Woman says Sunwing lost her wheelchair, returned it damaged
Airline offered to pay for replacement chair, refund trip
TORONTO — A Bowmanville, Ont., woman whose $7,000 custom wheelchair was lost by Sunwing Airlines during a trip to Cuba, says the chair has been returned damaged and can’t be used.
Rose Finlay’s specialized wheelchair didn’t make it home with her when she arrived home Thursday from a trip to Cuba with her husband, Brandon, to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary.
Finlay, a mother of two who was diagnosed with a spinal cord injury when she was 16, told Postmedia Network that she is disappointed the wheelchair was returned with a bent frame and broken brake amongst other issues. The chair is configured to her height, weight and body-type to keep her safe.
Any damage to the frame can seriously impact those settings, she said.
“One of the wheels didn’t come off this morning so that means that the frame is bent,” the 25-yearold said. “Basically, the structural integrity of my entire chair is compromised.
“I’m not taking the risk of getting into a chair that has a bent frame and potentially risking injury to myself. It’s not really a safe situation for me to use it.”
Finlay said replacing the chair is difficult. She would have to travel to California to have the chair fitted to her individual needs.
For now, she will use an older chair on a limited basis to get around to important appointments, she said.
“It’s not a ideal situation and it’s going to cause me a great deal of discomfort,” Finlay said.
Sunwing vice-president of marketing, Janine Chapman, confirmed the chair was delivered Saturday morning but she was not of aware of any damage.
“We inspected and photographed the wheelchair and there were no visible indications of any damage,” Chapman said. “At this point, we have been unable to confirm the receipt of any communication to the contrary.”
Chapman said the airline
remains “very apologetic” for the two days Finlay spent without her wheelchair. The airline also offered to pay for a replacement of the wheelchair at the airport and a full refund for the price of the trip, she said, promising further investigation.
Finlay described the Cuba vacation as a “trip from hell” on a Facebook post that went viral Friday and said getting the wheelchair back hasn’t smoothed things over.
“The fact that they’re returned my property, as they see it, doesn’t solve the issues at hand. It doesn’t take away the fact the incidents that occurred played out the way that they did. There needs to be some change.”