A Winnipeg woman says her family is out thousands of dollars after WestJet cancelled their connecting flight to Paris ahead of a looming strike deadline, leaving them stranded in Calgary and facing a long drive back to Winnipeg. Lorrie Rogalka was part of an eight-member family group set to travel to Europe this August, with stops planned in Paris and Poland — home country to her husband and sister-in-law, who were both part of the trip. “His sister hadn’t been back since she was 10 or so, and so they were really looking forward to going back again and showing their kids,” Rogalka said on Friday. She added that her husband has extensive family in Poland, including elderly relatives the group had hoped to visit. All together, Rogalka said the trip’s reservations alone — including airfare — cost the family approximately $34,000. Airfare tickets provided by Rogalka and reviewed by CTV News confirm the group was scheduled to fly from Winnipeg to Calgary on Aug. 1, then on to Paris following a layover of nearly five hours. But she said upon landing in Calgary, the group learned their overseas flight would not be proceeding as planned. Overseas flight cancelled ahead of looming strike “They had told us that they had grounded flights in anticipation of the labour dispute,” Rogalka said, adding this was before the strike was officially called. An email sent from WestJet to Rogalka indicated that her flight was “affected due to a labour disruption.” A screenshot from the WestJet app shows the cancellation was initiated “to minimize risk of stranding our guests.” Rogalka said the airline gave them the option to rebook or cancel at no charge, but their bookings would have only allowed travel credit — not cash reimbursement — so the family opted for a rescheduled flight the following day. “So with that, we decided, ‘Well, we have the flight scheduled for tomorrow, so we’ve lost a day, but we’ll manage,’” she said. The group was able to stay at a friend’s place in Calgary for the night, Rogalka said, adding they weren’t offered any vouchers or hotel accommodations by the airline. “Thankfully, we didn’t have to sleep at the airport like everybody else that was around us; they were just panicking,” she said. “We all waited up until midnight… and the strike was called,” Rogalka said. “Then everything was cancelled.” READ MORE: ‘Passengers scrambling after WestJet flight attendants strike’ She said the family tried every combination to get to Europe without it costing “an enormous amount of money,” but those efforts came up empty. Booking tickets on other airlines back to Winnipeg, she said, was also too costly. Instead, the family rented two vehicles, stayed overnight in Regina, and reached Winnipeg two days later — a self-funded trip Rogalka says cost more than $3,000. “It was very emotional,” she said. “We went through lots of emotions: sad, mad, trying to make the best of it. Going out to dinner in Calgary and stopping at Drumheller on the way home just as a distraction, looked at some dinosaur bones, but it was tough.” After the one-day strike ended, Rogalka said the family was rebooked to leave Calgary for Paris on Aug. 6—but by then, they had already returned to Manitoba. Family out thousands Rogalka said she received confirmation from WestJet Friday that some of the costs of the Calgary-to-Paris portion of the trip would be refunded in the coming days. She added that the airline handling the return trip had also agreed to refund those costs. But even with those refunds, she said the family is still out more than $10,000 when accounting for pre-booked accommodations and activities — costs she’s hoping WestJet will also cover. “Some are partially refunding, some aren’t refunding at all,” she said, adding that most of the group’s bookings were made using her credit card. “I’m glad that WestJet agreed to give us a refund. We still have to go to them to put through all our other expenses.” Rogalka said the family sent WestJet a small claims court document before they were able to reach a representative, “noting that the claim amount could change, could be reduced depending on what we get refunded from the other places.” CTV News has reached out to WestJet for comment and is awaiting a response. Going forward, Rogalka said she’d like to see better communication from WestJet, and would like airlines to honour flights that fall within the 72-hour lockout notice window. With files from CTV’s Kayla Rosen
