WestJet Mistake Pays Travelers Double The Pay

While travelers regularly fuss about being duped by airlines after a delayed or cancelled flight, one family had the uncommon experience of being paid excessively. Their inquiry was regardless of whether to keep the money.

Stuart Border and his son’s two-week vacation got off to a rough start as their WestJet flight from London, England, to Calgary was delayed by around 4½ hours as a result of issues with refueling and taxiing to the runway. They were going to gripe to the airline while chatting with family in Calgary, however, were cautioned two days after their arrival that WestJet would give compensation to the interruption.

They had the alternative of being paid in Canadian dollars, U.S. dollars, or Euros. Inside a month, they each got a check via the post office for about $670 US. After a week, they suddenly got a second installment from WestJet for the same sum.

“In the U.K., most airlines you have to chase them to get any money out of them. So we were pleasantly surprised how quickly they offered compensation,” said Border.

“We got another cheque. In their haste to get us compensation, someone along the line made a mistake and we had two cheques,” he said.

He and his son contemplated returning the money or cash the additional cheque. But Border didn’t hesitate to contact WestJet and report the error. He never contemplated keeping the money.

“I’m not that kind of person. My philosophy is if you make money that is not yours, you can guarantee you’ll have to spend a fair amount of money if something breaks,” he said. “Honesty is the best policy.”

Westjet concedes it did absolutely make a mistake and that it is conscious of the double compensations for flights departing from Europe. WestJet’s venture into offering transatlantic flights has been a turbulent ride for the Calgary-based airline as delays and canceled flights have meant a steep passenger compensation bill.

While the hassle of WestJet’s London route disruptions may have driven away some passengers, Border was impressed by the airline’s reaction.

“We were both really surprised how quick WestJet got together the compensation, bearing in mind the plane was half empty, so it must have cost them a lot of money to fly the plane and pay people back for the inconvenience,” said Border. “We’ve both been very impressed by WestJet and will fly them again.”

At the airline’s suggestion, Border and his son destroyed the bonus cheques from WestJet.