Next time you fly, please fly WestJet.

Via David Hardman's Facebook

The A Cappella Fellas were supposed to perform in Quebec City today at the AVON convention. We had flights booked well in advance and were scheduled to fly to Toronto at 12:05 am with Air Canada.


Air Canada overbooked the flight by 36 seats and the departure time was delayed by 90 minutes. We managed to get all six of us on the 1:35 am flight, and wound up sitting on a full plane for over an hour only to be told the flight staff were not allowed to work any more hours that day and there were no available staff on standby. Four Calgary Police Officers escorted us all off the plane and, like cattle, we were all herded into the walkway where we waited for another 20 minutes.

AIR CANADA's SOLUTION: Provide us all with a 1-800 number which will lead us to an automated system so we can re-book our flights. The next available flight was at 10:00 am, which meant we would miss the AVON convention by the time we arrived in Quebec City. Furthermore, having checked, the 10:00 am flight was also cancelled.

THE DAMAGE: The Fellas did not get to perform in Quebec City, which would have been an amazing experience. AVON will have no entertainment at their convention this evening. The Fellas will not get paid for a show we didn't do. I booked time off work which I will not be compensated for. One gentleman we met last night will miss his own daughter's wedding. Another man who was flying home to be with his father (who is on life support) will now be even further delayed.

Why support a company that purposely overbooks flights and treats their customers as though profits are more important than customer satisfaction? We immediately called WestJet to see if they could provide a solution. Instantly, we spoke with a Super Sales Agent (no automated nonsense). Within minutes they had searched numerous flights to see if they could get us to Quebec City on time. Unfortunately, their flights were fully booked and they would not be able to accommodate us; however, we were pleased with the service and effort they put in to assist us.

Please don't subject yourself to the deplorable service Air Canada provided us last night. Do yourself a favour and always fly WestJet. Also, please feel free to share this story with your friends and loved ones. Thank you.

David Hardman

http://www.theacappellafellas.com/