For one Prince George family, the recently resolved strike involving Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants had some very real consequences.
Arashdeep Kaur and her family have lived in Prince George for more than nine years, with her husband working as a CN Rail employee.
Kaur and her daughter were visiting family in Toronto and attending a Sikh meditation camp when they heard news on Saturday that their Sunday morning flight would be affected by job action by the members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
“Our flight was on Sunday in the morning and everything was good on Saturday. We did our check-in and everything, but around 9 o’clock, we just got a message from Air Canada that our flight was cancelled,” said Kaur. “After that, they were not taking calls. The communication between us and them was really hard — they were not replying to emails or messages and not taking calls.
“We went to the airport twice and they were saying that they don't know what's going to happen. And everything was really stressful. We wanted to know how long this strike will last. I came here with my daughter and she was so tired and wanted to go home. We just needed answers from them — like how long it's going to take — but nobody was telling us how long this will continue. As a parent, it was very heartbreaking.”
Kaur was staying with family at the time, but during her wait for the outcome of the strike, she saw many other travellers who didn't have that option.
“There were other people who were staying at the airport,” said Kaur. “Some of them were sleeping on the chairs in the airport. Some were saying they can't afford the tickets to go home, and other people were also very mad at them because they have to pay extra if they want to go home — and Air Canada didn’t offer any refunds.”
Despite her struggle and extended stay, Kaur said she still respected the strikers and was more concerned with the lack of transparency and lack of alternative options presented by Air Canada.
In an attempt to get back home quickly, Kaur sought help from the Prince George community through a post on the Prince George subreddit, reddit.com/r/princegeorge.
Her post — detailing the circumstances of her extended stay and asking for advice — received 22 comments from concerned locals hoping to help her and her daughter get home.
Advice included taking trains and buses, or even renting a U-Haul, since the airport was short on rental cars. Others suggested possibly flying out of Detroit — but since Kaur had not brought her passport on a domestic flight, that was not an option.
“All of the suggestions were very good. I didn’t think about taking a bus or the train. All the rental cars were unavailable at that time because lots of other people were trying to drive home — most of the rental companies didn’t have cars,” she said. “One person recommended a U-Haul pickup to help get home and handle it. The suggestions were really good — they were so helpful.”
Driving became the best option.
“It might have been a three- or four-day drive, but I would drive,” said Kaur. “Someone was saying that the entire south is really beautiful to drive in, so I would definitely drive.”
Locals also included advice on how to secure a possible refund through her credit card company, and others offered tips on finding flights on airlines unaffected by the strike.
Kaur said she was extremely grateful for the help and wanted to extend sincere thanks to all the locals who offered suggestions.
“I just want to thank all of the Prince George citizens who helped me through the suggestions,” she said. “I didn’t think about the things that they were recommending to me. I just really want to thank all of them.”
With CUPE and Air Canada reaching a tentative deal to end the strike on the evening of Monday, Aug. 18, Kaur is anticipating returning home with her daughter on the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 19, as flights are scheduled to resume mainline operations.
Now, with confirmation that she and her daughter will be returning to Prince George soon, Kaur said she is thankful and excited to be heading home.
“I feel so good right now. At the time, I didn’t have any hope of getting home. I didn’t know how long it was going to take — but today I know I will go home," she said. "So I feel good right now — way better than when we didn’t have any answers. It was so stressful and frustrating,” she said.
