could do. The passengers said they couldn’t possibly be expected to sit in vomit for five hours,” Benson wrote.
A supervisor later reiterated that there was nothing they could do, Benson said, and the women then asked for blankets and wipes so that they could continue to try to clean the area themselves.
“They got themselves settled with blankets and wipes and next thing we knew the pilot came down the aisle and very calmly knelt down and told the two ladies that they had two choices: They could leave the plane on their own accord and organize flights on their own dime, or they would be escorted off the plane by security and placed on a no fly list!” Benson wrote.
Air Canada apologizes after women kicked off flight for refusing vomit-covered seats — National Post
The airline had sprinkled coffee grounds and perfume on the vomit-soaked seats, a witness said
The pilot, Benson wrote, told them that they had been rude to a flight attendant.
“They were upset and firm, but not rude,” she wrote.
The pilot then walked away, Benson wrote, and security came and escorted the two women off the plane.
“For what? Refusing to sit in vomit for five hours! Air Canada literally expects passengers to sit in vomit or be escorted off the plane and placed on a no-fly list!” wrote Benson.
The Brits have a thing. If you feel your rights have been violated by the cops, you can go the whole "hire a lawyer and sue for millions" route, Or you can file a complaint, have it heard by a review board, and they'll toss you 500 pounds if you're upheld. Done and dusted. No solicitors, barristers, or other be-wigged idiots in baggy black muumuus.
Maybe the Canadian version of the Better Business Bureau could set up something similar. A review board for complaints, do it on the filings only, no Perry Mason courtroom dwama, and kick you out a thousand bucks if they deem you've been mistreated by a member business. Your choice of whether to do that or go the long, expensive route.
How about it? Canadians seem big on every imaginable alternative to courts of law.
Maybe the Canadian version of the Better Business Bureau could set up something similar. A review board for complaints, do it on the filings only, no Perry Mason courtroom dwama, and kick you out a thousand bucks if they deem you've been mistreated by a member business. Your choice of whether to do that or go the long, expensive route.
How about it? Canadians seem big on every imaginable alternative to courts of law.
Air Passenger Protection Regulations Highlights | Canadian Transportation Agency
New refund regulations are now in effect for flights that are cancelled or have long delays due to a situation outside the airline’s control. The new regulations apply to flights taken on or after September 8, 2022. Introduction On May 24, 2019, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) announced...
otc-cta.gc.ca
Why planes are extremely gross right now — The Washington Post
From the diarrhea incident on Delta to the vomit-covered seat on Air Canada, cases of bodily fluids on recent flights abound.
They guy who shit his pants was exceptional.
Why planes are extremely gross right now — The Washington Post
From the diarrhea incident on Delta to the vomit-covered seat on Air Canada, cases of bodily fluids on recent flights abound.
Health agency probing Air Canada vomit incident that echoes broader customer woes
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Christopher Reynolds
Published Sep 06, 2023 • 4 minute read
Experts say the outrage sparked by news of a passenger incident involving a vomit-smeared airplane seat reflects a broader frustration with flight operations in Canada.
Experts say the outrage sparked by news of a passenger incident involving a vomit-smeared airplane seat reflects a broader frustration with flight operations in Canada.
MONTREAL — The outrage sparked by a passenger incident involving a vomit-smeared airplane seat reflects a broader frustration with flight operations in Canada, travel experts say — as the country’s public health agency says it’s investigating the recent episode.
On Tuesday, Air Canada said it apologized to two passengers who were escorted off the plane by security after protesting that their seats were soiled — and still damp — ahead of an Aug. 26 flight from Las Vegas to Montreal.
“They clearly did not receive the standard of care to which they were entitled,” the airline said in a statement emailed to The Canadian Press. “Our operating procedures were not followed correctly in this instance.”
The Public Health Agency of Canada said it is in contact with Air Canada. It cited its mandate to ensure that anything brought into the country on conveyances ranging from planes to trains does not risk transmission of illnesses that can be spread via contact with body fluids.
“Blood, vomit and diarrhea may contain microorganisms that can cause disease. These fluids, and the surfaces that come in contact with them, should always be considered as contaminated,” the agency said in a statement.
In a Facebook post that has since gone viral, Susan Benson of New Brunswick said she was in the row behind the two women when she detected “a bit of a foul smell but we didn’t know at first what the problem was.”
The cabin crew had “placed coffee grinds in the seat pouch and sprayed perfume to mask” the odour, she said in the Aug. 29 post, which had garnered a combined 8,100 reposts and comments as of Wednesday evening.
“When the clearly upset passengers tried to explain to the flight attendant that the seat and seatbelt were wet and there was still visible vomit residue in their area, the flight attendant was very apologetic but explained that the flight was full and there was nothing they could do,” Benson wrote.
After a “back-and-forth” argument with cabin crew, the pair asked for blankets and wipes to clean the area themselves before a pilot told them they could either leave the plane voluntarily or be escorted off by security and placed on a no-fly list due to rude behaviour — a characterization Benson rejected.
“They were upset and firm, but not rude.”
John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, says the aircraft never should have been dispatched, given the “biological hazard” on board.
“What the heck are you doing?” he asked of the carrier. “Totally out to lunch.”
The outcry on social media sparked by the incident speaks to a degraded level of service perceived by Canadians after a year marred by frequent flight delays and lost luggage, said former Air Canada chief operating officer Duncan Dee.
“People’s patience is likely wearing thin,” he said.
“I think travellers can relate to those two travellers’ experience out of Las Vegas, because they feel they’ve had their travels disrupted to a much greater degree than prior to (the pandemic).”
While photos of snaking lines and posts of passenger frustrations at Toronto’s Pearson airport popped up on social media over the summer, the chaos of overflowing terminals and luggage-clogged arrival areas that marked the 2022 travel season did not come to pass, due in part to more prepared players and fully staffed agencies and security contractors.
Nonetheless, Air Canada ranked last in on-time performance among the 10 largest airlines in North America in July, a report found. Canada’s biggest carrier landed 51 per cent of its flights on time that month, according to figures from aviation data firm Cirium.
“Last summer you had the three (largest) Canadian airports top the global charts for cancellations. This summer saw significant delays due to air traffic control,” Dee said. “The system simply has let travellers down.”
Of the latest incident, he added: “These seat cushions are removable.”
Most airlines contract third-party “groomers” that clean the seats and aisles between flights and have access to spare cushions to replace soiled ones “in relatively short order,” Dee said.
“You’ve got toddlers, infants, even adults who have certain accidents … It doesn’t happen every flight, but it certainly happens every day.”
But experts said that tight-packed schedules and flight delays squeezing turnaround times can put more pressure on crews to get back in the air as soon as possible.
“You’d be extending the ground time on the airplane to do the clean-up,” Gradek said, noting that crews have strict rules on their shift time, or “duty period.”
Last month’s incident wasn’t the first of the summer to involve seats and bodily fluids.
On June 30, a passenger on an Air France flight from Paris to Toronto said he sat amid the uncleaned remnants of a previous passenger’s hemorrhage, prompting a probe by the public health agency.
Of the latest incident, the agency said that if a complaint is determined to relate to a communicable disease “and the operator has not met the requirements of the Quarantine Act,” it could conduct an inspection and ultimately issue a fine to the operator.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Christopher Reynolds
Published Sep 06, 2023 • 4 minute read
Experts say the outrage sparked by news of a passenger incident involving a vomit-smeared airplane seat reflects a broader frustration with flight operations in Canada.
Experts say the outrage sparked by news of a passenger incident involving a vomit-smeared airplane seat reflects a broader frustration with flight operations in Canada.
MONTREAL — The outrage sparked by a passenger incident involving a vomit-smeared airplane seat reflects a broader frustration with flight operations in Canada, travel experts say — as the country’s public health agency says it’s investigating the recent episode.
On Tuesday, Air Canada said it apologized to two passengers who were escorted off the plane by security after protesting that their seats were soiled — and still damp — ahead of an Aug. 26 flight from Las Vegas to Montreal.
“They clearly did not receive the standard of care to which they were entitled,” the airline said in a statement emailed to The Canadian Press. “Our operating procedures were not followed correctly in this instance.”
The Public Health Agency of Canada said it is in contact with Air Canada. It cited its mandate to ensure that anything brought into the country on conveyances ranging from planes to trains does not risk transmission of illnesses that can be spread via contact with body fluids.
“Blood, vomit and diarrhea may contain microorganisms that can cause disease. These fluids, and the surfaces that come in contact with them, should always be considered as contaminated,” the agency said in a statement.
In a Facebook post that has since gone viral, Susan Benson of New Brunswick said she was in the row behind the two women when she detected “a bit of a foul smell but we didn’t know at first what the problem was.”
The cabin crew had “placed coffee grinds in the seat pouch and sprayed perfume to mask” the odour, she said in the Aug. 29 post, which had garnered a combined 8,100 reposts and comments as of Wednesday evening.
“When the clearly upset passengers tried to explain to the flight attendant that the seat and seatbelt were wet and there was still visible vomit residue in their area, the flight attendant was very apologetic but explained that the flight was full and there was nothing they could do,” Benson wrote.
After a “back-and-forth” argument with cabin crew, the pair asked for blankets and wipes to clean the area themselves before a pilot told them they could either leave the plane voluntarily or be escorted off by security and placed on a no-fly list due to rude behaviour — a characterization Benson rejected.
“They were upset and firm, but not rude.”
John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, says the aircraft never should have been dispatched, given the “biological hazard” on board.
“What the heck are you doing?” he asked of the carrier. “Totally out to lunch.”
The outcry on social media sparked by the incident speaks to a degraded level of service perceived by Canadians after a year marred by frequent flight delays and lost luggage, said former Air Canada chief operating officer Duncan Dee.
“People’s patience is likely wearing thin,” he said.
“I think travellers can relate to those two travellers’ experience out of Las Vegas, because they feel they’ve had their travels disrupted to a much greater degree than prior to (the pandemic).”
While photos of snaking lines and posts of passenger frustrations at Toronto’s Pearson airport popped up on social media over the summer, the chaos of overflowing terminals and luggage-clogged arrival areas that marked the 2022 travel season did not come to pass, due in part to more prepared players and fully staffed agencies and security contractors.
Nonetheless, Air Canada ranked last in on-time performance among the 10 largest airlines in North America in July, a report found. Canada’s biggest carrier landed 51 per cent of its flights on time that month, according to figures from aviation data firm Cirium.
“Last summer you had the three (largest) Canadian airports top the global charts for cancellations. This summer saw significant delays due to air traffic control,” Dee said. “The system simply has let travellers down.”
Of the latest incident, he added: “These seat cushions are removable.”
Most airlines contract third-party “groomers” that clean the seats and aisles between flights and have access to spare cushions to replace soiled ones “in relatively short order,” Dee said.
“You’ve got toddlers, infants, even adults who have certain accidents … It doesn’t happen every flight, but it certainly happens every day.”
But experts said that tight-packed schedules and flight delays squeezing turnaround times can put more pressure on crews to get back in the air as soon as possible.
“You’d be extending the ground time on the airplane to do the clean-up,” Gradek said, noting that crews have strict rules on their shift time, or “duty period.”
Last month’s incident wasn’t the first of the summer to involve seats and bodily fluids.
On June 30, a passenger on an Air France flight from Paris to Toronto said he sat amid the uncleaned remnants of a previous passenger’s hemorrhage, prompting a probe by the public health agency.
Of the latest incident, the agency said that if a complaint is determined to relate to a communicable disease “and the operator has not met the requirements of the Quarantine Act,” it could conduct an inspection and ultimately issue a fine to the operator.
Health agency probing Air Canada vomit incident that echoes broader customer woes
The Public Health Agency of Canada said it is in contact with Air Canada.
Air Canada accused of delaying British MP 'because his name was Mohammad'
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Oct 24, 2023 • Last updated 6 hours ago • 2 minute read
OTTAWA — Air Canada staff followed procedure when they held back a British MP for extra questions during a recent diplomatic trip to Canada, the airline said in a statement on Wednesday.
Labour MP Mohammad Yasin was pulled aside for questioning at London’s Heathrow Airport while other lawmakers he was travelling with were allowed through. He was stopped again at airports in Montreal and Toronto.
Clive Betts, another Labour MP, rose in the British House this week to say that Yasin was stopped and questioned by Air Canada and Canadian government staff and that the incident was “racist and Islamophobic” in nature.
“He was told this because his name was Mohammad,” Betts told the House.
An authorized government agency prompted the additional screening procedures before Yasin’s flight, the airline said.
“After receiving such a prompt, we followed the prescribed procedures for this customer and, although this resulted in some discomfort for him, for which we have apologized, the customer was cleared and able to board and stay on his travel schedule,” Air Canada said in the statement.
Betts said Yasin also received an apology from the parliamentary secretary to Canada’s federal immigration minister, who did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.
Requests for comment from several government departments were referred to Canada Border Services Agency, which did not immediately respond to questions.
Yasin was travelling to Canada as part of a delegation from a parliamentary housing committee last week when he was stopped at Heathrow Airport.
The MP was questioned about whether he was carrying a knife and where he was born, despite already having a visa to enter Canada, said Betts, who is the chair of the committee.
The same issues were raised again when the delegation arrived at the airport in Montreal, he said.
On the way back to London at Pearson International Airport, Betts said Yasin was “challenged” again, but was able to board his flight with the assistance of the British consulate-general in that city.
Air Canada said it gave Yasin “extra assistance” to board his flight home to the U.K.
After Betts’s comments in the House, the British deputy Speaker Roger Gale said Yasin’s experience was “wholly unacceptable under any circumstances.
“It’s particularly concerning, occurring as it did in the course of official travel on parliamentary business.”
Ralph Goodale, Canada’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom and a former minister of public safety, said he has invited Yasin to Canada House in London to talk about the ordeal.
“The events we have seen described in the media are disturbing,” Goodale said Wednesday. “No one should be made to feel unwelcome in Canada due to their heritage, skin colour, orientation or faith.”
The government also reached out to Air Canada after it heard about the incident, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Wednesday on his way into a Liberal caucus meeting.
“Air Canada apologized and apologizing was the right thing to do,” Rodriguez said.
Canada’s special representative on combating Islamophobia called Yasin’s experience a “distressing flashback from post-9/11.”
Amira Elghawaby posted the comment on X, the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“We cannot go back down a road where communities are suspected of wrongdoing simply because of their faith or ethnicity,” she said.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Oct 24, 2023 • Last updated 6 hours ago • 2 minute read
OTTAWA — Air Canada staff followed procedure when they held back a British MP for extra questions during a recent diplomatic trip to Canada, the airline said in a statement on Wednesday.
Labour MP Mohammad Yasin was pulled aside for questioning at London’s Heathrow Airport while other lawmakers he was travelling with were allowed through. He was stopped again at airports in Montreal and Toronto.
Clive Betts, another Labour MP, rose in the British House this week to say that Yasin was stopped and questioned by Air Canada and Canadian government staff and that the incident was “racist and Islamophobic” in nature.
“He was told this because his name was Mohammad,” Betts told the House.
An authorized government agency prompted the additional screening procedures before Yasin’s flight, the airline said.
“After receiving such a prompt, we followed the prescribed procedures for this customer and, although this resulted in some discomfort for him, for which we have apologized, the customer was cleared and able to board and stay on his travel schedule,” Air Canada said in the statement.
Betts said Yasin also received an apology from the parliamentary secretary to Canada’s federal immigration minister, who did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.
Requests for comment from several government departments were referred to Canada Border Services Agency, which did not immediately respond to questions.
Yasin was travelling to Canada as part of a delegation from a parliamentary housing committee last week when he was stopped at Heathrow Airport.
The MP was questioned about whether he was carrying a knife and where he was born, despite already having a visa to enter Canada, said Betts, who is the chair of the committee.
The same issues were raised again when the delegation arrived at the airport in Montreal, he said.
On the way back to London at Pearson International Airport, Betts said Yasin was “challenged” again, but was able to board his flight with the assistance of the British consulate-general in that city.
Air Canada said it gave Yasin “extra assistance” to board his flight home to the U.K.
After Betts’s comments in the House, the British deputy Speaker Roger Gale said Yasin’s experience was “wholly unacceptable under any circumstances.
“It’s particularly concerning, occurring as it did in the course of official travel on parliamentary business.”
Ralph Goodale, Canada’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom and a former minister of public safety, said he has invited Yasin to Canada House in London to talk about the ordeal.
“The events we have seen described in the media are disturbing,” Goodale said Wednesday. “No one should be made to feel unwelcome in Canada due to their heritage, skin colour, orientation or faith.”
The government also reached out to Air Canada after it heard about the incident, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Wednesday on his way into a Liberal caucus meeting.
“Air Canada apologized and apologizing was the right thing to do,” Rodriguez said.
Canada’s special representative on combating Islamophobia called Yasin’s experience a “distressing flashback from post-9/11.”
Amira Elghawaby posted the comment on X, the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“We cannot go back down a road where communities are suspected of wrongdoing simply because of their faith or ethnicity,” she said.
Air Canada accused of delaying British MP 'because his name was Mohammad'
Air Canada is being accused in the U.K. House of Commons of delaying a British MP from boarding a flight "because his name is Mohammad."
Ugh. I don't know how many times I've explained to people "It's not discrimination if you're mistreated and you're (whatever). It's discrimination if you're mistreated BECAUSE you're (whatever). You need to prove the 'because.'"
Air Canada admits it violated disability regulations in case of B.C. man
Author of the article:
Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Nov 03, 2023 • 1 minute read
Air Canada has acknowledge
Air Canada has acknowledge it violated Canadian disability regulations and apologized to a British Columbia man who uses a wheelchair, after he was forced to drag himself off a flight in Las Vegas this summer.
VANCOUVER — Air Canada has acknowledged it violated Canadian disability regulations and apologized to a British Columbia man who uses a wheelchair, after he was forced to drag himself off a flight in Las Vegas this summer.
Prince George resident Rodney Hodgins says he used the strength of his upper body to pull himself down the airplane aisle in August, while his wife, Deanna, held his legs, after no one from the airline’s third-party ground personnel was available to help.
The case has garnered national and international attention, with the federal minister of transport saying in the House of Commons this week that he was “horrified” with how Hodgins was treated.
Beenish Awan, a special assistance representative with Air Canada, sent a letter to Deanna Hodgins this week saying the incident was a “was a very inconvenient and humiliating experience for both of you.”
Awan says based on the information currently available, the airline has to “regrettably admit” that it was in violation of the disability regulations.
Hodgins says she and her husband continue to push for improvements to how disabled travellers are treated, including faster support for people who need help on and off a plane.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:
Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Nov 03, 2023 • 1 minute read
Air Canada has acknowledge
Air Canada has acknowledge it violated Canadian disability regulations and apologized to a British Columbia man who uses a wheelchair, after he was forced to drag himself off a flight in Las Vegas this summer.
VANCOUVER — Air Canada has acknowledged it violated Canadian disability regulations and apologized to a British Columbia man who uses a wheelchair, after he was forced to drag himself off a flight in Las Vegas this summer.
Prince George resident Rodney Hodgins says he used the strength of his upper body to pull himself down the airplane aisle in August, while his wife, Deanna, held his legs, after no one from the airline’s third-party ground personnel was available to help.
The case has garnered national and international attention, with the federal minister of transport saying in the House of Commons this week that he was “horrified” with how Hodgins was treated.
Beenish Awan, a special assistance representative with Air Canada, sent a letter to Deanna Hodgins this week saying the incident was a “was a very inconvenient and humiliating experience for both of you.”
Awan says based on the information currently available, the airline has to “regrettably admit” that it was in violation of the disability regulations.
Hodgins says she and her husband continue to push for improvements to how disabled travellers are treated, including faster support for people who need help on and off a plane.
Air Canada admits it violated disability regulations in case of B.C. man
Prince George resident Rodney Hodgins says he used the strength of his upper body to pull himself down the airplane aisle in August.
Do note the difference between "regrettably" and "regretfully."
They regret that it has become public and is causing them embarrassment.
Accessibility advocates speak out about demeaning air travel
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Christopher Reynolds
Published Nov 10, 2023 • 4 minute read
MONTREAL — On a cool day in May at the Vancouver airport last year, Heather Walkus found herself stuck on the curb without assistance for nearly an hour.
Eventually an Air Canada employee guided Walkus, who is blind and living with multiple sclerosis, to the check-in counter and escorted to her gate, but she was stuck waiting alone again after her flight to Penticton, B.C., was delayed.
“I spent four hours alone in a wheelchair, blind, without anybody checking on me,” she said. “I couldn’t go to the bathroom. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t find anybody to help me.
“Then they expected me to be able to get up out of the chair and climb up stairs onto my flight. It was ridiculous,” said Walkus, who heads the Council of Canadians with Disabilities.
“It’s like I was parked luggage,” she said. You’re just dumped and left.”
Walkus is among the accessibility advocates to come forward this week about unreliable assistance in air travel, pointing to regulatory gaps and scattershot enforcement that can leave travellers with disabilities injured, stranded or demeaned.
Community leaders describe mangled mobility aids, seemingly untrained staff and a check-in and boarding process akin to a slow-motion relay that shuttles passengers from one point to another, sometimes with hours-long waits and no assistance.
The criticism comes after Air Canada pledged to roll out new measures that improve the experience for hundreds of thousands of travellers living with a disability.
In Ottawa, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez summoned Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau for a sit-down Thursday following reports of passenger mistreatment, including an incident where a man with spastic cerebral palsy was forced to drag himself off of an airplane due to a lack of assistance.
Yet the problems go beyond a single airline, as “gaping holes” in the Accessible Canada Act allow problems to persist in areas ranging from consultation to assistance protocols, Walkus said _ despite a regulatory overhaul in 2020 brought on by that legislation.
On top of a dearth of detail on how to train staff, she cited the example of a rule requiring federally regulated companies to involve people with disabilities in developing policies, programs and services — a “regulation you could drive a truck through.”
“You could send the administrator down to Tim Hortons and talk to someone in a wheelchair and you’ve consulted with the disability community. It’s a check-off,” she said. The group she heads was not contacted by Air Canada on its new accessibility blueprint, she added.
Francine Leduc, president of a Quebec-based group of accessibility advocates known as RAPLIQ, said existing rules aren’t so much the problem; applying them in good faith is. Equal protection under the law regardless of “sex, age or mental or physical disability” has been enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms since that provision took effect in 1985, with stacks of legislation and regulations to flesh it out since.
Statistics Canada found that 63 per cent of the 2.2 million people with disabilities who used federally regulated transportation in 2019 and 2020 faced a barrier.
Service for the hundreds of thousands of passengers who fly in Canada each year isn’t always terrible. It’s the lack of consistency _ and the angst each trip brings as a result — that many find so frustrating.
“I have gotten everything, from people who know what they’re doing, to people who obviously had no training,” said David Lepofsky, visiting research professor of disability rights at Western University’s law faculty.
“I have to teach them how to guide a blind person.”
He questioned why Air Canada’s new director of accessibility reports to a lower level of management rather than directly to the CEO.
“That is a formula for ineffectiveness,” said Lepofsky, who heads the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance.
Announced Thursday, Air Canada’s new measures range from implementing annual, recurrent training in accessibility for its 10,000-odd airport employees, to including mobility aids in an app that can track baggage.
Leduc said she was skeptical and criticized the language as vague, while Lepofsky said that merely improving service fell short of barrier-free travel. Damaged mobility aids should be treated with the same zero-tolerance approach as safety breaches, he said.
He also slammed the Canadian Transportation Agency as being “asleep” on accessibility enforcement.
However, Walkus said she took heart in recent steps from the regulator’s chairwoman, France Pegeot, who accepted the top spot in June 2021.
“Their understanding of equity and inclusion has shifted the way CTA looks at how business must be done with people with disabilities,” she said, noting Pegeot’s inclusion of advocates in discussions with smaller airlines.
For now, problems remain, tinged with a hint of hope.
Last summer, Walkus arrived in Winnipeg on an Air Canada flight to find that the mobility aid she’d checked in Halifax hadn’t made it past the layover in Toronto. And when it turned up two days later, it was damaged, she said.
“What we want is just to be able to travel without being harmed and delayed and held hostage because our wheelchair didn’t show up,” Walkus said, calling for an inquiry into subpar assistance.
“We’re looked at as an alien group that has to be dealt with. It’s really a demeaning process.
“The attitudinal part is going to be the biggest shift,” she added, “but I’ve seen shifts already.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Christopher Reynolds
Published Nov 10, 2023 • 4 minute read
MONTREAL — On a cool day in May at the Vancouver airport last year, Heather Walkus found herself stuck on the curb without assistance for nearly an hour.
Eventually an Air Canada employee guided Walkus, who is blind and living with multiple sclerosis, to the check-in counter and escorted to her gate, but she was stuck waiting alone again after her flight to Penticton, B.C., was delayed.
“I spent four hours alone in a wheelchair, blind, without anybody checking on me,” she said. “I couldn’t go to the bathroom. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t find anybody to help me.
“Then they expected me to be able to get up out of the chair and climb up stairs onto my flight. It was ridiculous,” said Walkus, who heads the Council of Canadians with Disabilities.
“It’s like I was parked luggage,” she said. You’re just dumped and left.”
Walkus is among the accessibility advocates to come forward this week about unreliable assistance in air travel, pointing to regulatory gaps and scattershot enforcement that can leave travellers with disabilities injured, stranded or demeaned.
Community leaders describe mangled mobility aids, seemingly untrained staff and a check-in and boarding process akin to a slow-motion relay that shuttles passengers from one point to another, sometimes with hours-long waits and no assistance.
The criticism comes after Air Canada pledged to roll out new measures that improve the experience for hundreds of thousands of travellers living with a disability.
In Ottawa, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez summoned Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau for a sit-down Thursday following reports of passenger mistreatment, including an incident where a man with spastic cerebral palsy was forced to drag himself off of an airplane due to a lack of assistance.
Yet the problems go beyond a single airline, as “gaping holes” in the Accessible Canada Act allow problems to persist in areas ranging from consultation to assistance protocols, Walkus said _ despite a regulatory overhaul in 2020 brought on by that legislation.
On top of a dearth of detail on how to train staff, she cited the example of a rule requiring federally regulated companies to involve people with disabilities in developing policies, programs and services — a “regulation you could drive a truck through.”
“You could send the administrator down to Tim Hortons and talk to someone in a wheelchair and you’ve consulted with the disability community. It’s a check-off,” she said. The group she heads was not contacted by Air Canada on its new accessibility blueprint, she added.
Francine Leduc, president of a Quebec-based group of accessibility advocates known as RAPLIQ, said existing rules aren’t so much the problem; applying them in good faith is. Equal protection under the law regardless of “sex, age or mental or physical disability” has been enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms since that provision took effect in 1985, with stacks of legislation and regulations to flesh it out since.
Statistics Canada found that 63 per cent of the 2.2 million people with disabilities who used federally regulated transportation in 2019 and 2020 faced a barrier.
Service for the hundreds of thousands of passengers who fly in Canada each year isn’t always terrible. It’s the lack of consistency _ and the angst each trip brings as a result — that many find so frustrating.
“I have gotten everything, from people who know what they’re doing, to people who obviously had no training,” said David Lepofsky, visiting research professor of disability rights at Western University’s law faculty.
“I have to teach them how to guide a blind person.”
He questioned why Air Canada’s new director of accessibility reports to a lower level of management rather than directly to the CEO.
“That is a formula for ineffectiveness,” said Lepofsky, who heads the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance.
Announced Thursday, Air Canada’s new measures range from implementing annual, recurrent training in accessibility for its 10,000-odd airport employees, to including mobility aids in an app that can track baggage.
Leduc said she was skeptical and criticized the language as vague, while Lepofsky said that merely improving service fell short of barrier-free travel. Damaged mobility aids should be treated with the same zero-tolerance approach as safety breaches, he said.
He also slammed the Canadian Transportation Agency as being “asleep” on accessibility enforcement.
However, Walkus said she took heart in recent steps from the regulator’s chairwoman, France Pegeot, who accepted the top spot in June 2021.
“Their understanding of equity and inclusion has shifted the way CTA looks at how business must be done with people with disabilities,” she said, noting Pegeot’s inclusion of advocates in discussions with smaller airlines.
For now, problems remain, tinged with a hint of hope.
Last summer, Walkus arrived in Winnipeg on an Air Canada flight to find that the mobility aid she’d checked in Halifax hadn’t made it past the layover in Toronto. And when it turned up two days later, it was damaged, she said.
“What we want is just to be able to travel without being harmed and delayed and held hostage because our wheelchair didn’t show up,” Walkus said, calling for an inquiry into subpar assistance.
“We’re looked at as an alien group that has to be dealt with. It’s really a demeaning process.
“The attitudinal part is going to be the biggest shift,” she added, “but I’ve seen shifts already.”
’I was parked luggage’: Accessibility advocates speak out about demeaning air travel
At the Vancouver airport last year, Heather Walkus found herself stuck on the curb without assistance for nearly an hour.
This is a damn disgrace. By contrast, I picked up a friend, who is blind, at the Baltimore airport and drove her to her place, and then took her back a week later. When I met her she was accompanied by TWO airline employees, who made damn sure I had it before they left. When I took her back, I guided her two the counter, and TWO airport employees were detached to assist her. They arrived within three minutes.