Family scrambles to rebook Christmas trip after Flair Airlines denies boarding

A family travelling from B.C. to Ontario for their daughter’s first Christmas was not allowed to board their Flair Airlines flight.

Rebecca and Ryan Coulson are feeling the holiday stress.

Trying to go back to Toronto for Christmas on Dec. 12, they were given quite the shock at Abbotsford Airport. Booking a flight with Flair Airlines back in November, they had purchased tickets for themselves, their 10-month-old, Ellie, and their two small dogs.

“In September I booked and flew with Ellie and one of the dogs and it was fine. There were no issues, nothing,” said Rebecca Coulson. “It went smoothly. We booked online, we showed up at the airport, I had my backpack, I had the baby, we were let on.”

“And then this time, we arrived at the airport, we got in line to check in our luggage, and then they started whispering among themselves,” she explained.

“They were saying that there was this new policy that was implemented that you cannot travel with a dog and an infant at the same time. And I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, how did I miss this?’ So I go online and there is nothing that says this rule. You can still fully book with the dog and an infant, without any issue.”

According to Ryan and Rebeca, agents with Flair told the Coulsons this was a new rule implemented on Nov. 20. They say they were not updated or informed of their new policy, and had purchased their tickets on Nov. 3

After pleading with the agents at boarding, the Coulsons were directed to the Flair desk.

“The front desk is telling us that there’s a new rule that’s being implemented that doesn’t allow one adult to travel with an infant and a dog at the same time. So, I go online and there is nothing, like there’s nothing that says this rule,” Rebecca said.

“We start getting really anxious because this is Ellie’s first Christmas. It was already a big challenge to get ourselves to be able to book a flight,” she explained. “We just got a new mortgage, like our first mortgage ever. So, it’s a hard year. We had his grandmother give us money to buy the original ticket. And so that was a lot to begin with because holiday traveling is expensive.”

Flair offered the Coulsons a refund, but could not rebook them with the two dogs and infant.

“We’re being told, ‘No, there’s nothing, we can’t rebook you. We can’t do anything. We can only refund you,’” she said. “And I’m like, ‘No, that’s not going to work. The refund will not cover what the prices I’m seeing online are right now.’”

CTV News reached out to Flair for comment, and CEO Maciej Wilk said in a statement:

“Under our Transport Canada-approved manuals for this aircraft type, each adult may travel with either one infant or one pet. If an infant and a pet are travelling together, Transport Canada regulations require that each be accompanied by a separate adult. This is not a new rule.”

However, Transport Canada’s response to CTV News did not reflect this, stating: “There are no Transport Canada requirements related to passengers travelling with both infants and pets, however, individual airlines may have policies or restrictions for passengers transporting animals while also travelling with infants.”

The Couslons were told that it was a new policy to email customer service, where they would hear from someone after 24 hours.

Seventy-two hours later, they received response saying Flair was looking into the situation.

According to Gabor Lukacs, president of Air Passenger Rights, Flair had a contractual agreement to allow the Coulsons on the flight.

“Flair cannot hold passengers to a policy that was not in place and published at a time the ticket was purchased,” he said.

As of Tuesday, there is now a written statement on Flair’s website stating only one pet or one infant can fly with one adult.

The Coulsons eventually rebooked with Air Canada, paying around $1,200 out of their own pockets, and borrowed money to do so.

“Ironically now, so because we scanned our boarding passes, we were flagged by Flair as if we got on and we had no problem,” Coulson laughed. “So, we received an email saying, ‘We hope you enjoyed your flight, leave us a review’ on our flight home because we’re round trip.”

As of Monday, the Coulsons have been contacted by Flair Airlines, and hope that an appropriate resolution will be reached.

For the young family, they are disappointed that this was their holiday travel experience.

“Honestly it’s been a roller coaster and it’s sad to think this is a company that represents Canada.”