‘It hurts us’: Air Canada, WestJet underneath glow for their reasons behind Puerto Rico moody cancellations
WestJet and Air Canada have both cited hurricane repairs during Puerto Rico’s San Juan airfield as a reason since they cancelled flights to a island into 2018.
But Puerto Rico’s tourism attention says a summary is dubious and wants it to stop.
That’s since while Hurricane Maria ravaged a island on Sept. 20, a categorical airfield started welcoming behind general carriers by Sept. 29.Â
“It hurts us if a summary out there is a airfield is not operational,” says Miguel Quinones, with a government-run Puerto Rico Tourism Company. “The airfield is fine.”
However, that’s not a summary Ed Tiessen got from WestJet after it told him on Oct. 17 that it had cancelled his round-trip moody to San Juan departing on Nov. 24.
To applaud their 25th marriage anniversary, he and his wife, who live in Summerland, B.C., had requisitioned a Caribbean journey sailing from Puerto Rico’s collateral city.
After removing a termination notice, Tiessen detected San Juan flights on other airlines had shot adult to prices he couldn’t afford.
WestJet had offering a refund, though he asked a conduit to instead rebook him during no additional cost on a partner airline still drifting to a city.
“I suspicion that was really reasonable,” Tiessen says. “I only wanted to go on my cruise.”
But WestJet incited him down and pronounced a termination was out of a control.
‘Incredibly unhappy with WestJet’
In a Facebook summary to Tiessen on Oct. 18, WestJet wrote that San Juan was still pang from a after-effects of Hurricane Maria.
The airline pronounced that only a day before it was informed that a island’s airport management “cannot pledge a ability to work since of depot repairs issues.”
A spokesperson for San Juan’s Luis Marin Munoz International Airport refuted this explain and said the facility returned to normal operations by Oct. 8. Currently 25 airlines are drifting into a airport.Â
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Tiessen says he knew a airfield wasn’t an emanate and lifted this with WestJet, though to no avail.
He says he eventually assured a airline to fly him and his mother to Orlando, Fla., though they were still out $352 after carrying to book their possess moody on American Airlines from Orlando to San Juan.Â
“I’m impossibly unhappy with WestJet,” says Tiessen. “We done a agreement for them to fly me to San Juan.”
Blaming airfield was incorrect
In an email to CBC News, WestJet orator Lauren Stewart offering Tiessen an reparation and pronounced a airline would contact him.Â
She also certified that blaming moody cancellations on airfield repairs was incorrect.
Stewart pronounced a correct reason WestJet dangling flights until Jan. 13 is since Puerto Rico overall is still pang from energy outages and “not prepared to accept a guests.”
Stewart acknowledged that U.S. airlines are still drifting to a island, though noted that they have reduced a series of flights they offer.
Last week, WestJet also certified it had mistakenly blamed moody cancellations to Turks and Caicos on whirly repairs during a general airport, during a time when it was entirely operational.
The genuine reason incited out to be that some of a island’s resorts are still closed.
Air Canada says depot damaged
Air Canada, meanwhile, has cancelled use to Puerto Rico for the entire Oct to Apr season, and has also blamed airfield damage.
On Nov. 9, orator Peter Fitzpatrick told CBC News in an email that a whirly shop-worn a depot Air Canada uses during a San Juan airport. ​
The airfield reliable a damage, though pronounced airlines that use the depot have simply been redirected to another.
Air Canada moody cancellations have also caused disruptions for passengers, nonetheless Fitzpatrick says it’s assisting business make choice arrangements during no combined cost.Â
CBC News asked Fitzpatrick again this past week since a airline cancelled Puerto Rico flights, after pity what was learned about a San Juan airport.
He replied that along with other Canadian carriers, Air Canada cancelled use to Puerto Rico “due to a harmful effects of Hurricane Maria that continue still.”
This time, there was no specific discuss of airfield damage.Â
Quinones with a Puerto Rico Tourism Company concedes that a island is still recovering, though he still encourages people to come visit.
“If we wish to assistance Puerto Rico, there’s zero that would assistance us some-more than people indeed travelling to Puerto Rico,” he says.
Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/air-canada-westjet-puerto-rico-san-juan-flight-cancellations-1.4418829?cmp=rss