P.E.I. man frustrated after delays lead to cancelled vacation

An Island man is frustrated after he says he and his girlfriend had to miss out on a Christmas holiday, after their trip with WestJet Vacationswent wrong.

Mike Bradley saidhe and his girlfriend had been looking forward to their trip to Cuba for months, butthey never made it outof Canada.

He saidthey spent nearly 24 hours at the Monctonand Toronto airports trying to find a way to their destination, before theyfinally decided to cancel the trip and head home.

"I'm frustrated, I'm tired. At this point I'm starting to get sick to my stomach at everything," Bradley said. "We were just both tired and ragged at this point."

Bradley said he booked the trip withWestJet Vacations through a travel agent in New Brunswick. He saidtheir WestJet flight from Moncton to Toronto was delayed eighthoursdue to mechanical issues, causing them to miss their connecting flight to Cuba.

He saidWestJet staff at the Monctonairport tried to help them throughout the delay, but there was little they could do. They advisedthem to fly to Toronto anyway and call WestJet Vacations from there, Bradley said.

He said they did that, but that call didn't go well. "I felt like they were trying to put the problem on me," he said.

"Especially the first representative I was speaking with. She just was like, 'Well you missed your flight,' and I said, well I didn't miss my flight you guys had a problem with your plane that's why we missed it."

WestJetgave them options

Bradley said after spending threehours on the phone with customer service, WestJet Vacations gave them some options.

One was to go to a different resort two days later, which he said would cut time off their trip. Bradley said it would also require them to spend two nights in a hotel and WestJetVacations only offered to cover the cost of one of those nights.

Another option was to keep a seven-day booking, but that would cost an extra $1,000, and Bradley said they didn't have that money.

"The third option, which was the one we ultimately had to take ... was to just go home," Bradley said.

WestJetrefunded most of vacation package

In a statement to CBC, WestJet saidit apologizes to the guests for this situation and understands their disappointment.

"We have reached out directly to this guest to offer an apology and to help bring satisfactory closure to this unfortunate situation," said the statement.

"When a missed connection occurs due to a mechanical issue at point of departure, we work directly with our WestJet Vacation guests, making every effort to accommodate them with alternative options including continuing with travel, refund, change of dates, or change of destination.

"We understand that guests have different flexibility and personal situations that although not ideal, cancellation is sometimes the best option. In this situation a full refund is provided."

Bradley saidWestJet has given him a refund for most of the travel package, but not the amount he paid for with Air Miles, which he saidis worth about $900.

While he's happy to have some of his money back, Bradley said, he'dstill like to see WestJet do more.

"I don't know if I'll be able to get it but I would like to see some compensation for all the bills that I had to pay leading up to the event, including hotels, bridge fare, gas and other expenses ... the time spent and vacation lost, really," Bradley said.

Bradley saidWestJet hasn't offered him any compensation for the inconvenience or for the hours he and his girlfriend spent atthe airports.He saidin the mean time, he's working with his travel agent to try to recoup the cost of hisAir Milesthrough insurance.

"I just feel really wronged in this situation and a company like that should be able to compensate their passengers when they are at fault."

More P.E.I. news