Relief and confusion after Canada grounds 737 models
EDMONTON— At the Edmonton International Airport on Wednesday morning, several passengers aboard WestJet Flight WS160, arriving from Vancouver, trickled down the escalator at Gate B before huddling at the luggage pickup to grab their bags. Unlike the Max 8 or Max 9 models banned over Canadian airspace in the morning, the plane they flew in on was a Boeing 737 800, which several passengers had checked, or at least tried to, before boarding.
“I couldn’t check it beforehand,” said Christie Anderson, a massage therapist from Edmonton. “I checked it as soon as I got on the plane, when it was too late.”
WestJet has 13 Boeing 737 Max 8s, around 8 per cent of its fleet.
All had touched down at their scheduled destinations by Wednesday morning, accord- ing to a post on WestJet’s official Twitter account.
For travel agencies, official cancellation of 737 Max flights meant the uncertainty of the past three days was over — but now, the steady stream of customers trying to understand what the cancellation will mean for their trips begins.
“The first challenge is figuring out who’s on the affected flights, because it’s not just the flight number — it’s the actual aircraft,” said Allison Wallace, a spokesperson for Flight Centre Travel Group.
Other challenges are due to arise over the next few days and weeks.
Air Canada and WestJet have both allowed fee waivers for passengers stuck with tickets for 737 Max flights, but, Wallace said, agents still need to understand the details. It also doesn’t help that Wednesday’s cancellation comes just before the spring break travel season.
Customers looking to rebook can expect delays and wait times to reach Air Canada’s call centres, the airline said.
That’s the situation Tim Holmes and his family found themselves in at Edmonton International Airport as they prepared to head to Kona, Hawaii, by way of Vancouver, for a weeklong vacation.
“We can get to Vancouver no problem. It’s Vancouver on that we’re having problems,” Holmes said. “I was laying in bed last night thinking, ‘Jeez, if they’re going to ground the planes, I hope we at least get to Hawaii first, and then worry about it getting home.”
Originally set to board a Max 8 Air Canada flight in Vancouver, which the carrier cancelled, the group of seven was scrambling to find a way forward.
He said the group was offered a flight to Maui instead, with the hopes of boarding another plane Thursday to their intended destination.
“We’ll have to look at getting two to three hotel rooms on our dime. We got a house rented in Kona, and I don’t know if we’re going to get that $3,500 back.”