A B.C. man who uses a wheelchair says he was forced to drag himself off an Air Canada flight in Las Vegas, after the airline failed to provide the assistance required for him to safely exit the plane.
Rodney and Deanna Hodgins flew from Vancouver to Las Vegas in late August, in a much-anticipated trip to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. Rodney, who is 49, has spastic cerebral palsy, and uses a motorized wheelchair.
The Prince George, B.C. couple travels every year, and is accustomed to the standard process to help him exit the plane. Usually, after the rest of the passengers have exited, an airline employee will bring an aisle chair — an extremely narrow version of a wheelchair controlled by handles.
But after landing in Las Vegas, an Air Canada flight attendant told the Hodgins no help, and no aisle seat, was coming — and said Rodney would need to get to the front of the plane by himself.
The couple said the suggestion was so absurd, they laughed, thinking it was a joke.
“How am I supposed to get to the front of my plane when I can’t walk? If I didn’t need a wheelchair, I wouldn’t have been sitting there,” said Rodney.
I usually avoid air Canada, but was forced to fly them last week. Didn’t think it was possible, but they’ve gotten worse.
Flying is a miracle. We are going to put you in a metal machine, burn some old dinosaurs, and get you safely in the air, to wherever you want to go. In the air! LIKE A BIRD. OR MAGIC. Air Canada takes this miracle, and makes it the very worst experience possible. Vomit covered seats. No access for the handicapped. The list goes on.
Stop bailing these Corporate fuckers out. Next time they get too greedy and need a handout, nationalize them.
Return some semblance of joy to the miracle of flight.
Air Canada hasn’t always been this bad but in the last few years I’m currently embarrassed they are our national flag carrier.
Canada really needs to force them to change their name
I bet to differ. We’ve gone with the other carrier whenever we can because AC has been just so comically bad and apathetic since almost the 1900s (and I love saying it like that).
But, once a year when #reasons dictate, we buck up and fly AC … and then we reaffirm our fleeting vow to never again.
This is just one of the many situations when I dearly wish to be proved wrong. But, it’s like a sergeant once said: “Don’t change, [soldier]; I’ve a BET riding on you!”
I used to fly them a lot and for international travel and I thought they were passable. Comparable to other options.
The domestic stuff was sometimes served a lot better by WestJet but even they were quite scrappy. Domestic is hard, European carriers do that a lot better.
But post-pandemic even their international stuff is an embarrassment. And among my colleagues (worldwide team) they’ve noticed too!
They also will do absolutely everything they can to refuse you a refund when they cancel your flight and book you on another. If you paid for an extra bag or a seat upgrade and your plane gets cancelled, absolutely forget about getting the extra you paid back refunded to you.
Went all the way up to the ombudsman for a $50 refund.
I avoid them like the plague. My last flight with them was from Toronto to Dubai. Absolutely horrible service. They ran out of chicken and only had a vegetarian dish and only served us one meal, which is ridiculous for a 14 hour flight. And the customer service is awful.
I am now trying to find alternatives, even if they are a bit more expensive.
Why do they have to wear our country’s name on their planes? They represent us so poorly when they’re abroad.
“Canada” is just a brand like any other. Don’t get attached, don’t believe the bullshit.
Oil comes from plants, not animals.
You found the specific point of post and clarified it. Thank you. Without your pedanticness no one would have any idea what my comment meant. You’re doing great work.
A bit fragile but I’m sorry I hurt you.
Old plants, not dinosaurs. The plants had all the energy, not the dinosaur fossils.
You found the specific point of post and clarified it. Thank you. Without your pedanticness no one would have any idea what my comment meant. You’re doing great work.
Wait, now I’m confused. Planes don’t eat dinosaurs? What was Sully about, then?
I always see people with bad experiences with them and guess that I have to consider myself lucky. I travel with them pretty regularly (no choice) and there has only been one incident, the flight was overbooked. The attendants at the airport immediately informed me, handed me a check for $1800 CAD, and I was on another plane 2 hours later. The ticket was no more than $250 mind you. This happened last year.