An Alberta senior — who was denied her flight with WestJet due to her vaccination status — has been advised the air carrier will offer the value of the ticket as a credit. .Brian and Louise Krasowski, both age 65 and retired, contacted the Western Standard after Louise was turned away for a flight from Calgary to Kelowna because she did not show her proof of vaccination..The couple, however, was more so shocked by the treatment they received by WestJet personnel, especially after being long-term WestJet Rewards members, they said. .READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Senior couple shocked by treatment from WestJet, denied refund or credit.Lousie was desperate to get to Kelowna after receiving a June 12 call from her 95-year-old father informing her his wife and Louise's 87-year-old mother had fallen, broken her hip and was in the Kelowna General Hospital awaiting surgery. She was also concerned for her elderly father who lives in the couple's home and heavily relies on his wife for his care. .The couple immediately booked her a flight to Kelowna for the next day and upon arriving at the Calgary WestJet terminal, Louise was asked to produce her vaccine passport. .Rather than providing her proof of vaccination, Louise said she told the agent she "would like to exercise [her] right to travel under Section 6 [of the Canadian Charter of Rights] and to be given the same and equal privileges as others without discrimination under Section 15.".After that, the couple said they were loudly identified by a manager as "trouble makers" within earshot of others and "discriminated against" before they left the airport and ended up driving to Kelowna the next day. .The two said they were told they would not be receiving a refund, nor would they see a credit for the cost of the unused ticket. .WestJet spokesperson Morgan Bell told the Western Standard it is up to travellers to know the rules and said the proof of vaccination policy is "a federal mandate that WestJet must adhere to.".Bell said she would have someone from the guest support team reach out to the couple to follow-up..The couple said they finally received an email from the airline on Wednesday. ."We have received your concerns from the Western Standard and I am happy to address them," wrote Justin, a Senior Specialist with WestJet who only provided his first name in the email. ."We are sorry that you were unable to travel on the booked reservation [due] to your vaccination status and the Transport Canada rules that were in place on that date. Now of course the rules have been changed and this issue could have been avoided but our agents had to follow the rules of that day."."With regards to the loss of funds, that is the policy for any guest that does not meet the travel requirements for their flight whether that be their passport or vaccination documents, in this case, travel is denied and no funds are returned. As the rules changed just days after your flight was scheduled I would offer a travel credit of the base fare for that ticket." .The WestJet agent said the company was "sorry" for their experience, but said their agents "were only following the government rules." ."I hope that this offer shows that we value you as a guest and we can welcome you onboard again in the future," said the agent, adding Louise's credit has been applied to her WestJet ID. ."We are happy WestJet is now at least acknowledging us and not happy that they accept no responsibility for our poor treatment," Brian told the Western Standard in an email. ."They did not acknowledge us until you kindly took on our story and it is certainly not about the money as much as it is about big business trying to enforce a mandate that goes against the Constitutional rights of a Canadian citizen."
An Alberta senior — who was denied her flight with WestJet due to her vaccination status — has been advised the air carrier will offer the value of the ticket as a credit. .Brian and Louise Krasowski, both age 65 and retired, contacted the Western Standard after Louise was turned away for a flight from Calgary to Kelowna because she did not show her proof of vaccination..The couple, however, was more so shocked by the treatment they received by WestJet personnel, especially after being long-term WestJet Rewards members, they said. .READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Senior couple shocked by treatment from WestJet, denied refund or credit.Lousie was desperate to get to Kelowna after receiving a June 12 call from her 95-year-old father informing her his wife and Louise's 87-year-old mother had fallen, broken her hip and was in the Kelowna General Hospital awaiting surgery. She was also concerned for her elderly father who lives in the couple's home and heavily relies on his wife for his care. .The couple immediately booked her a flight to Kelowna for the next day and upon arriving at the Calgary WestJet terminal, Louise was asked to produce her vaccine passport. .Rather than providing her proof of vaccination, Louise said she told the agent she "would like to exercise [her] right to travel under Section 6 [of the Canadian Charter of Rights] and to be given the same and equal privileges as others without discrimination under Section 15.".After that, the couple said they were loudly identified by a manager as "trouble makers" within earshot of others and "discriminated against" before they left the airport and ended up driving to Kelowna the next day. .The two said they were told they would not be receiving a refund, nor would they see a credit for the cost of the unused ticket. .WestJet spokesperson Morgan Bell told the Western Standard it is up to travellers to know the rules and said the proof of vaccination policy is "a federal mandate that WestJet must adhere to.".Bell said she would have someone from the guest support team reach out to the couple to follow-up..The couple said they finally received an email from the airline on Wednesday. ."We have received your concerns from the Western Standard and I am happy to address them," wrote Justin, a Senior Specialist with WestJet who only provided his first name in the email. ."We are sorry that you were unable to travel on the booked reservation [due] to your vaccination status and the Transport Canada rules that were in place on that date. Now of course the rules have been changed and this issue could have been avoided but our agents had to follow the rules of that day."."With regards to the loss of funds, that is the policy for any guest that does not meet the travel requirements for their flight whether that be their passport or vaccination documents, in this case, travel is denied and no funds are returned. As the rules changed just days after your flight was scheduled I would offer a travel credit of the base fare for that ticket." .The WestJet agent said the company was "sorry" for their experience, but said their agents "were only following the government rules." ."I hope that this offer shows that we value you as a guest and we can welcome you onboard again in the future," said the agent, adding Louise's credit has been applied to her WestJet ID. ."We are happy WestJet is now at least acknowledging us and not happy that they accept no responsibility for our poor treatment," Brian told the Western Standard in an email. ."They did not acknowledge us until you kindly took on our story and it is certainly not about the money as much as it is about big business trying to enforce a mandate that goes against the Constitutional rights of a Canadian citizen."
