He bought 2 Flair tickets to Florida, but the flight did not exist

An Ottawa Valley gentleman claims he is been remaining perplexed and annoyed following buying tickets for a Aptitude Airlines flight that failed to exist and obtaining to combat for months to get a refund.

Jamie Christensen, who life in Arnprior, Ont., bought two direct tickets from the extremely low-expense carrier back again in March for a May vacation for himself and his spouse. The return flights from Ottawa to Fort Lauderdale cost him $600.

A working day ahead of their scheduled acquire-off, he acquired the usual email inviting him to check in. Christensen explained when he went to do so, he got an error message.

“It assured us on the e mail and on the web page that if we have been experiencing any complex complications, not to be concerned about it, that we would be in a position to check in at the airport,” he claimed.

It really is kind of like likely into a shop and you know, getting a tv and then you go in to choose it up and they say ‘no, sorry, there is certainly no Television set in this article.– Jamie Christensen

It was only immediately after the few experienced packed their luggage and arrived at the Ottawa airport at 5 a.m. the subsequent day they learned what was improper.

Christensen said upon arrival, their flight to Fort Lauderdale wasn’t on the outlined departures. When the couple approached an attendant at the Flair desk to check out in, they have been told there was no these flight provided by the airline at that time of 12 months.

“It was just surreal,” Christensen explained. “It can be type of like heading into a shop and you know, buying a tv and then you go in to decide on it up and they say ‘no, sorry, there’s no Television here.'”

Immediately after consulting another agent more than the mobile phone, the pair was explained to their only option was to speak to the airline’s buyer guidance line. There was no supply to refund or rebook them on an alternate flight to Florida, said Christensen.

“There was like no assistance in anyway for our problem and we had been rather much still left to fend for ourselves to uncover our way down there. It was quite strange.”

Christensen and his spouse finished up booking flights to Orlando for later that day with a further airline. It cost nearly triple the amount of their original tickets and additional layovers that had them arriving a lot later on than prepared, he stated.

The couple submitted a criticism on-line trying to get a refund. Buyer aid staff members at first instructed them they did not qualify for one due to the fact they have been never ever billed, in spite of the pair possessing each a receipt and credit history card assertion displaying in any other case.

Additional than two months later pursuing a number of e-mail exchanges, Christensen reported they finally bought their revenue back for the tickets but he believes they really should also be compensated for the additional expenditures of their vacation.

Aptitude says ‘a mistake was made’

The company has considering the fact that apologized “for any inconvenience skilled.”

“The huge the vast majority of Flair Airways consumers have a good experience with Aptitude, but a slip-up was made in this case,” browse an emailed assertion attributed to an unnamed Flair spokesperson.

The airline did not provide an rationalization for how such a error was built.

The assertion went on to say that the airline “is responsible for evidently speaking routine changes and, where suitable, a prompt refund, and this failed to happen in a satisfactory and apparent way for the pair.”

The spokesperson explained it has reached out to the couple directly “to try to make it right” but Christensen reported he had yet to obtain any these information from the airline. 

Extra oversight necessary, suggests expert

The incident comes as Flair grapples with its popularity as the worst airline in working with passenger grievances, in accordance to federal data from the Canadian Transportation Company (CTA).

From January to March of this calendar year, the CTA acquired 20.9 complaints for every 100 Flair flights. That compares to 10.7 for WestJet and 5.8 for Air Canada.

Even though cases of airways providing non-existent flights are not that widespread it “does seem to be an evolving follow,” said John Gradek, a former airline govt and McGill University lecturer. 

He said lower-cost carriers are likely to “float” flights, meaning they will advertise and sell seats to a spot they think will be preferred. But if the airline hasn’t sold more than enough tickets nearer to the day of departure, they’ll cancel the trip. In most circumstances, shoppers are then notified and supplied a refund, reported Gradek.

When the CTA performs to increase passenger safety in the circumstance of flight cancellations or delays, Gradek said the regulator really should be maintaining a nearer eye on ultra lower-price tag carriers.

“There seriously is not any regulatory oversight or any administrative oversight about the real offering methods affiliated with carriers these kinds of as Flair,” he mentioned.