Dream vacation turns painful for Kitchener, Ont. veteran
It was a dream vacation that a Kitchener, Ont. veteran says ended with a painful flight home.
Dan Doughty, who can’t bend his leg because of a previous injury, says a specific type of seat he had booked on a WestJet flight, which he required for comfortability, was given to someone else.
He says it happened on his journey home from an Alaskan cruise.
“I've been laid up for going on five years, and we've been planning this trip for I don't know, a decade. So we finally decided we're going to do it,” Doughty told CTV News.
Back in the late 1970s, Doughty was serving as a paratrooper in the Canadian Airborne Regiment when he suffered an injury during a jump that left him with a fused right knee.
“I cannot bend my leg whatsoever,” he said.
Now when he’s traveling on an airplane, he says he has to sit in a specific seat by the bulkhead.
“I'm able to put my foot sort of in the hallway next to the edge, and I'm comfortable.”
Doughty said his holiday was very nice except for the final flight home. His original booking with WestJet was cancelled, leading to a scramble to rebook a flight in the seat he needs to accommodate his disability.
But he said when he got to the gate, that seat had been assigned to someone else -- who he said declined to move.
“So I couldn't sit with my leg down. I actually had to put it up in the air most of the time on an angle, pushed up against the wall. And the flight was about three-and-a-half hours. It was painful,” he said.
In a statement to CTV News, WestJet apologized, saying: “We are sincerely sorry to Mr. Doughty for the inconvenience he experienced while travelling with WestJet. Upon being notified of this incident through your inquiry, we escalated this file to our guest support team, and they were able to confirm that the accommodation originally requested was included in his flight booking. On the day of the flight, the aircraft scheduled to operate WS0658 was switched to a different aircraft for operational reasons, and it was not equipped with the seating Mr. Doughty requested. We recognize this was a disappointing experience and can confirm WestJet agents at the gate offered an alternative option on a different flight which was declined.”
Doughty said he’d like to see better training for WestJet employees, who he called “cold” and “unwilling to listen” throughout the process.
“Maybe train their people a little bit better than what they have. Have a little compassion,” Doughty said.
He said he is sharing his story in hopes that no one else ends up in the same situation.
“The main thing is to make sure this doesn't happen to other people, that's the main thing.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Over 200 firearms seized during Waterloo traffic stop
According to police, during the traffic stop officers noticed firearms and ammunition inside the vehicle.
Huge payout expected for a rare coin bought by Ohio farm family and hidden for decades
Three sisters from Ohio who inherited a dime kept in a bank vault for more than 40 years knew it had some value. But they had no idea just how much until just a few years ago.
Timeline: The rise and fall of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's political fortunes
In the wake of the NDP withdrawing its automatic support of the minority Liberal government, here is a timeline of key events charting the arc of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's fortunes in federal politics.
The controversial plan to turn a desert green
Ties van der Hoeven's ambitions are nothing if not grand. The Dutch engineer wants to transform a huge stretch of inhospitable desert into green, fertile land teeming with wildlife.
Trump threatens to jail adversaries in escalating rhetoric ahead of pivotal debate
With just days to go before his first and likely only debate against U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, former U.S. president Donald Trump posted a warning on his social media site threatening to jail those “involved in unscrupulous behavior” this election, which he said would be under intense scrutiny.
King Charles attends church prayers on the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's death
King Charles III attended church near the royal Balmoral estate in Scotland for prayers and reflection in remembrance of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on Sunday, the second anniversary of her death.
Mother of Georgia shooting suspect called school to warn of emergency, aunt says
The mother of the 14-year-old who has been charged with murder over the fatal shooting of four people at his Georgia high school called the school before the killings, warning staff of an 'extreme emergency' involving her son, a relative said.
Chased away by Israeli settlers, these Palestinians returned to a village in ruins
An entire Palestinian community fled their tiny West Bank village last fall after repeated threats from Israeli settlers with a history of violence. Then, in a rare endorsement of Palestinian land rights, Israel's highest court ruled this summer the displaced residents of Khirbet Zanuta were entitled to return under the protection of Israeli forces.
Sudbury OPP officer pleads guilty to stealing evidence during moose hunt investigation
A veteran staff sergeant with the Ontario Provincial Police in Sudbury has been sentenced for stealing two items from a First Nations man and hiding what he did while his fellow officers searched for them.